One thing most overlook in working towards sustainable weight loss is the process of building healthier structure. Weight loss isn’t always about loss, but rather expansion. Let me teach you how.

Growing up, I saw many people attempt weight loss. Some succeeded, at least temporarily, but few paid attention to where the weight came from. Health was reduced to the number glaring back at them from the scale.

In those days, health was about weight loss, and weight loss was about all forms of “less.”

While both statements have some truth, they’re not the whole truth. This is why health can feel so confusing. It’s both partially true and incomplete—both this and the opposite of this.

Health is best lived at an optimal weight, but weight loss doesn’t always lead to health.

Likewise, weight loss often involves “less”—but not in the sense of restriction. Instead, it’s less in the way of expansion: less energy-draining foods, less resistance, less working against your body.

It might sound contradictory, as if I’m speaking out of both sides of my mouth. But when you begin to understand that it’s not one or the other—but a combination of what we do and what we’re working against—you start to make meaningful progress toward your goals.

At the end of the day, all goals align with the most critical element of health: the expansion and protection of energy. When you expand your energy, you create healthier structures, and healthier structures produce healthier functions.

This aligns with the biological principle that energy builds structure, and structure determines function.

In the context of weight loss, this means we should focus on building and maintaining healthy structures—like bone density, organ health, and muscle mass—rather than fixating on the number on the scale.

Your optimal weight is not just about reaching a specific number; it’s about achieving, retaining, and supporting a body made of healthy, resilient tissues. Don’t get so consumed by weight loss that you overlook the most critical aspect of achieving a healthy weight: the kind of tissue you’re losing in the process.

Listen to today’s podcast to learn why the structure of your body matters more than your weight—and how you can build a healthier structure for lasting health.

Listen to today's episode to learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/353.

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