Maybe it is not your fault. Every year, men and women are in a constant battle of the bulge. But what is the secret to shedding the unwanted fat? Is it the fat? Or is it something else?

In this article, I will discuss the problem of weight loss by addressing the toxicity in your gut, particularly mucoid plaque.

Let's face it. The weight loss industry is big business for health food stores, networking marketing nutrition companies, weight loss centers like Jenny Craig, and private health clubs.

But what is it that you are trying to lose? The fat? Or the plaque?

It is a fact of life that eating less and exercising more will promote weight loss. Is there something more than just the fat itself? There is! It is called mucoid plaque.

Dr. Richard Anderson, a naturopath, coined the term "mucoid plaque" to refer to the layers upon layers of mucous-like substance along with the presence of rotting food that line the inside surface of the gastrointestinal tract.

It is the degrading of food in our gut that contributes to the presence of intraintestinal parasites, slowing down of peristalsis, and the lowering of internal body pH. Most of this rotting food is due to the ingestion of highly processed foods such as table sugar, table salt, fried foods, and foods that are canned, pickled, frozen, cooked, or chemically altered such that our cells can not uptake nutrients in their original natural form.

Mucoid plaque grows continuously whenever we eat these kinds of foods. It also contributes to the pounds we are so desperate to lose on the bathroom scale. Many times, these rotten foods do not get defecated through the "back door" but rather stick to the mucous lining and get lodged there for the long term. It is this part of your feces that smells the worst whenever it IS eliminated from the intestinal tract and into the toilet.

It is not uncommon for people who carry this mucoid substance in their guts to have health problems that include: obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, leaky gut syndrome, headaches, nausea, lethargy, diarrhea, osteoarthritis, and so on.

This toxic substance is really a poison to our bodies because if mucoid plaque is not eliminated, the toxicities in this substance are reabsorbed back into our bloodstream giving rise to the symptoms that were discussed.

Have you have ever observed people whose body structure includes a very obese abdomen but a very thin chest, arms and legs in comparison? In other words, they have abdominal obesity but not thoracic or extremities obesity? These are the men who have big "beer" bellies and the women who have that double-spare tire look....a spare tire above the belt line and a spare tire below the belt line.

I guarantee you that none of these has anything to do with drinking beer. Although it can be, most of the time it is due to their consumption of processed foods that stick to their guts. Processed foods stick like glue along with the mucous like product produced by the cells that line our intestinal tract to protect the integrity of the tract against the presence of these foods.

It is mucoid plaque that also blocks the outflow of lymph nodes that line the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. What happens here? Lymph system is responsible for picking up cellular debris, carrying it through the lymphatic system and dumping this waste into the GI tract. If mucoid plaque prevents this from happening, the lymphatic system backs up with cellular waste no where to go or go elsewhere in the body.

Globally, this results in toxic waste having to leave via the skin, which explains why obese people have massive body odors, and via the lungs, which explains why they have bad breath.

How can we get rid of mucoid plaque?

First of all, one must change his diet. The person seeking ultimate weight loss much start eating the right foods. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, and high fiber products. He/she must eliminate all processed foods. Sorry, guys. That means no more Big Macs or Whoppers anymore because meats have a tendency to stick to the GI tract since meat is chemically altered once it is cooked.

I recommend that you should fast from all solid foods for a week and start doing a juicing diet. Start making fruit shakes instead of eating the fruit. Here is why. By juicing your fruits and/or vegetables, you make juices more readily available to the cells of your GI tract. This is very important especially for intestinal cells that are smothered over by layers of dense, putrid mucoid plaque, and only fluids and not solids can reach the inner depths of this garbage dump.

Once these cells become rejuvenated by the nutrients in the shake, they will develop some energy if not enough to undergo peristalsis, the natural undulating movement that bowels do in order to move food through the GI tract.

Sometimes, doing a week long fast by doing the juicing method is not enough. You also have to do some exercise. Yes! I know! All you couch potatoes have been avoiding this as much as possible. But you need to exercise.

Specifically, you want to do abdominal exercises such as abdominal crunches, reverse crunches, and butterfly crunches. You also want to do some back lifts as well. What these exercises do is not only strengthen the rectus abdominus muscles but also massage the GI tract in such a way that any sticky plaque will be dislodged from the inside surface. Believe me it works. Do not be surprised if you have the sudden urge to go to the toilet immediately after having done only 30 abdominal crunches.

Try doing about 100 to 300 abdominal exercises on a daily basis to help further massage the GI tract. These exercises will cause an increase in the intra-abdominal pressure which in turn will put pressure on the GI tract to help push the old mucoid plaque through. I have had a patient who reportedly lost 8 pounds in one week by doing 500 abdominal exercises every day!

When you get to the toilet, you will notice how stinky this mucoid feces is. Sometimes it will take the shape of your intestines and will come out in one huge long piece of poop! Believe me. The smell of this will gross you out. But at least you are getting rid of it! With the smell this bad, you do NOT want to be smoking in the bathroom while you are sitting on the throne.

After going through a week long cleanse, you will notice that you are breathing better, and your waistline will give you that feeling of "emptiness" in your abdomen. The lack of presence of mucoid plaque in your gut will allow the diaphragm that divides the abdominal cavity from the thoracic cavity to contract better upon inhalation and to relax better on exhalation. You will also notice that you will be able to tighten your belt a notch or two.

A weeklong cleanse of mucoid plaque might NOT be enough for some people. You might have to fast from solid foods for more than just a week. Morbidly obese people will have to do a longer fast because of all the years of caked-on processed foods he/she is carrying in their gut.

Once mucoid plaque is removed, the lymph nodes that line the gut are now free to dump their cellular waste in the gut, and edema buildup in the peripheral tissues such as the skin will resorb itself through time.

If you plan to lose weight, lose the weight in your gut first and the "fat" weight will go easily.

Not everybody that is obese or overweight will be able to fix their weight problem right away. Some people have other issues such as hypothyroidism. Always check with your health care provider before undergoing any fasting or exercise program.

Hope these wellness concepts will work for you. Lose weight and feel great!