Lose Weight the Right Way with TRA (The Right Approach)

Obesity is posing a growing threat to the health of the world population. In our country, 5 in 10 adult Malaysians are now rated overweight or obese under the guidelines issued by WHO. The global overweight (BMI>25) and obese (BMI>30) are estimated to be more than 1.1 billion, with more than 300 million (1/3) who are clinically obese (with chronic disease and disability due to obesity)

I'm more aware now that obese is indeed a serious issue as overweight people are at risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. I have been overweight since my childhood days and I realized this is probably due to the lifestyle my family of generations lived. Almost all my relatives from my dad's side are extremely overweight. I still remember we had lots and lots of food during our gatherings or even just having a casual dinner. And they are meat-lovers and veggie-haters!

I was never really health conscious or really cared about what I ate. Of course, I thought about losing weight as well (signed up for California Fitness for 2 yrs and now True Fitness for 2 yrs) Who doesn't want to achieve an ideal weight, right? It didn't really worked out as with the busy lifestyle and plus didn't really researched on the right way to gain ideal weight.

In Feb 2008, I joined this program TRA (The Right Approach) for better weight management and health. I know my health is at risk as I'm obese so I decided to embark on this programme. It proves to have changed my life! It has been almost 3 months after I finished the programme and I manage to lose weight healthily and still am losing weight. Food intake in my family have changed as well thanks to me being on this programme and insist that I must eat right and healthy. My mom is happy too as she also suffers from high-blood pressure, diabetes and high-cholestral. All this has definitely benefited me and my family :D I don't spend on going gym anymore but I exercise outdoors. It's much refreshing :)

I now lead a healthy lifestyle! Are you? Here is an article of the weight management programme I joined. It was on the Star on Sunday, July 12. I took the article from The Star Online. It's proven safe by HSA (Singapore Health Science Authority as it was first launched in Singapore)

Sunday July 12, 2009

The right approach

A three-pronged weight loss programme helps people lose weight by combining weight loss products, good nutrition and plenty of exercise.

IF you consider the countless weight loss programmes you can choose from, you may find it difficult to believe that the underlying philosophy of losing weight basically boils down to one equation: when you take in less calories than you spend, you have weight loss. It is that simple, says Nu Skin enterprises chief scientific officer and executive vice president Dr Joseph Y. Chang. But although everybody knows that, it is not easy to lose weight with our current lifestyles.

“I always find it ironic that people have to drive to the gym,” says Dr Chang. Indeed, as machines increasingly replace muscles (the way cars replace the need for any legwork), there seemed to be less reason to spend calories any more than we absolutely need to. And thanks to fast food and convenient mamak stalls, we are now blessed with more calories than we ever need.

With these in mind, Malaysian-born Dr Chang and his research team in the US came up with the The Right Approach (TRA) – a patented weight loss programme by Nu Skin Enterprises that combines supplements, nutrition management and exercise with an additional element: group support.

Available in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the weight loss programme has recently reached our shores.

“By bringing in TRA, we hope to provide Malaysians with a scientifically tested system to help them lose weight the healthy way,” he adds.

The reason we sometimes eat too much is our brains associate eating with sociable events, where we sit down with friends and family to eat and chat. And often, we eat more than we should, says Dr Chang.

Malaysian-born Dr Joseph Y. Chang and his research team in the US came up with the The Right Approach – a patented weight loss programme by that combines supplements, nutrition management and exercise with an additional element: group support. – AZMAN GHANI/The Star

That is why we need to retrain our brain to eat less and exercise more to achieve permanent weight loss, he explains.

People who go on TRA will be encouraged to exercise and practise portion control, where they can eat their normal diet, but half as much. On top of that, they could also take meal replacements to control their calorie intake and consume supplements to control carbohydrate cravings, absorb fat in the digestive tract, increase their body metabolism and burn fat.

To check their progress, they are encouraged to form small support groups that meet regularly.

A “TRA Consultant” will be assigned to monitor the groups’ progress or on a one-to-one basis. (The company conducts regular TRA consultant training for its distributors to educate them on The Right Approach to weight management – the Right Supplementation, Right Nutrition and Right Exercise.)

It may be difficult to do it on our own, but having a group that reminds you to eat healthily and exercise regularly makes it easier, says Dr Chang.

The problem with most diets is that when you are on it, you lose weight fast. The moment you stop, you put the weight back on. As Dr Chang put it, “it’s like a yo-yo”. That is why weight loss medications like laxatives that help people lose weight by losing water are, at best, temporary measures to reduce weight. With TRA, we place more importance in keeping the weight down, he says.

While he concurs that there is no best product for everybody, he cautions against some weight loss products that contain dangerous chemicals, some of which have been pulled off the shelves recently.

Our best protection against these dubious products is our common sense, says Dr Chang. Some of the questions you should ask are: does the product come from a reliable company? Has it been researched well? How exactly does the product work?

A rule of thumb is: if it sounds too good to be true, be careful. As nothing beats reduced calorie intake and exercise in weight loss, if you have to lose weight with the help of supplements or weight loss programmes, choose them carefully.

for more info do go to http://www.therightapproach.com/ and read the article on http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2009/7/12/health/4034714&sec=health