“Dieting[1] is an obsessive business,” says Clark Russell[2], “filled with false hope, humiliation, effort, self-consciousness, desire and to top it off, abject failure.”
The author of e-book The Fat Loss Puzzle[3], wrote it in response to his sisters chronic ill health as a result of failed multiple diets. They eventually led her to have gastric bypass surgery.
The premise is controversial, but if you have tried various diets and have found they haven’t worked for you – to make the decision to not diet is somewhat a relief.
“The preoccupation with scales, counting calories[4], counting points keeps you in a dependent state, precluding you from ever developing a healthy relationship with food and realising the true pleasure of eating,” he adds.
So why are diets so bad and how can you maintain or lose weight in any other fashion? We asked Clark for his top tips:
Why your diet hasn’t worked until now
NegativityThe mindset of the diet business is all about negativity; lose the weight, dump the fat, giving things up and controlling the fat demon.
Feeling guilty about the situation you find yourself in and the sense of deprivation that you need to endure in a futile attempt to rescue yourself from the despair and unhappiness with your body plays in to the hands of the diet companies; these feelings dont achieve anything and sooner or later youre going to rebel and the most obvious thing to do is binge as a way of asserting your mental freedom.
SEE ALSO:
The Most Amazing Weight Loss GIF[5]
Is Soup Really The Answer To Long Term Weight Loss?[6]
Root causeThe industry does not address the underlying causes of the upsets or unhappiness that lead you to reject your appearance and emotionally eat. Instead it tackles the symptom; your real or perceived extra pounds, the thing on which youve attributed your misery to.
Until you deal with the root of the problem, you will always find yourself in the cycle of weight gain, weight loss, then gain then lossjumping from one plan to another believing this time will be different and even returning to your old haunts where you previously had some success albeit temporary; sound familiar?
Junk food is junk foodTo make their diets more palatable, they lull people into a false sense of good nutrition, which negatively impacts hormones and neurotransmitters and damages gut flora as well as causing nutrient deficiencies, making you susceptible to cravings, overeating, weight rebound and the potential for many other health problems.
Diet foods including low fat foods and meal replacement shakes are also junk, but appear to be the opposite just because they may have a health halo attached to them.
Calories are kingSevere calorie restriction doesnt work as concluded by Mann in a landmark study[7]. When faced with a restricted calorie diet, your metabolism slows down to burn less calories as part of the metabolic adaptation mechanism.
In an attempt to preserve muscle and elevate metabolism, the right type and amount of exercise should be incorporated; the problem however is a lower propensity to exercise due to a behavioural adaptation; Redman et al[8].
Hence you wont keep your metabolism stoked up and you will regain the weight eventually when you are forced off the diet when the sense of deprivation, lack of nutrition (most diets are laden with nutrient deficient junk), slower metabolism and lack of exercise all conspire against you.
The body when in chemical balance runs on a small calorie deficit naturally.
End gameUsually the main idea is to focus on losing the weight as quick as possible; just like a garden that has to be maintained to prevent overgrowth, the same holds true for your weight. The other problem is your gut flora, hormones and brain chemicals will have been imbalanced in the process, leading to weight regain when you eventually cave in.
What do we need to do differently from the mainstream diets?
Health needs to be the primary goal with weight loss as an added bonus.
Eat nutrient dense foods (meats, fish and healthy fats) to improve gut health, hormone and neurotransmitter balance. Eat organic where possible and grass fed meats and dairy.Get your fibre mainly from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and NOT whole grains.Eat three meals a day, no snacking. Reset your leptin, a key weight loss hormone; I have a reset protocol in my eBook.Supplement with omega 3 fish oil, food state multivitamins, vitamin D and a probiotic.Eat probiotic foods.Avoiding foods you are intolerant to e.g. gluten, lactose.Avoid or limit inflammatory foods like refined vegetable oils, sugars, hydrogenated oils and fats, wheat and other grains, processed foods.Practice intense, short duration exercise e.g. sprints and weights.Manage stress e.g. meditation. Get enough sleep.Avoid medicines which damage your gut flora.Drink alcohol in moderation, preferably red wines.
No end gameYou have to look at the whole weight loss process as a journey; a journey that leads you to feel the way you may not have felt for years mentally and physically, that introduces you to foods and a style of eating that is enjoyable, healthy and fun to prepare.
The lure of quick weight loss programmes is strong and there is a temptation to “just get the weight off and then figure it out from there”. Unless there is a permanent lifestyle change, you will suffer weight rebound.
The eBook The Fat Loss Puzzle has a more detailed lifestyle plan.[9]
Also on HuffPost:
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References
- ^ “Dieting (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)
- ^ Clark Russell (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)
- ^ e-book The Fat Loss Puzzle (www.thefatlosspuzzle.com)
- ^ calories (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)
- ^ The Most Amazing Weight Loss GIF (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)
- ^ Is Soup Really The Answer To Long Term Weight Loss? (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk)
- ^ Mann in a landmark study (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ exercise due to a behavioural adaptation; Redman et al (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ The Fat Loss Puzzl (www.thefatlosspuzzle.com)
Resources:
[GET LIFE] 4 Tips for Fighting a Fat-Loss Plateau – Wellness … – Ebony
More often than not, people experience the dreaded fat loss plateau. I'm specifying fat-loss because, quite frankly, that's what we're often after, here a more lean, defined http://www.ebony.com/wellness-empowerment/get-life-4-tips-for-fighting-a-fat-loss-plateau-405
10 Sneaky Tips To Help You Lose Weight | Care2 Healthy Living
Many of us would love to lose those few extra pounds. The problem is that restricting what we are eating sounds difficult, and we aren't sure we'll be able to. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-sneaky-tips-to-help-you-lose-weight.html
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Setting intentions is a powerful thing. Then when you have that shiny new gym membership in hand, you feel like nothing stands between you and your goals to get in shape once and for all. Trouble is, lack of motivation, unpreparedness and busy schedules have a way of interfering with our plans. If you find […]
Does Anyone Know The Top Secret Fat Loss Secret Who Would Be Willing To Share It With An Overweight Teenager? I am a 15 year old, overweight girl. I hate it when people make fun of me because of my weight – it is so embarassing! I would like to know the top secret fat loss secret from someone who is willing to share it with me. I can’t afford to buy the book, or else I would. I’m desperate. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Any fat loss tips, too.
Thanks.
Go wheat free. No pasta, pizza, bread and so on. And no food after 7 p.m.
I know a woman who lost 60 pounds a month on it. She did nothing else!
and as for your book – go to a bookstore and browse it. Or go to amazon.com, find it and then click “search inside this book” – you will be able to read an extract.
What Are Some Good Ab Exercises? I’m really skinny and I really don’t have any fat in the abdomen area, but I’m trying to get my abs defined. A lot of the articles for ab exercises I’m seeing have things like “fat loss tips for great abs”. Since I don’t need to lose fat, I’m wondering if I need to do different kinds of exercises than what those articles are suggesting.
I’m also doing cardio exercises. Should I do ab exercises before or after I do cardio? Or should I do them at completely separate times?
They say so, because you do have fat on top of your abs, you just do not need to lose it anywhere else. Or little flab.
jogging is an excellent exercise because it let you tone throughout your whole body. If you want to tone in
specific areas, you should target them with exercises. If they are
your problem areas, they will be very difficult to tone. You will have
to work double on them. The best approach is this:
1. Lower/control your daily calorie intake (control for normal
weight, lower for overweight).
2. Run/jog to lower your overall body fat percentage.
3. Target your problem areas with exercises.
an excellent exercise, you can do it in front of your TV: sit on a
stool, and put your toes under something (piece of heavy furniture,
for example). In your hands hold a little dumbbell. Please, make sure
that it is not very heavy, start with one kilo, for example, or you
will damage your back and spine! Slowly move the upper part of your
body back, until it’s parallel with the ground. Stop for a second and
move it back to the sitting position. Repeat ten times. Every week add
to the number of repetitions. You will see the results in a week,
guaranteed! You will see or feel under the fat – if you have any – six
pack and muscles. Dumbbells do wonders. Much better than these
crunches – I came up to three hundreds and there was no results AT
ALL. With the dumbbells you will see it in a week.
Am I Doing Well On The First Day Of My Diet? Anything I Shouldn’t Eat And Any Tips? I’m 14 and I’m going on my very first diet so that I can lose belly fat for the summer. I’m doing exercise as well as watching what I eat and counting calories. I only plan to lose around 7 pounds, so I have 3 months. I was wondering if there’s anything I ate so far that I shouldn’t of ate and what I should avoid eating in the future? Also does anyone have any belly fat loss tips?
SunBest Fruit Biscuits Apples & Raisins – 168 cal.
1 whole wheat flour tortilla with half a cup of refried beans – 240 cal.
1 cup of cheerios and half a cup of organic whole milk – 175 cal.
1 cup of split pea soup – 160 cal.
So that all comes to around 745 calories. I haven’t had dinner or a midnight snack yet, so I know that by the time the day is over I’ll have eaten at least 1100 calories.
What Is Are Some Of Your Favorite Weight Loss Tips? What are some of your most succesfull weight loss tips?? I have my few that I live by, but I am looking for some tips on cutting down. Please only share different/ unique tips.
I know about all the common ones…. lots of water lots of rest six small meals etc.
thank you so much in advance!
Hi CollegeGirl
In my opinion, no weight loss tips are truly successful on their own. Lots of water is not necessarily a good way, because how much water a person needs depends on the BMI of the person. 6 small meals maybe hard at times, especially when you are stuck at school or office and have no chance to eat, and then you need to eat more when you have the chance. Well, dieting is a good way to lose weight, but then it is hard to stick to a diet. For example, something like this:
Breakfast:
2 egg, low fat Cheddar cheese omelette – 320 calories
2 slices wholemeal toast with thin smear butter – 200 calories
Large slice melon – 47 calories
Lunch:
Spicy Turkey Salad recipe – 304 calories
Snack:
Muesli or honey nut Health Bar “Sainsbury” – 180 calories
Dinner:
Baked potato with 100g “Heinz” baked beans &/or Cottage cheese if desired – 300 – 400 calories (350 average)
Large helping salad fruits &/or vegetables – 100 calories
Another weight loss tip is to do interval and turbulence exercise.
Turbulence Training is a fresh plan that requires finishing three 45-minute exercise sessions each week with marginal equipment. It is an increasingly trend-setting fitness plan with the intention of helping you in the reduction of weight.
Interval training is the fitness world’s equivalent of a visit to the in-laws. The shorter and more intense the visit, the better. An interval is a short period of exercise performed at a given intensity for a specific length of time. Each interval is separated from the next interval by a short rest or lighter activity. There are no strict rules on how long or how intense the interval must be, however, changing the interval length or intensity changes the way your body works and responds to exercise.
But people have a short willpower. It may be strong at the beginning but will eventually fade as time goes on- as they realize that going on a diet is not actually as easy as they think it is. Of course, the strength of willpower differs from one person to another. This is the reason why there are people who can actually maintain a diet and exercise program for 1 year and there are people who can only maintain it for few months. Nonetheless, willpower is a big factor that dictates someone whether to continue losing weight or not.
And in my opinion, besides sticking to a diet and exercise plan, it is the ultimate willpower to stop yourself from overeating that is the #1 tip to lose weight. But that is the hardest part if you are accustomed to eating lots of food even though your body does not need it. It is partly because of the delicious taste of the food causing a craving for more. There are certain ways to fight this craving ad I found one that maybe helpful. It is a type of chocolate that can actually suppress your appetite. It will can provide Good Energy that promotes a healthy weight by providing energy while burning fat. And it helps suppress cravings for sugary snacks.
Good luck!
PS: Information on the Special Chocolate that I mentioned can be found on the website in the source box. Recently, they are giving away a one month free trial.
How Should I Train For Cross Country Running And Loose Weight?? I am overweight and want to start cross country in fall (end of august/ begining of sept. so 4-5 months) I can’t run for more than 300-600 feet at a time and need to build up to the 3 mile (5K). I need training tips and weight-loss/ fat loss tips. Any help is appriciated!!!!
Dani, I know you answered my other question. I was trying to get a variety of answers.
The best thing would be to start jogging now. Start at a managable pace and go for as long as you can. You just have to build up to it. When I started running I could only do a mile, after a while of doing that and gradually adding more distance, I got up to 4 miles. As far as weightloss – cardio is the best way, so stick to the running. Try a stationary bike if you can’t get outside much, but cycling on a stationary and running are completely different, so you definitely want to train with running.
Does Anyone Have Any Quick Fat Loss Tips? Been working out and dieting for some time now and have lost a great deal of weight. i am now starting to stall and it is getting harder and harder to loose weight. looking for some help in changing my routine and diet. any quick fat loss tips would be appreciated.
You may find this helpfull. No matter how much I try to control my weight it does not work, however there was one time in my life that without rying and without realising I suddenly lost 4 stone. It was a time when I was suffering back pain and could hardly walk. Being alone in the house I tried to make things easy as far as food was concerned. I had a microwave on the floor and all I ate for a few months was tinned soup, various types, nothing else, no bread. It was so easy, just open the tin, pour it into a dish and then in the microwave. Amazingly I lost 4 stone in about 4 months. I have never been able to achieve that by dieting.