For many decades, nutritionists, doctors, scientists have been searching for THE DIET. But unfortunately, none of these diets have reached its goal: make people lose weight and maintain weight loss.
Is it because we have not yet found the best diet? The miracle diet?
I do not think so. A lot of research in nutrition has been done around the world for more than half a century.
For decades and it is still true, we know that to lose weight we have to consume less calories than we burn. Do not believe those who say that there are mysterious, not yet well known causes to overweight and obesity. Do not believe those health professionals who argue that the metabolic rate is not created equal and is responsible for irreversible weight gain. Do not believe those surgeons who say that the only way to lose weight is by bariatric surgery. They are all wrong.
I remember when fasting was the way to go, when 500 calories with daily HCG (pregnant female hormones) injections were bringing spectacular short term weight loss, when Protein Sparing Modified Fast was THE solution, when Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Cambridge, Beverly Hill Diet, Atkins Diet and thousands of others were promising successful weight loss. And most of them were right: Diets work!
Do diets work?
If you eat less, you lose weight. But as successful as diets might be to help people lose weight, weight loss maintenance after 5 years is less than 5%.
Binge eating
Two decades ago, official authorities came up with their solutions to overweight: less meat, less fat and more carbs. What a mess!
When I heard about these recommendations, I was appalled. In my research about the physiological and psychological causes of out of control eating, the most frequent one was and still is: hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Over 80% of overweight or obese individuals have symptoms of low blood sugar at different times of the day because of a bad nutrient balance and a too long meals interval. It is not a disease, it is a physical imbalance.
Most people do not recognize that their binge eating is caused by physiological low blood sugar. They think because of their psychological symptoms that they have a mental condition they cannot understand. They end up overcome by guilt and despair.
The main symptoms are out of control eating, especially by the end of afternoon, sudden fatigue, loss of concentration, sometimes shakes and almost always irritability, anxiety or depressive thoughts. The symptoms will disappear rapidly with carbs intake. But it’s too late, the damage is done.
To prevent hypoglycemia, you need to decrease carbs intake and increase protein intake at an interval not going over 3 or 4 hours.
Other physical causes of binge eating are fatigue by lack of sleep, antidepressants, anticonvulsant meds and stomach inflammation. It is mandatory to identify and eliminate these physiological causes if you want to stop your out of control eating.
The best diet exists
So after all those years, we know a lot about nutrition and weight loss. I know that to lose weight we have to eat less calories. I know that lower calorie diets will create a faster weight loss and increase motivation. I know that there is no miracle diet. I know that carbohydrate consumption has to be limited, especially sugar and refined starches.
I know that the protein contents of any diet have to be sufficient and taken at intervals of 3 or 4 hours to control hunger. I know that the caloric content of the diet has to be smaller than the energy spent. I know the importance of a variety of food in order to fulfill all of our body’s needed nutrients.
I also know that it is important to have a healthy weight loss with no muscle mass loss, and no vitamins and minerals deficiencies.
Four predictable factors.
We published in November 2005 in the British Journal of Health Psychology , a high quality peer review scientific journal, the results of our research that completely changed the conventional way to treat obesity: Early Treatment Response as a Predictor of Ongoing Weight Loss in Obesity Treatment.
We have discovered that 4 factors predict a successful weight loss over a 9 month period:
– to follow a protein diet,
– to have a quick weight loss,
– to experience a rapid change of habits,
– to have a regular follow-up.
We also discovered that the opposite factors predict a weight gain:
– conventional dieting without protein’s supplements,
– a slow weight loss,
– a slow change of habits,
– no regular follow-up.
As you can see these failure factors are promoted by too many nutritionists and medical experts as the best way to succeed.
A year later, we repeated this research in France and came up with exactly the same results that we had in our North American study.
I have to admit that I was quite surprised by the results. Sharing them with my patients, they were unanimous: I know that these results are true. I am deeply motivated by my quick weight loss and I am not hungry at all. It is the best diet I ever followed.
Decades later, I am still totally convinced that the best diet exists and I have a hard time imagining how we could find a better one: quick weight loss, healthy, no muscle loss, hunger free, highly motivating, metabolic rate preservation, easier weight maintenance, change of habits facilitator and more.
The Motivation Food Plan
Following the Motivation food plan, you will lose weight rapidly, safely and without hunger pangs. I know: it has all the characteristics of the best diet for you.
But before starting, you need to know where the problem of your past failures is.
Diets have not eradicated the epidemic of obesity because we do not look at the real causes of obesity. Food is not the culprit, behavior is. Alcohol is not responsible for alcoholism, but behavior is. Drugs are not responsible for drug addiction, behavior is.
