Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Links to FAQ’s
References and further reading for
the the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance FAQ’s
1. How long does it take to lose weight? How much weight will I lose?
For some women with systemic imbalances, it may take up to 4 weeks before noticing
any difference on the scale, but you should start noticing a difference in the way
your clothes fit after about 2 weeks on the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance.
Our intention is to help you create better health on all levels, and we don’t recommend
losing weight more quickly than approximately 1–2 pounds per week. We encourage
you to grant yourself enough time — remember, it took years to gain the weight,
so it may take a few months to take it off.
The amount of weight you lose is individual to you. The Personal Program for Weight
Loss Resistance is designed to help your body return to its most natural state of
metabolic balance, affording you greater energy, mobility, and overall wellness.
A healthful weight will naturally follow alongside that goal. The number of pounds
that each woman will lose depends on her individual health picture.
2. What foods do I have to cut out?
Rather than banishing any one food group, the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance
rests on a foundation of meals and snacks made from wholesome, minimally processed,
undamaged foods. For instance, we encourage you to obtain the majority of your carbohydrates
from nonstarchy vegetables, low-glycemic-index fruits, and whole grains and grain
substitutes (such as quinoa and buckwheat), rather than from refined grains and
baked goods. We suggest limiting sugar, alcohol, and caffeine, especially during
the healing phase, then using them in moderation to the best of one’s ability.
We help you identify and walk you through any special needs you may have or develop.
Depending on your core metabolic imbalance, you may do best to follow a gluten-free
diet, a dairy-free diet, or remove another food, if you discover that you have a
sensitivity to it.
But you will not be hungry — we promise! We provide a detailed shopping list and
menus, to further your efforts to incorporate healthy new choices as you go about
your busy work and home life. We have plenty of delicious recipes to share should
you need a little inspiration, and offer one-on-one telephone consultations with
our Wellness Coaches and Nurse-Educators for additional guidance and support.
3. Is this a family-friendly meal plan?
By all means, yes! We have thousands of mothers among our Personal Program Members
— and among our ranks here at Women to Women. We know what a challenge it can be
to feed a family each and every day, and the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance
is designed with mothers and busy, committed, and all highly functional women foremost
in mind.
The last thing you need as you embark on a program of wellness is a more complicated
life, so the recipes we offer use only wholesome, fresh foods that are delicious
and popular with everyone in the family.
We’ve also taken the time to carefully test each of our meal plan recipes on our
own families, to reassure you how easy they are, and readily adaptable to feeding
a few more or less at the table! We’ve kept the ingredient lists and the preparation
steps to a minimum, so you have time to create the health and balance you (and your
family) need and deserve.
4. Why so many eggs? Won’t this affect my cholesterol?
Fresh organic eggs are a superb source of protein, as well as vitamins, minerals,
and dietary cholesterol (mostly unsaturated fatty acids). These nutritional
elements are so important to a woman trying to balance her hormones, eliminate cravings,
and return to core metabolic balance and a healthy weight.
A woman’s body needs protein and cholesterol to carry out its everyday functions
and dial down hormonal swings — your hormones are synthesized from cholesterol as
the parent molecule. When deprived of cholesterol, the body may become more prone
to move toward crisis mode, where the liver begins producing more cholesterol than
is actually needed in order to have some on reserve. (To learn more about this,
read the truth about cholesterol and
fat).
It’s possible that eating a lot of eggs can affect your cholesterol, but not necessarily
in a bad way. Some studies show that diets high in eggs have no effect on cholesterol
and some show a mild increase. But others actually show a paradoxical effect,
where people eating more eggs per week had lower blood cholesterol levels
than those who ate fewer eggs per week! That’s because the extent to which serum
cholesterol levels are increased by eating dietary cholesterol varies from person
to person.
Before you subscribe to the egg-scare message, know that research does not show
a health risk when eggs are part of an overall healthy dietary pattern, such as
our fruit-and-vegetable-rich Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance or a Mediterranean-style
diet. If you have a history of high cholesterol and are worried about eating too
many eggs, you can always eliminate yolks and simply use egg whites to cut down
on cholesterol intake.
The debate about dietary cholesterol and heart disease has been ongoing for about
50 years! This has traditionally centered around the “diet-heart” hypothesis, which
linked a higher intake of dietary cholesterol with higher blood cholesterol levels.
The corollary was that eggs, being high in cholesterol, must also increase heart
disease risk. Yet on the whole, studies in the intervening decades since the hypothesis
was formulated do not support the contention that eating eggs is a risk factor for
heart disease.
We do, however, want to make note of the one subgroup showing an association between
higher egg consumption and elevated risk: people with diabetes. The mechanism for
this association remains unknown to date, but the evidence does suggest that limiting
consumption to about one egg per day is appropriate for persons with diabetes.
Apart from this subgroup, the data collected from the general population show no
evidence that daily egg consumption is associated with increased risk of heart disease.
What many of the studies have failed to account for were other aspects of diet that
predispose people towards disease. Once those important variables were given due
consideration — like whether or not there was plentiful fiber intake as well, or
whether a person regularly ate bacon with their eggs! — it seems there really is
insufficient evidence to justify the “egg scare” we endured for so many years.
At Women to Women, we subscribe to the growing appreciation that good health derives
from the overall pattern of wholesome diet. The American Heart Association’s
guidelines no longer include a recommendation to limit egg consumption — and (unless
you have diabetes) neither do ours!
5. Do I have to take the supplements or can I just follow the dietary changes?
The dietary guidelines in The Core Balance Diet certainly will help you
establish a firm nutritional foundation, upon which your body can generate greater
metabolic balance. But even the healthiest diet may fail to provide all of the required
micronutrients a woman’s body needs to carry out its daily functions. This is particularly
so for women attempting to regain metabolic balance, or during any period of intensive
or ongoing physical or emotional stress in our lives.
Unfortunately, even the freshest, best-looking foods in this day and age may be
harvested from nutrient-depleted soils and less than pristine waters. And though
they might look shiny and delicious, they may have been sprayed with pesticides
and transported and stored under conditions that caused their post-harvest micronutrient
content to dissipate, offering us less nutritional value today than they did even
20 years ago.
But while our food chain has changed dramatically in the past generation, our bodies
still require a robust, ready supply of micronutrients to carry out all their metabolic
functions. According to Berkeley Professor Bruce Ames, our standard diets of energy-rich
but micronutrient-poor, highly refined foods may be the cause of widespread vitamin
and mineral inadequacies. Professor Ames proposes that nutritional deficiencies
don’t necessarily affect our short-term survival, but will disrupt metabolic balance
in the long-term. Ames’s recent research explores how micronutrients may prevent
disease, malnutrition, and obesity.
The supplemental components of the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance are
carefully designed to fill in any nutrient gaps, so your body can quiet metabolic
disturbances and cultivate long-term health. And certain specific nutrients, including
B-complex vitamins, chromium, and vitamin D can greatly aid the body in shedding
toxic weight. To learn more, read our article on
key nutrients for healthy weight.
6. How should I use the WheySational shake as part of the program?
The shake is meant to be taken once per day as a metabolic and digestive booster.
It naturally supports healthy weight loss when used together with the Program’s
calorically contained diet and exercise plan. It also assists in reducing food cravings
and helps build lean muscle mass. A 60-day supply is included in your choice of
vanilla or chocolate. Use a shaker or blender for best results.
7. Why are so many women weight loss resistant, and how do I know I am weight loss
resistant? Should I see my doctor first?
Many women develop or have a preexisting systemic imbalance that makes losing weight
and maintaining weight loss nearly impossible, even when restricting calories and
exercising vigorously. If you’ve tried dieting and exercising for 2–4 weeks and
don’t yet feel a difference, or you’re not seeing a big enough difference in the
way you look and feel, you may be dealing with a core systemic imbalance that in
turn leads to weight loss resistance.We always encourage women to work with a practitioner
they can trust. And your healthcare provider should always be informed of any supplements
you are taking, as well as any weight loss program you are considering, so if you
would like to work with your practitioner before you start the Personal Program
for Weight Loss Resistance, this is certainly appropriate. When you’re ready to
get started, give us a call — we’re here to help, every step of the way.
8. How is this program different from other weight loss programs?
Most weight loss programs are “calories in – calories out” and lead women to yo-yo
dieting, unhealthy habits, and potentially long-term health issues. In addition,
there is often significant frustration and mental stress that comes along with this
type of dieting. Losing weight and keeping weight off in a healthy, sustainable
way is the foundation of the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance. Not only
do you attain your healthy weight, you have a diet and lifestyle plan that keeps
you healthy for good!
9. What if I have an imbalance in my thyroid or adrenal glands? Can I still lose
weight?
Poor function in either your thyroid or your adrenal glands makes it more difficult
to lose weight because of the effects both glands have on metabolism — and on each
other. Women with thyroid imbalance often also have an adrenal issue, because these
two glands work closely together to supply women with energy. Happily, supporting
one will usually help the other regain balance — and most of the recommendations
we offer in the Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance with Adrenal Support
are also thyroid supportive. If you have a known thyroid issue, there are some further
steps you can take to promote healthy thyroid function while on this program, and
we suggest you visit our Thyroid Health
section to learn more.
10. How does the program help if I have more than one systemic imbalance?
Weight loss resistance can be complicated, particularly if you have had underlying
health concerns that have gone unaddressed for a period of months or years. Our
weight loss profile is framed around specific signs and symptoms to guide you in
determining which primary imbalance you may be struggling with
hormonal, adrenal,
or neurotransmitter,
but there may be other health issues that are likewise promoting weight loss resistance,
such as digestive issues, systemic inflammation, or detoxification problems. Fortunately,
many systemic imbalances are synergistic — that is, they reinforce one another,
whether directly or indirectly — so taking steps to resolve one issue will help
with others. The Core Balance Diet book has information regarding other
imbalances that our Program does not directly address, and you can find more information
on healing systemic imbalances on our website, in our
Digestion and GI Health, Inflammation,
and Detoxification sections.
11. Where can I go to get the tests you recommend in your book The Core Balance
Diet?
The following laboratories offer a range of diagnostic testing, including the specific
functional test recommended in The Core Balance Diet. (These labs are also
listed in the book’s Appendix).
Many of the healthcare providers listed in the Institute of Functional Medicine’s practitioner database
have been trained in guiding patients through appropriate testing, diagnostic, and
treatment processes. It’s best to find a practitioner to work with you for a favorable
health outcome.
12. What are the benefits of joining the Personal Program?
Purchasing the Personal Program makes you much more than a customer to us — it makes
you a Member. Because you’re unique, we invest a lot in personalizing your Program
to your needs. You give back as part of our community, supporting our website and
publications.
As a Member of the Personal Program, you get many benefits, including:
- Personalized support: Delivered as you want — by phone, by e-mail,
or on-line via My Personal Program, our Members-only
section of the website.
- You’re in control: Want to adjust when or how often you’ll get
your automatic resupply? You can make changes on-line to suit your needs at
My Personal Program. Want to reorder a supplement? You can do that on-line,
too!
- Ironclad guarantee: Did the Program not give you the results you
expected? Our money-back guarantee has you covered — no questions asked.
- Easy for you: We’ve designed the Program so that you can start
wherever you’re most comfortable – with nutrition, exercise, detox, or stress reduction.
Start big or start small — the point is to start.
- Supplemental formulas: The Program is designed to meet your body’s
unique needs. You can modify your Program at any time with our special product formulations
designed to work synergistically with your Program.
- My Personal Program: Our Members-only section of the website features
a collection of tools Members have requested to enhance their Program experience.
Learn more about these tools.
- Convenient resupply so you never run out: We know how busy our
Members are, and that you don’t need another chore on your to-do list — like remembering
to re-order your supplements. That’s why we make it convenient for you. Each month,
or according to the schedule you design, you’ll receive your supplements automatically,
ensuring that you never run out. There’s never any purchase obligation, you can
cancel at any time, and you can modify your shipment schedule — it’s simple, convenient,
and easy for you.
To learn more about Personal Program membership benefits,
click here.
Overcome your personal obstacles to losing weight
with our NEW Personal Program
for Weight Loss Resistance
Nothing is more discouraging than not being able to lose weight no matter how hard
you try. If you've had it with traditional methods that don't work, you can find
real, lasting weight loss with our combination approach. Our Program helps you pinpoint
the physiological reasons that your body is resistant to losing weight and shows
you how to create the conditions for real, lasting weight loss.
Last Modified:
12/05/2011