It always amazes me when I think about how the weight loss has turned into an “industry”.
And, despite what we may be led to believe this is nothing new.
The weight loss industry has been alive and profiting since AT LEAST the late 1800′s .
You don’t need to look any further than the story of Bernarr Macfadden as told in “Mr. America” for proof that NONE of this is new.
From the benefits of the all milk diet to the miracle of high protein,….it’s all been recycled multiple times.
Somehow, at some point, we convinced ourselves that in order to lose weight, eating LESS is not the answer.
Instead, we’ve decided that the key to losing weight is discovering the secret foods that MAKE us lose weight.
I think this concept works so well because it “FITS” with life.
It fits with our current addiction to purchasing and consuming.
In today’s reality “taking away” is an answer that just doesn’t seem to fit*.
*(unless you have embraced a minimalist type of lifestyle)
We would much rather “add”.
As an example we would rather believe that grapefruit juice is better than apple juice at causing you to lose weight…
Sure, this keeps us as good little consumers, and keeps our never quite satisfied taste buds happy…but a quick look at the stats reveals that it certainly doesn’t make us any leaner (or wealthier).
In fact, the opposite is happening. We keep consuming and, as a population, we keep getting bigger.
So here is my solution – Instead of worrying about which green tea to buy, and what specific type of grapefruit you are going to eat, whether or not you should use cream or coconut milk in your coffee, and which fast food is “healthiest”, do your best to try this technique.
Limit the amount of food your purchase outside of the grocery store.
I don’t mean steal.
I just mean don’t buy anything extra that day.
So if you have a hypothetical grocery budget of 100 bucks a week, give yourself a non-grocery budget too.
After all, for many of us this it’s this extra mindless consuming that we don’t remember.. that adds up on our waists and empties our bank accounts.
We already know that just because you are hungry, it doesn’t mean your metabolism is slowing down, or that you are breaking down muscle (If you don’t know this, you should read Eat Stop Eat, it would probably help a lot).
So, for the most part, hunger simply means you ‘really want to eat’.
So forgo the snacks in the car, and the coffee stop on the way into work (unless it’s in your budget).
The bottom line is this:
Getting control over how much you eat is the answer to your weight loss goals. The issue for some people is often not knowing where to start.
They get caught up in counting calories and trying to eat ‘the rights foods’.
A more effective and realistic approach is to measure with your wallet.
I’m sure that if you can avoid buying any extra food for an entire month, you will see significant weight loss. Despite all the gimmicks and trends, simply eating less is still the best, most effective answer.
Give it a try, but take a positive approach. Go into this experiment thinking that you do not need to buy extra food. That you will not feel bad, or sluggish. That it will not affect your workouts or your stress level. Stay positive, and avoid purchasing anything other than your groceries and your budgeted ‘extras’.
Still eat the foods you normally eat, just let the all-mighty dollar be the limiting factor in HOW MUCH you consume.
Hopefully this will help you get a leaner body and a fatter wallet.
BP
Tags: lose weight, Weight loss, weight loss plans
I agree, it is amazing how much money we spend for food.
First eat what you have at home, don’t waste anything. Once your resources are gone, go get something, but now a wagon of food!!! So much food get wasted.
Great post! Keep going!
Great concept Brad on looking at it from “counting dollars” instead of “counting calories.” I know when I go to the grocery store, I like to keep my weekly bill around $75. I don’t get too excited if it goes a little over that but at times when I see it getting around $100 when I’m at the self-checkout machine, I get a little annoyed and have even taken some stuff out of my cart that I decided I really didn’t need and given it to the cashier to have it put back on the shelf.
This is all good diet wise, but what are your toughts on supplements that rebuild ligaments, tendons and bones, like glucosamine and collagen.
I have laxed ligaments in the upper and lower back, i have been seeing a sport doctor for the last year and a half and being treated with prolotherapy and Guna mesotherapy. My sport doctor put me on glucosamine, EFA and collagen to help my body rebuild itself.
He says that i as access to very strong studies and all theses supplements do work but on the internet i do see lots of mixed reviews..
Brad,
I have been following your blog for a while now and find your approach interesting and unique.I have been eating Paleoish for a few months now with some good results via intermittent fasting.I just want to ask you if you were saying that it’s not about the diet per say but calories consumed overall?Would you say that a person could enjoy similiar results(leaner body,6 pack abs,simply by eating more with moderate exercise?
Just seems you have a more relaxed approach about types of food consumed as opposed to diet type,rather it’s Paleo,PB,Eskimo Diet,etc.,because I tried them all and it’s not easy at all.I had Steak last night but no Sweet Potato,and I really wanted it.Been doing it for a while but miss some of the other foods.I wish I had the approach you do with the same results.I am 5’5′ 158 lbs,my goal is to get to 147-150lbs.Just wondering if you thought this was achievable with a more relaxed eating lifestyle such as yours?
Thanx,
Stephon
Correction I meant to say eating less with moderate exercise,lol.Thinking ahead sometimes will do that.
I’m not sure if you caught it, but there was a pretty decent documentary on CNBC last night, “one nation, overweight”
Some interesting stats.
Food industry 165billion US$
weight loss industry 60billion US$, so they get you coming AND going.
I can let you sling it from here, if you don’t get CNBC.
Brad, can you comment on this:
http://www.poweringmuscles.com/article.php?id=126
thx
What kind of doctor are you seeing?
B
Those are phenomenal stats..great find…I’m going to use them in tomorrows post (i’ll credit you of course0
B
Interesting how they kinda sorta forgot to mention that during ramadan you also don’t drink during the daylight hours. It’s not just a food fast, it’s ‘anything past the lips’…
As my friend Rob would say “Small F’ing Detail!”
B
PS- I can’t help but notice the Advertisement for ACCELERADE right beside the article.
B
He is a sport doctor and also a medical doctor, he practices prolotherapy, which as saved my life from chronic back pain.
Prolotherapy is dextrose with xylocaine that are injected where the ligaments reach the bone to make them stronger and bigger.
He is also very involved in natural therapies without drugs, infra red sauna, spineforce machine, and so much more.
I am not buying my glucosamine and other product from him, i am getting them on sale at bodybuilding.com.
I also tough that deca durabolin could fix all my little booboos but he told me differently and advise against me using this drug.
That article is total crap, i do agree that people who lift weights might want to eat something before but even then, i have trained with weights and did cardio after being fasted for more then 18 hours and i felt good.
Don’t be afraid to fine tune Eat stop Eat, work with the system, try different things, one day eat a bit more the other day stay fasted for 20 hours so on and so forth, see what works for you since there is no one size fit all diet. Some might do better on low carb, but i have seen people who did not lose any weight even when they limited carbs to 10g per day.
Also one thing Brad you should not label Eat stop Eat simply as a way of losing weight, because there is so much more to this them weight loss, at some point weight loss might stop but the benefits of ESE will continue. People who have eating disorder, acid reflux, digestive problems can try ESE and i am sure they will get some excellent results from it on a health standing point of view.
I was having some huge digestion issues before starting ESE and the fast days i removed the stress on my digestive system, slowly eating less and now i feel great.
Sorry, that read wrong, wasn’t implying that he was a quack, was just curious.
B
May be true, however while the book is not limited, my expertise really is, that’s why I stick to fasting and it’s metabolic concequences. I really don’t know much about acid reflux or digestive problems.
Weight Loss, Fat Money…
It always amazes me when I think about how the weight loss has turned into an industry….