Diets don't work.

Yes, that's right, diets don't work.  Now, that doesn't mean you shouldn't change the way you eat.

Let's start off with the concept of a "diet".  Your diet is actually the WAY you eat - not just a weight loss program.  However most of us associate the word "diet" with eating a lot less and basically lettuce and grilled chicken.  Severe calorie restriction and avoiding all those foods that we enjoy is a recipe for disaster.

If you want to lose weight there are several things you will need to do, but the main one is to:

MAKE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE

The majority of people who decide they need to lose weight follow the following steps:

1. Go on a calorie restricted diet
2. Lose weight
3. Stop the diet because they have reached their weight loss goal
4. Put the weight back on again... and then some.

Sound familiar?

Consider this:  If the way you ate before the diet made you put on weight, going on a calorie
restricted diet will help you (in some cases) to lose that weight.  So you then think YIPEEE! I can stop the diet, and you then start eating the way you did before.  Yes, the way that made you gain weight to start with... So if it made you gain weight in the beginning, why wouldn't it do the same again?

The few people who manage to lose weight and keep it off is due to not only changing their diet but changing their lifestyle as well.  A change in eating habits that permit you to lose weight is a longterm change, not just a quick fix. 

First you need to sit down and analyze exactly what you eat and what healthy habits you have in your life - if any.  Now, you need to be brutally honest with yourself.  My suggestion here is to keep a food diary for a week or two.  Write down EVERYTHING you eat or drink EVERY day and at the very moment you eat or drink something.  Don't wait to write it all down at the end of the day - you simply won't remember everything.

Once you have completed your diary you can analyze the types of foods you are eating.  We know for a fact that refined carbs (sugar, pasta, white bread and white rice), and root vegetables make us put on weight, also processed foods and junk foods.  So you can see where you are making the wrong food choices.

Ask yourself WHY you ate that McDonald's meal on Thursday evening, for example.  Or WHY you ate that packet of biscuits.  Do you eat when you are stressed?  Do you eat when you are emotional?  Bored?  Knowing your state of mind when you eat something you know you shouldn't is very important and will help you to make healthier choices in the future.  So, when you are reaching for the family sized chocolate bar in the cupboard, ask yourself why you want to eat that.  

Do you feel guilty after eating something you know is fattening?  If you do, then the next time you are heading for the biscuit tin, ask yourself if you are going to feel guilty afterwards, is it really worth it?

If you ask yourself pertinent questions, you can also find healthier solutions.  Am I eating from boredom?  What can I do to stop myself feeling bored?  How about reading a book or better still going outside in the fresh air for a brisk walk or a run?  

When eating healthy food, visualize what those healthy nutrients are doing to your mind and body.  Enjoy the knowledge that you are giving your body what it needs and, in time, those healthy foods will become what you crave.  

Have patience.  Sustained weight loss should happen over time.  Each person loses weight at their own pace, no matter what they do.  I have had patients drop 6 kg in 18 days, and other lose 1.5 kg per month... it all depends.  So, bear in mind you won't know how you are going to lose weight until you try, so don't get frustrated and give up if you aren't losing weight at the pace you'd like.  Your body will dictate that.  

Exercise is very important.  Not only for the body but for the mind too.  Find a sport or activity that you enjoy and look forward to doing.  If you can find people to join in with you then all the better.  If you have arranged to meet someone to go for a walk or run, you are more likely to go.  Exercise also helps with stress levels.  High stress levels means high levels of cortisone which leads to weight gain, so try something that will help you to de-stress.  Everyone is different, I like to run, a friend of mine likes to do high adrenalin workouts at the gym... it's up to you.

However, none of these changes will work if you don't incorporate them into your life as a part of it. 

1. Find a healthy eating plan that works for you - my suggestion is almost always a low carb diet with lots of vegetables.
2. Find a sport or activity that you enjoy.
3. Make this a long term project.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

The science behind fasting

It should be a well known fact that our bodies were designed for famine and not for abundance.  As you well know from reading this blog, our digestive systems have not changed in over 10,000 years.

10,000 years ago life was a lot different than it is now.  Humans were known as hunter-gatherers, in other words, they lived off what foods they could gather - fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.  Every now and again they might be lucky enough to catch an animal.  Catching an animal also meant "feasting" as they would have had to eat it as quickly as possible as there was no way of preserving it.

However, nowadays we live - in the Western World at least, in a time of abundance.  Food is constantly available to us 24/7, and most of it isn't healthy.  Anything labeled a "convenience" food or anything that has been processed isn't just feasting... it's DANGEROUS.

Unfortunately, we know very little about our ancestors' health problems - if they had any at all.  They were most probably eaten by wild animals or died from being hit by a rock then to actually experience disease.  However, we do know a lot more nowadays about aging and disease and how to make ourselves healthier to avoid disease.

We know that being obese or overweight increases the risk of suffering from metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and heart disease.

There is also a huge food industry that is consistently bombarding us with advertisements
encouraging us to pour vast amounts of sugar and salt into our bodies and that GMO produce is "good" for us.

There is also a huge "diet" industry - most of which belongs to the aforementioned food industry, that tells us that low fat is good for us, that high carb diets are also good for us, and what the latest diet fad is.

If we focus on the fact that natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and animal protein are good for us, and combine that with the vast amount of knowledge we have acquired over the past couple of decades - then surely we can come up with a diet that can be very "user friendly" and not just promote weight loss but also promote better health.

Dr. Michael Mosley has done just that.  The Fast Diet, also known as the 5:2 diet is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of combining anti-aging information with food.

Dr. Mosley has spoken with a number of scientists who are analyzing the way our bodies react to aging and to other environmental factors, and how changing those environmental factors can also improve how we age.

Having read his book, "The Fast Diet" and seen the documentary he produced for the BBC, I was fascinated.  However, there was one piece of information that really got me hooked.  Michael Mosley traveled to the USA and spoke to Dr. Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California's Longevity Institute.  Dr. Longo is passionate about the science of fasting.  The reason why he feels the way he does is that his research, and that of many others also, has shown the amazing range of measurable health benefits acquired from fasting.  Going without food for even quite short periods of time switches on a number of repair genes which, as Dr. Longo explained, can provide some longterm benefits:

"There is a lot of initial evidence to suggest that temporary periodic fasting can induce changes that can be beneficial against aging and disease.  You take a person, you fast them, after 24 hours everything is revolutionized.  And even if you took a cocktail of drugs, very potent drugs, you will never even get close to what fasting does.  The beauty of fasting is that it's all coordinated," Dr. Longo says.

It all comes down to the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).  IGF-1 is what makes your body's cells multiply continuously.  However, Valter has discovered that during fasting the body reduces the production of IGF-1 and instead of multiplying cells like crazy, the body begins to repair damaged areas.  When you are young and growing, you need adequate levels of IGF-1 and other growth factors, however, high levels in later life appear to lead to accelerated aging and cancer.

There is a vast history of fasting in many cultures - this is not something new.  There are cultures that fast for long periods of time.  However, for many of us in our abundance orientated world are horrified at the prospect of skipping a single meal.

"I've been so busy today I didn't even have time for lunch!" we frequently hear.

What we need to do is to change our way of thinking.  The Fast Diet makes fasting easy; 5 days a week you eat normally and the other 2 days you severely restrict your calories to 600Kcal/day for men and 500Kcal/day for women.  Michael Mosley found this idea much easier to work with than say fasting for 4 days every 2-3 months or even alternate day fasting.

The 2 fasting days do not have to be consecutive, they can be whichever days you choose.  You can work them into your diary so it works for you.  You can have all your calories in one meal or you can have two smaller meals (breakfast and dinner).  But the idea is to go for as long as possible between meals.  The Fast Diet has proved to be a good weight loss plan, BUT also has the added benefits of improved health and reduced aging.

For more information you can visit the website: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

So what are you waiting for?

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com