THERE is a rising pandemic, an emerging and growing (no pun intended) worldwide disease, obesity, and Jamaica has not been exempted.

Current figures place Jamaica’s obesity rate at over 25 per cent of our population, and it is increasing at a rate of one per cent each year.

We need to remember that obesity rates do not only include the less than obese, but overweight, “skinny fat” individuals who appear “normal-sized” but whose body fat percentage or fat type put them in a high-risk bracket. It also takes being poorly nourished into account.

Each of these categories is growing in our nation and have left adults and even children vulnerable to allergies, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, amputations, digestive issues, infertility, cancers, stroke, depression, dementia, autoimmune diseases, joint pains/problems, and more. Sadly, this is why, nowadays, almost everyone knows someone affected by one or more of these afflictions. Even people who believed that they were “eating well”.

Of course, most people know the solution, eat less, move more, cut down on processed foods including fast foods and comfort foods, processed meats, refined flour and sugar, increase natural foods, vegetables, fruit, and fibre.

All diets employ one or more of these factors. Any balanced or unbalanced diet or fad you have ever heard of, or will hear of, can accomplish weight loss.

Is it that simple? Eighty-five to 95 per cent of dieters fail to lose or to maintain the fat loss, including the recipients of gastric modification surgeries.

This is where the Intekai (ITK) weight management system comes in.

ITK’s founders have had, and continue to have, their personal weight struggles, and increasingly understand that wellness change is a lifetime mindset change that goes deeper than any diet.

At the core of ITK, the original and revolutionary fat-burning tool, is the ITK wave algorithm, which is created around a set of equations designed to match or better weight loss with surgery once adhered to.

The wave algorithm maintains maximum muscle mass while promoting fat loss. Intekai wave minimises plateauing, avoids persistent metabolic adaptation and stimulates healthy cell regeneration. This is game-changing and continues to drive the fat loss engine of ITK.

Over time, it has become clear that fat loss is only scratching the surface of the solution, and a healthy lifestyle, the proper mindset and scientifically proven knowledge with available support and answerability are all required for change.

Intekai incorporates three phases:

1. The ITK Wave Fat Loss Phase, driven by the ITK wave algorithm. The ITK wave is specifically designed to be an improvement on gastric surgery options, taking, analysing and calculating data collected from each member weekly, producing a meal assignment individually designed to promote fat loss with minimum muscle loss and plateauing, while specifically avoiding the metabolic trauma common to diets worldwide.

2. The Short-Term Maintenance Phase, creating a “safe negative dieting state”, preventing the common rebounding with weight loss.

3. The Long-Term Maintenance Phase, driving the support and direction needed to build new rituals, create new mindsets and new habits, making your new life sustainable with whichever general food type choices you prefer.

Proper, safe and proven nutritional systems are integrated into the ITK lifestyle. Of course, members can chose the one they wish to participate in, based on their comfort levels. The system includes:

•ITK raw food challenge/raw food Friday;

•ITK meatless options;

•ITK gut reconditioning (microbiome/gut bacterial health building);

•ITK flour and sugar free/reduced (habit changing);

•Workout advice and programme planning on request;

•Balancing Blue Zone allowances (the healthiest places in the world);

•ITK autophagy wave (includes partial and periodic fasting).

Once you start with Intekai, it will change and improve your life. Fighting socialisation, habits, addictions, and old mindsets will take members out of their comfort zones and towards active health.

Naturally, in some cases, working towards these improvements will create pushback, justifications and excuses seen in addiction. But ITK does not measure failures. Always reach out and there is always support available.

ITK is non-judgemental and inclusive and judges success. Members who adhere and embrace each phase, each week, each day, each change, have stories like:

“ITK has been an answer to my prayers. The journey has been great. Support team super. I have been guided and taught in a guilt-free environment that has aided in my pressing along to meet my objectives. So interactive, it facilitated my personal input and food preferences. My health profiles have returned to normal levels. It’s now a pleasure to go to my clothes closet. Oh so fabulous with so many choices. I am very satisfied with my weight loss. ITK is a life changer.”

— Rosene G, maintenance member, lost 26 pounds on the wave

“As an ITKarian, I have healthy, portioned and controlled meals every day. I have been an ITKarian for 3+ months and I have lost 24 pounds and dropped a dress size. ITK is a lifestyle. I love it.”

— Nadine L, wave member

“So, I ‘survived’ my first holiday as an ITKarian. It really wasn’t bad… In fact, I would easily replace the word survive with thrive. Here are a few lessons that I have learned and a few thoughts and suggestions:

“1. If you let people know ahead of time about your dietary limitations, they are often willing to accommodate. I told my wife’s family that I couldn’t eat the sweets or the high starch sides. They were quite happy to prepare green beans and plain sweet potato for my sides. Left the stuffing rolls and high sugar sweet potato casserole to everyone else.

“2. Some people poked fun at me, but it was okay. I didn’t really care because at the end of the day, they realised that they don’t have the discipline that I have to improve my health and would not see the results that I see because they’re not willing to do what I do.

“3. Preparing my own food helped with controlling the ingredients and making sure that I could keep it as healthy as possible. There are a lot of healthy recipes out there that taste just as good as the high fat, high sugar stuff.

“4. Saving my pie for the morning is great. Sweet stuff doesn’t taste as delicious anymore, so only pumpkin pie was of interest to me.

“5. I love routine, my body loves routine. After the first day, my body wanted to go back on schedule. This actually served as a major deterrent to slide out of my diet.” —

Gregory M, wave member, lost 31 pounds so far

“ITK has really changed my outlook on food and being healthy. It has taught me how to balance and make healthy decisions, even when meal prep cannot be done. The team has really been supportive and the level of accountability required really keeps me in check. I have lost 10 pounds since I’ve been doing ITK and I’ve been successfully maintaining.

“Yes, it definitely has to do with my choices. I don’t even like rice anymore or white bread. The other day I had fried shrimp with steamed vegetables instead of fries.” —

Kimberly M, maintenance member

There are no shortcuts to a healthy life, any diet can change weight for a day, monthly or a couple of years, Intekai once adhered to will change your life.

You can’t control the tragic effects of poor choices and habits, but you can control making good choices today and avoiding the effects altogether. Take control today, don’t stay the same, don’t just change your weight, change your future and change your life.

Fitz-George Rattray is the director of Intekai Academy, which is focused on helping people live a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and weight management. If you are interested in losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, give them a call at 876-863-5923, or visit their website at intekaiacademy.org