| Once upon a time, there was a myth floating around that said fat people were jolly. Surveys have since revealed the truth; overweight people are anything but jolly. Some might even say that they are down right frustrated by being overweight and not finding an easy, effective way to make excess weight go
away - thousands of dollars, hundreds of products, exhausting exercise, stomach clamps, intestinal resections, liposuction, medications, and so on but nothing has worked.
There is even a group trying to get obesity classified as a disease (presumably so insurance will cover the cost of medical treatments). Unfortunately, it is easy for most people to put weight on but getting it off and keeping it off can be a long, frustrating process. Reflexology, however, can make your process and your progress a little easier by supporting your body's optimal health potential.
Much research has been done in an attempt to determine what causes weight gain. Of course, the most obvious cause is consuming more calories than can be burned. That is why most "experts" say to eat less and exercise more. However, that prescription is not likely to work and does not work for most overweight people. So-called "fat" people may not be jolly but they desperately want to be (who doesn't?). One way to get "jolly" is to eat "comfort" foods that activate the pleasure centers of the brain. Physiologically, however, there is much more to the processes that make excessive eating difficult to control.
Recent studies have suggested that the more one weighs the more one's brain satiety centers become altered to compel one to eat more! That helps explain why using will power to eat less is quickly defeated. Insulin, it turns out, plays a role in one's state of satiety. The higher one's fat mass, the more insulin there is circulating in one's blood, which easily crosses the blood-brain barrier. Once in the brain, insulin stimulates dopamine-producing cells in the midbrain - dopamine being known as the "happy hormone," a key player in causing additions. In essence, your brain causes you to overeat, no matter how hard you try not to, so that an ever increasing pleasure state can be achieved through increased insulin levels triggered by more body fat.
To make matters worse, what you eat can also lead to overeating and unwanted body fat. Attempting to avoid common table sugar (sucrose), for example, by consuming products with high-fructose corn syrup as an alternative sweetener can undermine any effort to lose excess weight. High-fructose corn syrup has about the same amount of fructose as table sugar does but tends to be consumed in larger quantities per serving. Fructose is not regulated by insulin in the blood stream, as glucose is, but is instead processed in the liver. If the liver cannot process the fructose fast enough to be used by the body as sugar energy, the excess is converted into triglycerides (fat). High levels of triglycerides are believed to increase the risk of heart disease.
Fructose has another downside - it has been found to inhibit the satiety areas of the brain, which causes one to consume more food or high-fructose-containing products in an attempt to experience satiation. This is one reason that fructose consumption is suspected of contributing to obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Sugar alcohols, such as
maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and xylitol, used as alternative sweeteners, can be just as bad, if not worse than, fructose. In your attempt to cut down on "fattening" sugar, you are actually causing cravings that result in your consuming more of any food to finally feel satiated!
Anything that increases cortisol levels, such as stress, lack of sleep, improper exercise, and so on, can contribute to weight gain. When cortisol levels rise, insulin production is stimulated which, in turn, causes the body to produce sugar. This then triggers a craving for, you guessed it, more sugar and high carbohydrate foods! As noted above, insulin plays a major role in your cravings for comfort foods but realize that insulin is not the cause of excess weight gain. Lifestyle factors and thought patterns that have resulted in physiological changes and imbalances that trigger inappropriate insulin levels are what need to be addressed.
Reflexology can assist with bringing your body back into balance but you have to do your part as well. By utilizing various reflexology maps for the face, feet, hands, and ears and applying reflexology protocols, your body can be encouraged to reestablish its hormonal balance. Reflexology techniques induce relaxation, so your parasympathetic nervous system can counter balance the stress response and help you experience more restful, rejuvenating sleep. Specific reflex points for brain areas can be activated so your brain can function more harmoniously. Reflexology, when incorporated into your weight loss program, can support your desire to feel good and be "jolly" without excess body weight -
"It's A Whole Body Experience!"™
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