Well, to start with, the average canadian/north american has no idea what a colorie is and is also under the impression that eating fatty foods will make you fat as well as eating too many calories. While this may be true if you believe that all calories are equal, those that really research it will find that this is just not true. I made the point that in most cases, people that are TRYING to lose weight automatically try to eat less and restrict fat intake as well. Two things happen when you go about trying to lose weight this way. . lets make that 3:)
1. you lose muscle mass
2. you kill your metabolism.
3. you get depressed when you hit the weight goal and actually look worse than you did in the beginning.
Without enough calories and protein as well as sufficient fat (oh no! not fat!) in the diet, a person will definitely lose weight for a time but eventually, their weight will plateau and they will need to restrict themselves even more. So this begs the question: where do you go when your calories hit sub 1000 per day? That is basically starvation and the person will cave in and go on a binge sooner than later. If you follow the popular low fat, higher carb diets this will happen even faster as your insulin levels go crazy after every meal and you have hypoglycemic attacks and your hormones propel you to the fridge. Once a person starts on that road, it is "hello new skinnyfat body!" (skinnyfat is a term used by those in the diet and fitness industry to describe a person that has decimated their lean muscle stores and decreased their body weight but their bodyfat % has actually increased!)
How do I know this? Because I see it day in and day out at my office. No studies needed here. .I think I should put a camera in my office and let all my clients know about it. Then I could take the clips and put them all together for a big long video of people saying "but I love my potato's!" and, "I have tried all the "diets" and none of them work" etc. etc. . .the best ever is when they tell me they hit some weight loss goal (usually doing some popular diet system like la wallet loss) and then they look in the mirror and get even more depressed about what they look like. It is like taking a big apple and shrinking it down to a smaller size. .but the apple shape remains.
If the person actually went and spent a moderate amount of money (vs the mountains spent on popular diets out there) on a well educated and EXPERIENCED nutritionist, they would learn how to eat properly and step off the "starve and then binge" bandwagon. . .not to mention the fact that some people need to see someone on a regular basis to keep them ACCOUNTABLE for what they are or are not doing in terms of nutrition! Even someone seeing me for 6 months will fall off the wagon after not seeing me for a month or two if they have not really made that "Lifestyle" change for real. This is true even of those people that have dropped significant bodyfat and increased lean mass. They look and feel better than they have in years. .but old habits die hard and as more and more studies are coming out on the addictive qualities of carbohydrates, this is not surprising.
Increasing lean mass (muscle) and decreasing bodyfat percentage is not as hard as it is made out to be. .but people are just looking for a quick fix. . .just like with everything else these days. . .now, now, now. . .I need it now! If you truly want to lose weight and are actually READY to change your way of eating, you will do so and get great results. The fact remains however that most people just are not ready for this. Statements like, "This has got to be easy or I won't be able to do it" is a sure sign of a person who is not going to make any changes.
Often these same people come to me after doing multiple loss/gain cycles on a multitude of different "diets" and get really disappointed when I tell them it will take 6-12 months of consistently eating "real" food (greens, protein, fats and oils) and limiting their incredible carb intake (what I lovingly refer to as "Turbo fuel.")
Well, back to the calorie counts. . .nobody is forcing someone to eat out. .and it is crazy expensive as well. So that in itself should be enough to get people to realise that they need to take responsibility (uh oh, nobody wants that!) instead of pointing at fast food chains and saying it is their fault. . .haha, its always "someone elses fault" and when we realize this assumption is not true and the ownus is on us 100% of the time to get educated (not by newspapers and sensational media) and truly take control of what we put in our mouths, then we will see less obesity and more people being healthy and fit for a longer portion of their lives.
hmmm, I am going to try that new macdonalds big mac wrap next time I am there. . .yes, there is even room for macdonalds on occasion if you know what you are doing;)
Yours in health and wellness:)
Eric
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