This is the fifth in a series of interviews with Fort Lauderdale health, fitness and medical experts on topics pertinent to the LGBTQ community. Fort Lauderdale’s Melissa Binkley is a nutrition expert, certified Holistic Health and Transformation Coach, and an inspirational speaker. Melissa is a graduate of The Ohio State University as well as The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a current student at HolisticMBA. Her web site, www.MelissaBinkley.com, was ranked one of the top 50 Health Coach Sites for 2013 by the Institute for Psychology of Eating. She has been featured nationwide on several radio shows and is a WEGO Health Activist Nominee and Runner-up. Known for her ability to transcend limiting beliefs, she uses several techniques that fuse science, whole brain learning, personal development, and the quantum field.
JACKSON: The population of the United States of America now holds the record for being the most overweight on earth. How do you explain this?
BINKLEY: Where do I begin?
The first culprit is the food system in the United States. The FDA and the USDA are broken systems. We have numerous food additives and ingredients that are approved for consumption in the USA that are banned in countries all over the world, all proven to cause diseases and obesity. People buy food in boxes and bags full of these toxic ingredients instead of buying whole, real food. Dairy and meats are chock full of antibiotics and hormones that are wrecking our own hormone systems and causing children to mature younger and quicker.
Sugar! People in the U.S. consume 150 to 175 pounds of sugar per year. In other words, people are consuming half a cup of sugar a day and most aren’t even aware of it.
Fast Food & Slow Movement. Many Americans sit all day in cars, at work or in front of the TV and they have slowed their movement. Not only do they NOT exercise, they are sedentary and the only thing fast in their lives is fast food! Fast food is not real food! We have forgotten how to use our stoves! The microwave and restaurants are the allies to our increasing waistlines.
Last, but not least, are GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms or foods), fat-free products, and artificial sugars.
JACKSON: There is a widespread misconception about fat content in our diet. Do fatty foods actually make us fat?
BINKLEY: No! Actually quite the opposite, fats will curb your cravings and keep you lean and healthy. The fat-free fad that gripped nutrition fanatics has given all fats a bad rap, especially saturated fats. Clients that I work with that have sugar and carb cravings are always deficient and lacking enough fat in their diet. Fats play many important roles in the body: they provide integrity to the cell wall, promote the body’s use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones. They are essential to brain function and for your hormones.
JACKSON: What is the daily balance between Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats that you generally recommend for a healthy adult?
BINKLEY: This is a tricky question! I don’t recommend a specific balance of protein, fats, and carbs to my clients. In my course, The 28 Day Secret: Health & Hormone Intensive, I teach intuitive eating and how to tap into your body’s specific needs. This is a much better way to gauge what each person needs in their specific diet. I used to have people ask for a diet plan they could follow and always discovered that eventually the “plan” would fail or they would fail.
This “failure” resulted from trying to do what works for someone else and not for themselves. Each person has a unique genetic makeup. Factors such as environment and lifestyle play a major role in determining a person’s dietary needs. For example, I eat a very high fat diet of nearly 40%, and lower carbs of 20 to 30% – that works efficiently for me. I feel great, stay lean and healthy. I know clients that would feel bogged down and sluggish with that much fat, but their bodies can handle 50% to 60% carbs. That many carbs would send me into a tail spin!
I recommend each person take the time to get to know their bodies and what works for them. This process is easier than it sounds and it will allow you to stay at your perfect level without every dieting or needing a plan. Once you can understand daily what your body is telling you it needs, you can create your own plan and menus and never have to worry about the daily balance.
JACKSON: Many people try to shed weight by embarking on low-calorie diets, basically not eating. Why does this strategy not work?
BINKLEY: I don’t believe in diets. The first three letters of the word diet are DIE. As a former fitness and figure competitor, I quickly learned that a calorie-restricted diet was the fastest way to put my whole system out of whack and destroy my body. Of course a low-calorie diet works in the beginning – anything new will work in the beginning – but eventually the body no longer responds and goes into starvation mode.
Once your body hits this stage only two things can happen:
You will “fall off the wagon” and immediately go back to where you were and gain back more weight than you originally had in the first place. You feel like a “failure” and begin the cycle again; OR
You will continue on the restrictive diet for years and eventually you notice that “nothing works.” No matter how little you eat or how much exercise you do, you will slowly gain weight and feel like there must be something wrong with you.
I personally hate the “health” and “fitness” magazines that all discuss these low-calorie diets 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men that are truly dangerous. I don’t count calories but if I had to guess I eat over 2,500 a day and more when I exercise!
Agenda health and fitness contributing editor PETER JACKSON is the owner of Push Fitness and Club One CrossFit and Inner G Yoga, all located in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions and comments at Info@PushFitnessFTL.com.
