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

Let me be your tour guide through this little piece of marketing.

Firstly, “Studies Show“…You see so much “Studies Show”, “Science Says” and “Experts Think” that it is now an ambiguous term that really has no meaning…at least to me…in marketing.

Next, the word “MORE”…in big capital letters…actually it’s “MORE WHOLE GRAIN”

There is no confusing what the word MORE means. And, whole grain is obviously referring to a characteristic of the product in the box.

Then the soft words…in small “can help”….these are the words that make everything…vague. Kind of like when a friend asks you if you will help him move on the weekend and you reply “Possibly”.

Then the BIG FONT “manage weight”..not capitals…but bigger then any other letters on the entire front of the box..except for the product name.

“Manage” is an interesting term. It doesn’t mean lower, it could mean increase, more than likely it means ’stay the same’

When you manage your bank account, I’m assuming you are NOT trying to make it shrink.

When you manage your debt, I’m assuming you are NOT trying to make it bigger.

so when you add it all together you get “Studies Show” which is meaningless in my opinion (again as a marketing claim)

You have “MORE WHOLE GRAIN”

Then you have “can help manage”

and WEIGHT – This is what makes everything OK…you’re doing it to manage your weight…whatever that means.

to me, this whole claim boils down to “MORE” and “of the product”

really, it’s just a giant call out on a box for you to EAT MORE.

BP

Here is a hypothetical situation for you…

Your basal metabolic rate is 1,500 calories (Remember, this is just an example I’m not saying that YOUR BMR is exactly 1,500).

If you include your daily exercise, and the costs of eating, your total daily energy Expenditure is 2,200 Calories per day.

So the total amount of calories that you burn in a day is 2,200.

Now in this hypothetical situation, you’ve decided that you want to lose some weight.

You read around on the internet and discover that if you eat 500 less calories per day, the over the course of a week you should lose 1 pound of fat.

So you give it a try.

You count your calories meticulously. With precision that would make NASA engineers jealous.

You know for an absolute FACT that you ate 500 less calories EVERY SINGLE DAY.

But you still didn’t lose weight.

What gives?

Did you slow down your metabolism?

Is your metabolism broken?

even worse…did you enter Starvation mode?

Actually…. It’s none of the above.

You’ve been eating 2,900 Calories for the past year (part of the reason you are trying to lose weight in the first place)

2,900 -500 = 2,400

Bottom line: Even with you’re new diet, YOU ARE STILL OVEREATING BY 200 CALORIES!!!

This is why the old saying ‘eat 500 less calories to lose weight’ doesn’t work….because it’s not a complete sentence.

it should be:

“Eat 500 less calories per day THAN YOU BURN”.

I know it seems overly simple, but this example may help a lot of people who are struggling to lose weight. You can be ‘dieting’ and still overeating.

The amount you need to eat is probably a lot less then you might think.

BP

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.

Hello

I am new to this spot. I found loads of useful information here. I would also like to contribute some thing for this community. I would like to share some quick weight loss tips. If you wish to know how to lose 10 pounds in a week, you are likely not searching for a common dieting and exercise plan. You can lose weight with a basic diet and work out plan, Still this demands a lot of time doing intense cardio workouts and adhering a strict diet. Here I will draft the exact steps that I took to lose 10 pounds in just a week.

1. Stay away from all fried foods for the week (Sounds logical to me)
2. Drink In an 8oz glass of grapefruit with breakfast each day. (this speeds up your metabolism) (FAIL on the metabolism part, but hey, nothing wrong with grapefruit juice, unless you are on medications…)
3. Take limited portions (stop eating when you are full) (Part One Sounds logical to me, Part Two sounds contrary to part one..limited portions but you can also keep eating until you are full?)
4. Rather than consuming 3 large a meals a day, take 5-6 smaller meals to keep your metabolism up and keep your body burning fat. (FAIL)

5. Aviod eating after 9 P.M.. When you eat that late your body does not burn off the calories. (Because when you are sleeping you are actually dead? FAIL)
6. Take proper sleep every night. Not having enough sleep has been proven to be a leading factor to the body putting up excess fat. (Because instead of eating, you are awake and probably eating…so sure, I can agree with this)
7. Use a body/colon clean for the 7 days. This will get rid of extra fat stored close to the tummy area as well as cleanse your body of harmfull pollutants that makes you store fat and feel tired. Flush away excess pounds around the stomach area that otherwise would be hard to lose. (Ladies and Gentlemen, this is most likely how you would lose ten pounds in one week…but its not fat you are losing, it’s poop)

8. I suggest you using Acai Berry Diet Pills. This one is proven to work, and you can get a free trial. (ooooh Free trial, FAIL)
9. For those people who wish to burn fat quickly, avoid alcoholic beverage. (I’m not going to touch this one, I guess if you want to burn fat quickly, alcohol is just ‘empty calories’ so OK)
10. A low GI diet is an excellent method of loosing fat quickly. (What is ‘loosing’?)

Thanks!.!

The following is a basic tenant of Taoism:

Things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that can be spoiled when that simplicity is changed.

This principle seems to hold true in today’s world, where we seem to live a daily struggle of trying to force the square peg into the round hole.

Whether it’s food, your workout, or the people in your life, it’s good to always keep this principle in the back of your mind.

Now, the most obvious NUTRITION application/interpretation of this principle is that “natural unprocessed foods are best”. But, if we take it a step further, we also see the application/interpretation that we should not FORCE nutrition, and that ‘original simplicity’ can also be the foods that you like eating.

After all, forcing yourself to eat unprocessed, organic, raw foods all the time doesn’t really fit into the concept of ‘original simplicity’, unless this is something that you really like to do.

The same goes for working out.

The most obvious WEIGHT TRAINING application/interpretation of this principle is that “The basic lifts are the best”. But, if we take it a step further, we also see the application/interpretation that we should not force exercise.

So The point of this ramble is this, when you see/here/read principles such as this, it is important to remember that in order to make it truly work, you need to start from the inside and work out from there.

So start with your own original simplicity, what works for you, what is best for you when you are in your ‘natural state’ (not trying to be someone you are not)..then work from there.

A little ‘out there’, but hey, it’s the Monday after the Superbowl.

BP

You know that feeling when you stare at the computer screen with so much on your mind that you don’t know where to start?

That’s where I was.

I wanted introduce my new project ‘phi-life.com’ but, the words just weren’t reaching my finger tips.

So I decided to take a break and answer a couple emails.

One thing led to another, and now I have a short story to share that’s a great introduction to phi-life.

Please see the emails below:

EMAIL FROM BART*****

Question for you.

In one of your blog posts you talked about the myth of starvation mode.  Yesterday I just read a different blog claiming starvation mode is a serious threat to weight loss.  Is this guy and his starvation modes stories another scam?

Am I correct in saying that the starvation mode only happens when you don’t eat for prolonged periods of time but not if you don’t eat for 4-5 hours?

thx

MY RESPONSE*********

‘Starvation mode’ DOES occur. But it only happens after the PROLONGED absence of food. At this point essentially used up your body fat stores and have no choice but to start consuming essential structures like your internal organs to just to stay alive.

BART’S RESPONSE*****

thanx,

I just cannot understand why well educated pros keep telling us that stuff!!! so stupid!!!

I am so happy that I found out about your site.

MY RESPONSE********

Well, Mostly these pros are decent people that are actually trying to help, unfortunately most of them really aren’t educated to the point where they can properly analyze scientific research. They might be experienced with helping people lose weight, but they’re usually not as educated as you might expect.

When you have the time you might find this podcast interesting ==>

http://www.phi-life.com/diet-and-fitness-fads-mixing-up-the-what-how-and-why/

END ********************

If you get the chance check out www.Phi-Life.com, a new weekly podcast where John Barban and I discuss a lot of the logic and fallacies behind health and nutrition.

This isn’t a scientific discussion as much as it is an exploration into all things ‘Health’ with the running theme of “Fitting it all together” while allowing John and I to have some fun with it all (We can’t be all science, all serious, all the time).

The audio on this first podcast is a bit temperamental, but I promise next weeks podcast will be nice and clear.

BP

It has been unbelievably difficult to capture everything in one blog post.

Thankfully, I just read a blog post by John Barban that did this perfectly (John was at the conference with me)

This is definitely worth a read, it’s one that will make you think.

http://johnbarban.com/diet-and-exercise-as-simple-as-possible-but-not-simpler/

BP

Basically I eat well, in a way that fits into my schedule and allows me to eat foods I enjoy.

Here is a sample of a typical non-fasting week day:

I don’t usually eat right when I get up in the morning (around 7 AM), instead I normally wait until around 8:30 AM and eat with my son and daughter (my wife eats early).

For breakfast I typically have a little bit of what they are eating, so it’s usually some variation of some applesauce, a piece of toast, a glass of milk, and half a banana, other days it oatmeal with bananas and blueberries.

Typically I leave the house around 9, run some errands and get into the office by about 10.

From 10 until maybe 12 I’m typically answering emails..I’ll usually have a water or maybe a Pellegrino during this time.

At around noon I’ll have a handful of nuts, maybe an apple or an orange, whatever is in the fridge at the office…

Around 2 its time to get out of the office..I’ll grab a book and hit a restaurant or a Starbucks. If Starbucks I’ll get a Grande Americano and an Espresso Brownie.  Guaranteed. Every time.

If I feel like more of a meal than a snack I’ll go to a restaurant. it’s cold in Canada right now so I’d go for a soup and sandwich combo, usually opting for a half-sandwich. During the summer it would probably be a salad and sandwich combo.

I’ll leave the office around 5, get home and start making dinner for the Family. This can be anything… Spaghetti and meatballs, Chicken and sweat potato, Steak and veggies, Omelets, home-made pizza. Basically what ever the kids are eating that week, that’s what we’re serving. After dinner I may snack on a handful or two of the kids snacks…Teddy Grahams,  Gold Fish, your basic parent thievery. We have some really ripe pears in the house right now, so I’d probably have one of those too.

Kids are in Bed by 8 pm, so I’ll probably have some toast with peanut butter and honey and a glass of almond milk (can’t get enough of that stuff)

Then depending on my day, I’m either done eating, or if I’m training (I workout late at night), I may have a snack after my workout… whatever is in the house… some yogurt, some applesauce, more fruit, whatever. Or If I’m not working out I may have a Guinness or a Scotch.

When I get a craving for chocolate it’s the occasional Cadbury’s Dairy Milk..this will happen typically mid day, if it happens later in the day, I’m a fan of the Lindt Dark Chocolate, especially the stuff with the Chili in it.

We don’t really eat out often (two kids under 3 years of age) but when we do we typically go for higher end restaurants as opposed to fast food…

On weekends my days aren’t quite as structured. There may be a couple cups of Tea on the weekends in place of the coffee, and I might graze a bit more then I do on weekdays. We also do some baking on the weekends (keeps the kids entertained) so I might have muffins or cookies, depending on what was made.

That’s basically it, no magic…just some basic eating. I don’t do the classic fast-food places like McD’s or BurgerK’s, In fact, I don’t do much fast food at all. However, I have been known to opt for a Subway sub in place of Dinner when I don’t feel like cooking, or I’m running late and the kids have already eaten.

So basically I fast once or twice a week, then do my best to eat responsibley, not overeating, yet still enjoying my food and eating in a way that fits my lifestyle.

I don’t argue with people about their food belief systems. You can be Paleo, a Vegetarian, or follow the Zone..I don’t care as long as this style of eating makes you happy. If you are lean and enjoying the style you have chosen you are doing great. I’ve always found the Internet infatuation with what OTHER people eat to be a bit odd. (On-line people are more likely to tell you the billion reasons why YOU shouldn’t drink milk, then to simply tell you that THEY  have chosen not to drink milk).

So I’ve posted what I eat, but I don’t expect you, nor will I try to convince you to eat like me….

BP