The Truth About Weight Loss

You already know there is a whole lot of information out there right now that is down right confusing. There are all kinds of diet plans and diet plan companies, some that have been around for over 30 years.
There are prescription drugs and over the counter products that "catch the fat", "burn the fat", and help the fat just "melt away". Yet, the percentage of overweight folks just keeps on skyrocketing!
In the early 1990's, a study revealed that when comparing the baby boom generation (those in the 55 – 64 age range) to their counterparts, there were 28% more overweight folks in the current generation than the previous one! Gee, I wonder why?
Just take a good look around you when you're out and about sometime. We have surpassed being a fast food society. There are a multitude of burger and fries places, pizza places, Italian to go, Starbucks with its 500 calorie coffees and those 24-hour Krispy Kremes!
There is something to eat on every corner when it used to be the joke that it was a bank or gas station. While the government continues to make changes to the food pyramid and food companies rush to stock grocery stores with low-carbohydrate and low-calorie foods, these places continue to proliferate our great nation.
Who are we really kidding? What is really happening here?
I mean WHO IS EATING ALL THAT STUFF?
It's not just the baby boomers struggling with their weight however. If you find yourself losing the battle, frustrated and confused…YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

On a recent trip to Ireland visiting a few of my famous friends, I made a shocking discovery while cruising the streets of Dublin. Europe was now becoming the next fast food haven. It was crazy!
Just 10 years ago in London, one would be hard pressed to find even the McDonald's. Here it was 2004 and I found myself telling Dubliners as we entered one well-known packed fast food place, "That stuff will kill you!" My famous friends not wanting to be embarrassed whisked me away.
I still noticed that as a whole, Europeans were in really good shape. I was hard pressed to find any grossly overweight person let alone someone at the obese level. Everyone looked good.
Maybe they had a better handle on their eating habits than we did. It was while rubbing my sore feet after an extensive day of touring that I realized why. They walked. They walked everywhere!
That's not to say folks didn't use cars or take the subways, they did. However, as on the whole they walked. In fact, since I was on vacation I had made a decision not to disallow myself any food I wanted.
Though I kept the portions reasonable, I ate bread, fresh Irish butter, dessert, and wine with dinner. I expected to gain about 5 pounds while on that trip.
I didn't have the time to do my regular light workouts so I really believed I would pay for my overindulgence. However, due to my discipline, I knew I would shed any weight gain quickly as soon as I got back.
When I got home and unpacked the first thing I did was hop on the scales to check the damage. I was totally shocked! I had actually LOST 9 pounds!

Now, clearly, I am not going to pretend to say that I never touch fast food. As much as I am admonishing it's strangle hold on our society, I believe it has its place. Just not as a staple of how we nourish ourselves.
I have learned that by making good choices about what foods and snacks to stock our homes with, we can significantly impact not just our weight but our overall health. I have also learned that these changes are easy and less expensive to make than eating junk food and hitting the drive-through everyday.
In this ebook, I am going to share with you how to do this for yourself and make a huge difference in your life. And, only YOU can decide how much of a difference you will make.
It all begins with why you are making a change. For most people, the reason to lose weight is to improve how they look. However, there are a lot of other reasons to lose the extra weight. For instance, if you are overweight you are:
􀂃 15% more likely to develop osteoarthritis
􀂃 72% more likely to have/develop hypertension (high blood pressure)
􀂃 50% more likely to develop/have erectile dysfunction (men)
􀂃 49% more likely to have high cholesterol counts
􀂃 20% more likely to die of a first heart attack
􀂃 65% on average more likely to develop certain kinds of cancer such as throat, stomach, colon, and of the kidneys.
􀂃 85% more likely to get gall and kidney stones
􀂃 350% more likely to get diabetes
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􀂃 20% more likely to have asthma and breathing difficulties
􀂃 20% more likely to have ovarian and cervix problems
If that were not enough, sports medical science has also shown overweight people are five times more likely to have bodily injuries from day to day activities and develop lower pain thresholds than their normal weight counterparts.
As you can see, gaining optimal health and normal weight is worth a lot more that just your looks. It will help to keep you from having many different illnesses, and even help you overcome many of the medical problems described above.
So what is your ultimate goal with my ebook? SUCCESS!
Yes, I want you to be successful this time. You have to want it too! Over the years, I have learned that to be successful at anything you must begin with the truth. Look at the facts. Begin at the bottom line.
I believe most folks struggle and ultimately fail at getting to their ideal weight because they don't understand how they gain the weight, what makes weight loss really happen, and are so full of misinformation, both consciously and subconsciously, that they seem to set themselves up for disappointment.
So I am going to share with you what are in my opinion the "truths" about weight loss. This way you can end some of the craziness that steals your focus and motivation.
First let's look at how many calories you really need per day to maintain a certain weight as an average with a minimum activity level. We will use the New England Medical Journal for our source.

Women
100 pounds 1200 calories/day
110 pounds 1200 calories/day
120 pounds 1200 calories/day
130 pounds 1300 calories/day
140 pounds 1400 calories/day
150 pounds 1500 calories/day
160 pounds 1600 calories/day
170 pounds 1700 calories/day
180 pounds 1800 calories/day
190 pounds 1900 calories/day
200 pounds 1900 calories/day
200 pounds + 2000 calories/day

Men
120 pounds 1500 calories/day
130 pounds 1500 calories/day
140 pounds 1600 calories/day
150 pounds 1700 calories/day
160 pounds 1800 calories/day
170 pounds 1900 calories/day
180 pounds 1900 calories/day
190 pounds 2000 calories/day
200 pounds 2000 calories/day
200 pounds + 2100 calories/day
Do you know how many calories you consume each day?
Truth Number 1: ALL DIETS do not work for ALL PEOPLE.
In fact, it is my belief that diets do not work period. A diet is something you start and finish which is why the people on them lose and regain their extra weight. Think about it, how could any ONE diet work for everyone?
It is impossible because every individual is different. People gain weight for different reasons and different components play a part in the weight loss process. For some it is a metabolic enhancement that is necessary, and for others simply cutting calories helps.
Some have radical surgery to lose weight. If you want permanent weight reduction you have to have a plan to follow. A plan to keep you going forward for life. A plan that is right for you!
Truth Number 2: You must create a caloric energy deficit to lose weight.
It doesn't matter which diet you're on whether it's low carb, no carb, or sugar free. It doesn't matter how many points you're counting, what zone, or beach you are dieting in. It doesn't matter one bit.
To lose weight you must have a caloric deficit. There are a number of ways to effect this "deficit" that you are all familiar with.
A. You can eat fewer calories on an ongoing and consistent basis. The keyword here is consistent.
B. You can exercise and burn off extra caloric energy to create the deficit.
C. You can enhance the creation of the caloric deficit by augmenting your diet with certain supplements and compounds.
D. You can "retrain" your metabolism to create the deficit for you.
E. You can add lean muscle to help you burn off fat when you are even just sleeping!
Remember our chart of calories above? By adding light physical activity to the weekly routine the average person can now consume the following amount of calories per day and stay the same weight!

Women No Activity Light Activity
100 pounds 1200 1600
110 pounds 1200 1600
120 pounds 1200 1700
130 pounds 1300 1700
140 pounds 1400 1800
150 pounds 1500 1800
160 pounds 1600 1900
170 pounds 1700 1900
180 pounds 1800 1900
190 pounds 1900 2000
200 pounds 1900 2100
200 pounds + 2000 2200
Men No Activity Light Activity
120 pounds 1500 2100
130 pounds 1500 2100
140 pounds 1600 2100
150 pounds 1700 2200
160 pounds 1800 2200
170 pounds 1900 2300
180 pounds 1900 2400
190 pounds 2000 2500
200 pounds 2000 2500
200 pounds + 2100 2600
You will notice that on average, as a person becomes leaner with just a light amount of activity, they can consume more calories without adding weight. Later in the ebook, I will detail what you can do to achieve this effect.
I ask that now you take a moment and think about what you consumed yesterday. Write it down. Then go and look at the labels of each food, assign the calories to your list, and add it up. Where does what you eat fall? Is there a clear connection for you in the amount of food you are eating and your weight?
Truth Number 3: Only consistent change over time will create and maintain results.
Once you understand why you have gained the weight and what will be necessary to take it off and keep it off, you must turn to building consistency in your actions. This ebook is going to help you do just that.
We are going to peer into every corner that contributes to your weight gain. We are going to remove the pillars of habit that hold that weight in place.
We are going to create a new floor. As with all construction we must first look at the foundation. The foundation to weight gain and loss is FOOD.
More than just food, however, it is necessary to look at and understand the components of the food you eat that is contributing to your weight gain. The first component we will look at is in many foods and is the root of a lot of your troubles. It is SUGAR.
Now some sugars are certainly necessary to life. They give energy to move, think, and live. However, not all sugars are the same.
Not all bodies handle sugars the same either, one of the reasons why the diabetic problems are on the rise among the very young and the elderly. In the next section, I will try to give you an understanding of sugar and its functions…both positive and negative.