You’ve probably heard this logic before:

Low-fat diets failed because eating low-fat doesn’t work for weight loss.

I’ve always wondered about this logic, as it seemed to go against the common sense that eating more calories then we need to is what makes us fat, not the source of these calories.

So I decided to look into EXACTLY what happened with the whole Low-Fat trend.

The Low-fat foods trend really started picking up popularity in the early to mid 1980’s, and by the mid 1990 Low-Fat was all the rage.

EVERYTHING was low fat…even cookies…and ice-cream.

During this time, the population of the USA also got fatter.

A LOT fatter.

So what gives?

Was not eating enough fat to blame?

Was it replacing fat with sugar that was the mistake?

Nope.

As it turns out, it’s still highly correlated to Calorie Control.

According to the USDA food availability data charts, there was an average of  3,200 Calories per person available in the USA in 1980. (Even thirty years ago this was much more than we needed).

This is about when Low-fat really started to take flight, thanks to aggressive marketing and government support.

You don’t need to look any further at the massive increase in skim milk production in the 1990’s to the see the drastic effects that
the low-fat movement had on the food industry.

Total milk intake decreased over the 90’s but intake of low-fat milk skyrocketed by comparison.

Yet a funny thing happened with the introduction of low-fat foods.

We didn’t eat less fat…

We just ate MORE food.

Over the next two decades the amount of calories available per person increased up to roughly 3,900 Calories per day.

Yet, according to the USDA databases our total fat per capita never really went down.

In fact, it slowly crept up from 145 grams to 155 grams per day.

Our ratios of Saturated Fat to Mono-unsaturated and Poly-unsaturated fat also all stayed relatively the same over this time.

So we didn’t replace fat with carbs….We just ate more…more everything.

Carbohydrate intake went up. Protein intake went up… and fat intake went up.

Bottom line, low fat foods didn’t make us fat…simply having more food to choose from did.

More convenient foods like Snack Well Cookies, that we were lead to believe were “guilt free” …after all, they were low fat.

Basically, allowing food companies to Market Health and Weight loss back to us is what caused us to eat more, not eat differently.

No matter which way you cut it, eating more is the culprit to our weight gain.

Thus, the cure is always going to be eating less.

The trick is to find a way that you can eat less long term.

A way that is enjoyable.

Don’t let the marketing fool you, EXTREME dietary manipulation isn’t needed for weight loss, we just need to learn to take a break from eating every once in a while.

If your goal is weight loss, remember concentrating on one Macronutrient (protein, carbs or fats) does not necessarily mean you are eating less.

People who have successfully changed their body did it by eating less and exercising.

And have done this around the world, from a variety of different places and cultures. Eating different foods, in different ways.

The bottom line is: To lose weight you have to eat less.

This is the most successful approach to weight loss. (And, I believe The EASIEST way to eat less is Eat Stop Eat.)

You do not need to eat low fat, low carb or low protein…you just need to eat a little bit lower EVERYTHING.

After all, in my opinion your BODY should be low-fat, not your ice-cream.

BP

The GOOD stuff

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Here is something that I think a lot of people overlook in their quest to lose body fat:

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Here’s a fun trick for you…

I want you to lift your shirt up…just a bit…and yes, I’m being serious.

Make sure no one is looking and just take a quick look at your stomach.

What’s staring back at you?

Maybe 6 pack abs…..but probably not (just guessing)

Your probably thinking:

‘Fat. Brad right now I’m staring at extra fat, at least a little more fat than I WANT to be seeing’

Let’s face it, the MAJORITY of us have at least a little more fat siting around our midsections than we would like, but I want to point something else out to you..

You are also looking at your DEBT.

Yep, that’s right – You PAID HARD EARNED MONEY for every single one of those calories sitting in the form of fat on your stomach!

Each roll, each dimple and every single ‘pucker’ the fat you don’t want, you paid for.

AND, even more devastating is that you pay HARD EARNED MONEY to keep every single one of those calories!

If you are not actively losing weight then you are PAYING to stay heavier than you want to be!

After all, fat represents nothing more than Extra Food that you ate at some point in your life.l

Food that you payed money for.

Bottom line – Learning to Eat less can solve a lot of problems, it’s the quickest way to get lean, and it’s an important way to get
your financial life in check.

You can’t control the mortgage rates, or the price of gas for your car, but you can control how much money you spend on food,
especially when you really want to be lean anyways!

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, the next time you go out for a quick bite to eat, you need to ask yourself “Am I actually PAYING
to be fat?”

It’s harsh, but it’s also a great motivator to keep your eating in check.

And remember – If you start spending money on fad diet schemes your Fat is actually DOUBLE DIPPING into your wallet. You are paying for the calories to keep you fat, then you are paying for the Acai berry products, Goji berries and Personal Trainers…

OK, so this is the real bottom line – Remember weight loss should be free. You can lose weight without spending ANY extra money. NO special supplements, NO special diets, heck…you don’t even need to “buy organic” to lose weight.

Don’t let your fat double dip.

BP

PS- I realize the irony of telling you that ‘Weight Loss is Free’ yet at the same time hoping you’ll buy my book, so for the record: weight loss is free, but sometimes education costs money.

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Some bad news today.

If you want to look better than most people, you have to do things differently than most people.

You are going to have to eat a little less and exercise a little more than most people.

Because, what most people are doing simply isn’t getting the job done.

And here is a very startling visual example from recent research:

This graph is telling you three interesting things:

1) Body fat % seems to be pretty normally distributed across the North American population (the woman’s numbers look a little skew right to me, but in general, it’s pretty even).

2) For a man, the average body fat percentage is around 25-ish%, while for a woman it’s around 40-ish%.

3) If you want to be under 12% bodyfat (men) or under 22% bodyfat (women) then you are going to have to be an outlier.

out·li·er – A value that is far from the average or mean.

Now this research was compiled from about 13,000 people between the ages of 20 and 80 using DXA. To me, that’s an OK number of subjects to draw conclusions from.

So here’s the deal – if the prospect of being average doesn’t make you happy, then you have to commit to being different, very different.

Be your own outlier.

Take a look at what everyone is doing and do things just a little differently.

Obviously, obsessing over healthy eating while still eating more than we need to is not giving us the body fat percentage that we want.

Either is watching TV shows about people who are losing weight.

And ‘wanting’ to lose weight is a lot different then taking action to lose weight.

Do things differently.

Be your own outlier.

While everybody else is talking about weight loss, reading about weight loss, watching TV about weight loss you need to actually take action.

This is what will make you different.

No more talking, no more reading, no more thinking…insert Nike Slogan Here.

Eat Less, Move more and be your own outlier.

BP

**Am J Clin Nutr 2009;90:1457–65.

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It’s the unknown that kills a good diet plan.

The little treats here or there that can derail months of work.

And the underestimations of calories in a food, well…that’s just UNBELIEVABLY AGGRAVATING!

Over the summer we had a Baskin Robbins move into our neighborhood.

As a treat, my family would go once a week for ice-cream. Sometimes twice a week of the grandparents were around.

I’m a chocolate mint kinda guy, so I normally get the chocolate mint ice-cream in a waffle cone – about 500 calories…but occasionally, I’d order the chocolate milk shake.

I figured, “It’s a treat, besides it’s probably about 750 calories, I can handle that”

You can imagine how mad I was when I saw this:

1300 Calories!

Almost Double what I thought.

Brutal.

Luckily, I wasn’t trying to lose weight this summer, so it wasn’t a giant deal, but this is where the “I didn’t change a thing, but gained weight” stories come from – forgetting or underestimating the calorie content of foods.

Eating responsibly means being aware.

You can still have chocolate milk shakes from Baskin Robbins if you are trying to lose weight, you just need to be aware that the darn thing has 1300 Calories.

Being aware – it’s the key to weight loss.

BP

PS – The secret to losing weight while still occasionally having a large chocolate milkshake? Share it with a friend!

.

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Just more proof that you can’t trust what you see.

Of course, since this is an ad, the fake abs may themselves be faked via photoshop…so this could be a case of faked fakes.

I found this very fitting considering our recent discussion of Hollywood body idolization, and because I still think much of the muscle and tone we see in movies is a result of a combi

nation of dedication in the gym, a good diet of fruits and vegetables, video editing, makeup, and lighting.

BP

PS – If you really want abs, read this ==> My truth about 6 pack abs

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Easy Diet Tip for the days you aren’t fasting:

Eat one small meal

Eat one medium meal

Eat one large meal

Have a couple snacks when you feel like it.

It doesn’t matter which meal is which size, so play with it and see what you like best.

My personal routine is typically medium breakfast (600-ish calories), Small lunch (300-400-ish Calories) big dinner (800-1000+ Calories) and a couple snacks

Obviously what is ’small, medium, and large’ depends on you, your goals and your activity levels…so you need to personalize it a bit, but regardless this is a great tool for preventing every meal from becoming a feast.

Simple and effective.

BP

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The truth is, I’m having a crazy  busy day…funny how Monday’s are like that.

But, I really wanted to write a post about diet books today, and I had a point that I REALLY wanted to share with you, but I simply did not have  enough time to write a nice wordy post…so I quickly jotted some notes down and realized that they had almost formed some sort of really poor  haiku.

…so smiled and had some fun with it.

I hope you like it.

The thing with Diet Books -

They all have to have a catch

This part is what sells.

Eat less and move more

The truth with no hook, no catch.

No secret science.

Hormones and Enzymes

Make for great diet book titles

but the truth remains -

Eat less and move more.

BP

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I found this quote on the Post Secret Blog…

“I know it means I’m going to be alone forever, but I can’t stop eating.”

To me, this is a strong and rather shocking reminder of how messed up our relationships with food can become.

Many of us use food for much more than just fuel for our bodies.

We use food as something to stress and obsess ABOUT. We use it to define ourselves and our life choices.

We can also use our food to COPE with our life-stress and obsessions, as a defense mechanism and as a security blanket.

Either way, with the wrong relationships food alone can be a damaging obsession in our lives.

My advice? Avoid viewing food as a cure-all, and see it for what it is ==> A fuel for your body, and a reason to get together with other people.

Food is nourishment and food is celebration.

Eat less while enjoying the foods you eat and don’t let your foods control you. My opinion is that this is the key to having a healthy relationship with food, AND a healthy, lean body.

BP

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