Weight Management

Weight is a big issue for both men and women, but is of greater concern to women. Most of us want to lose weight to improve the way we look, but of bigger concern are the health problems that excess weight brings.


The above photograph shows a Herbalife Distributor standing at pedestrian pathway, with weighing scale on the floor and a big poster beside it.

Excess weight is not a disease but a symptom, a sign that the body's own homeostatic (self-balancing) mechanisms have failed. Excess weight indicates that the body is no longer able to appropriate its caloric resources wisely: it has lost part of its innate ability to burn excess calories, to maintain appropriate stores of excess energy and 'waste' other calories, and to use hunger solely to satisfy the body's nutrients and energetic needs.

Hunger is likewise a symptom. A normal, healthy body will eat when it is hungry, eat just the type and amount of food needed to meet basic requirements, and stop eaqting when satisfied. Hunger is not an enemy to be vanquished. It is an important biological signal that our bodies need to be fed.

Excess weight is rarely a simple dietary or activity issue; rather it is a complex issue involving the digestive system, endocrine system, nervous system, and more. It may be a genetic or even a childhood issue. Being overweight is a syndrome, a collection of symptoms or conditions, showing that one or several of these organ systems is not functioning correctly and is asking for adjustments to be made! Adjustments may indeed be necessary in the appetite or in the selection of different food, but not so much to correct for caloric intake as to meet the underlying metabolic needs of the body.

Reaching and maintaining a sensible weight is a vital part of optimum health, but something that many women have trouble with. Weight management issues generally come in clusters and people usually struggle with more than one. Unwanted weight gain is often only one coil in the downward health spiral generated by the consumption of processed, nutrient-poor food.

Excess weight can have just one cause, but quite often there are a number, working together to exacerbate and complicate things. The problems too much weight can bring:

• increased chances of a heart attack, especially once you reach the menopause
• strain on the joints
• high blood pressure and clogged arteries
• breathing problems, if you are very overweight
• fertility problems
• increased risk of gall stones
• increased risk of osteoarthritis
• associated psychological problems if you feel unhappy with your size.

Excess weight has also been associated with certain types of cancer, including breast, colon and endometrial cancers. With so many problems being overweight can bring, and since beauty is of such a great significance to women, Herbal Nutrition Network can be seen at various places nowadays. I had seen Herbalife near my house as well as at other neighbourhood (my mum's place). These Herbalife Independent Distributors wore similar uniform (T-shirts), and have weighing scale and health posters with them. They claimed to help women to control their body weight, improved the health of the women.

Many new mothers worry about all their extra weight that they had put on during their pregnancy. These weight does not miraculously disappear as soon as the baby is born! I was worried about my weight also, but it is always a happy sacrifice to know that my baby is healthy and happy with what I had given him.

Though breastfeeding is not convenient (when outside home -- most places do not have nursing rooms) and it is very hard during the first month, I had managed to bypass that difficult period. Now, breastfeeding is an enjoyable experience for me and Isaac, a wonderful bonding time just for me and him. Breastfeeding have many benefits, and it is a great help here -- as it helps to regain women's figure faster and more easily than if any women would retort early on to bottle-feeding. The photograph on the right shows me in the last month of pregnancy. I was the fattest during that period, weighing as much as 76kg or more.

During my younger days, I am concerned about my weight. I want to look pretty. But I am not so concerned about my weight now -- I am just happy to see my baby being healthy, and that I can have good health too (so that I can have optimal energy to look after him). Losing weight (those extras weight that were put on during pregnancies) are just a matter of time. Those weights that were being put on are just natural body 'defense' to help the body to care for the baby (caring for baby needs lots of energy; and sometimes or rather, most of the time, I have to skip proper meal times -- to care for the baby's needs.). The photo on the left is me and my new baby, Isaac. I have definitely loss some weight -- the natural way of gaining and losing weight!