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

Just how sick does the Pharmaceutical Industry want you to be?

I worked for 11 years in the pharmaceutical industry and I spent 11 years bribing doctors to prescribe the company's medicines... yes I actually bribed them.  It wasn't blatant bribing as I worked in marketing, but the reps would call me and ask if my product's budget could pay for a "new computer for Dr. So and So" or "A new set of shelves for such and such a department in such and such hospital".  I never did buy any shelves, but that's what went on the invoice, computers I bought many.

In fact, in most of my 11 years at one of the top pharmaceutical companies I was stunned at what the company was willing to do in order to sell drugs.  In the end, I left.

However, it still shocks me to see how accepting the public is of taking medicine.  Most people are looking for a quick fix to stop them feeling ill and in many cases I admit, the medicine is necessary. And please don't get me wrong, doctors and modern medicine are great when needed, but a lot is in your hands to avoid that necessity.

However, a conversation with my father last weekend made me realize just how hooked on medicines people really are.

Take my father for instance.  He's 73 years old, obese with type 2 diabetes, beginning of heart problems, diverticulitis, and a whole host of other problems related to the diabetes.  For example he just had cataract surgery.  Not long ago, I put him on the F.I.T Method and he lost a staggering 6.5k in 2 months and his blood sugar level returned to normal and his cholesterol reduced.  In just 2 months!

However, having had his diabetes specialist jumping for joy, and feeling well pleased with himself, he did what most people do in that situation... fall "off the wagon", he stopped doing the F.I.T. Method and went back to his old habits.  What happened?  Well he turned up here for a visit last week looking fatter than I have ever seen him and unable to walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath, not to mention the problems he had doing simple tasks such as putting his shoes on.

Pharmaceutical companies don't make cures
they make customers

When I asked him about the weight gain he got defensive, this is understandable but his defense was that his blood sugar level was stable and so was his cholesterol thanks to the medication he was taking.  And here is my point... the pharmaceutical industry WANTS YOU TO STAY AS SICK AS POSSIBLE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE... THAT'S HOW THEY MAKE MONEY!

I said this to my father and he looked at me in horror, he'd never thought of it like that.  What's more the majority of doctors prescribe medicines BECAUSE IT IS THE EASY THING TO DO... not to mention that they are visited by every rep of every pharmaceutical company and told endlessly about the benefits of this or that drug.  It is much easier to put a bandaid on something than to educate and prevent it happening.

However, from all this came something positive.  My brother, who used to be obese but has now lost loads of weight sat at the dinner table and said to our father, "It's a LIFESTYLE change Dad!  You have to make the change and incorporate it into your way of living!"  I was delighted, there was one disciple who'd learned the lesson!!!!!  Yes!!!!!  I'm sure you'll understand that my family gets pretty fed up with me preaching about healthy diets and healthy living, the importance of exercise, etc... They are more difficult to convince than my patients!

Yale School of Medicine has just released a study on a nuclear receptor called PPARgamma which when switched off could prevent obesity and diabetes... of course, it's by way of a magic pill.  The majority of weight problems are lifestyle related.  I often hear how someone has put on lots of weight during a pregnancy only to continue piling on the pounds afterwards, or people literally not realizing (or not wanting to realize) just how big they were getting.  It usually means that something happens in their lives that is a trigger to make them lose weight; not being able to do their seat belt up on a plane, or not being able to fit into the roller coaster car at the theme park, or an unflattering photo at a wedding... there are many triggers.  However, if your lifestyle got you fat... then you can change your lifestyle and reverse the effect - it really is that simple!

However, nowadays, most people look for the minimum effort quick fix... gastric band surgery, bariatric surgery, diet pills, liposuction, expensive treatments, fad diets... and so the list goes on.  Very few actually try the healthy eating and exercise route, people want instant results and instant gratification.  All of these "quick fixes" have dangerous side effects that are not worth the risk.  For me

the answer is clear; a healthy diet and regular exercise routine will not only help you find your perfect weight, but you will maintain it and prevent illness.

So, the choice is yours... do you overhaul your diet and lifestyle and live better for longer, or do you trust in magic pills that will keep you just alive so you can make lots of profits for the pharmaceutical industry?  The choice is yours, for you and your family.

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 

Slash your cancer risk

Being obese brings life threatening consequences, one of which is cancer.  Obesity caused by poor lifestyle choices such as diet are the cause of one in eight hospital admissions for women over the age of 50 according to information from a new study.

According to researchers  from the University of Oxford found that hospital admissions for women over 50 are commonly caused by issues related to obesity or being overweight, and that these issues accounted for roughly 2 million days in hospital a year in the UK.

This information has come to light from research that was part of the Million Women Study - one of the biggest health research projects currently being carried out in the UK.  The researchers found the information by looking at the diseases in women with a high body mass index (BMI) of more than 25, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

However, although these diseases are common with women over the age of 50 with a high BMI, the study found that most of the issues were to do with cancer.  Weight is one of the big risk factors for breast cancer, BUT it is also one of the few that can actually be altered.

Lead author, Gillian Reeves explains:

"A lot of the work I do is related to cancer.  A lot of the risk factors for breast cancer, in particular, you can't change.  In some sense, it is quite nice to think this is a modifiable risk factor - there is a lot to be gained by not putting on excess weight."

The Million Women Study estimates that the annual bill to the taxpayer by overweight or obese women over 50 and their hospital visits is around 598 million Euros based on one NHS bed costing 299€ per day.

This study has been running since 1996 and looks at changes in health of the whole population over time, looking at about a quarter of all the women in the UK between the ages of 50 and 64 with a total of 1.3 million women participating in the study.

36% of the participants were overweight, and roughly 18% were obese bringing the total of women with weight issues to 54% of the participants - this is just a few percent lower than the official figure of women in England with weight issues - 58%.

The hospital admissions for overweight women in relation to the health problems they were suffering were as follows:

• Cataract surgery = 45,000 admissions
• Gallbladder disease = 35,000 admissions
• Breast Cancer = 34,307 admissions
• Heart Disease = 32,483 admissions

The study has determined that weight was a major factor in both minor and major ailments.  Women
with a BMI over 25 were at a bigger risk for diabetes (74% of admissions) and knee replacements (66% of admissions), and one in five heart attacks were due to weight issues.  The study found that the more weight a woman gained the more likely she was to spend time in hospital and it also found that women with a BMI of higher than 25 were LESS likely to smoke or drink with meant that their health issues were due only to being overweight rather than due to other unhealthy habits.


So, choosing a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise will mean that your risk of serious health problems including cancer, will be far less than if you don't.  So remember this the next time you reach for a chocolate biscuit with your mid-morning coffee.

A healthy lifestyle really is easy to achieve.  There is so much information at your fingertips that will help you to make healthy choices - your body will thank you for it and so will the medical community.  The truth is, as I said 2 weeks ago, even with everything we know nowadays about what constitutes a healthy diet and the need for regular exercise, and we are STILL getting fatter and sicker, but what it really comes down to is what YOU choose to do.

Social Nutrition:  You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com