the top ten dieting mistakes

We in America are living a contradiction — a dichotomy of epic proportions that is threatening to rip the very fabric of our society apart (HERE).   Although we have become the fattest and sickest society in the history of the world, we want someone else — namely the American taxpayer — to foot the bill for our excesses.   So it’s not surprising that the last time you went to the doctor, you were told that you need to go on a diet.  In light of the fact that there are currently over 100,000 “Diet Books” being offered on Amazon, what’s a person to do?  Who should you believe?  Firstly, be sure to do your own research.  And secondly, don’t make any of these ten common mistakes (not in any particular order).  Oh; and just so you don’t feel like you’re getting jilted, instead of the “Top Ten” reasons, I gave you a “Baker’s Dozen”. 

• YOU BELIEVE THE ‘JUST EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE’ WAY OF THINKING:  According to much (probably most) of the general public, this is “Weight Loss 101”.  Just eat less, exercise more, and you solve all your problems.  Not so fast.  Although it sounds logical, there are so many factors that not only negate this concept (I will cover several in this post), they actually turn it on its head (HERE). In fact, if you follow standard logic here, you will likely fail in your bid to lose weight (HERE). 

• YOU HAVE A DEEP-SEATED FEAR OF DIETARY FAT:  We’ve been told not to fear the reaper.  We’ve been told not to be afraid of the dark.  We’ve even been told that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.  Isn’t it about time that you drop your fear of dietary fat (HERE)?  I have shown you over and over and over again that if you want to lose weight and get healthy at the same time, you must strictly control your BLOOD SUGAR and subsequent Insulin production.  Fat has a negligible effect on blood sugar — excepting for the fact that it actually blunts the effects of a high carb meal / snack.  Until we collectively realize that it is our HIGH CARB LIFESTYLE that is killing us and making us fat, we will continue to fail as a nation.  More on fat HERE.

• YOU ARE ALL ABOUT THE DIET:  Wait.  Isn’t this a post about dieting?  Yes and no.  I showed you just a few days ago that the huge majority of diets not only fail, but when the dust finally settles, adherents end up fatter and sicker than they were before they started (HERE).  If your whole goal is a “target” weight, with no plan for the next step, believe me when I tell you that you are going to fail.   In order to make this work, you need to educate yourself about the best way to eat, and make it part of a healthy lifestyle.  Otherwise, you might find yourself in that unenviable position of living longer, and enjoying it less (HERE).

• YOU LOVE YOUR CHEAT DAYS:  I just talked to you about the importance of educating yourself about the importance of your new “lifestyle”, and the very first thing you want to talk to me about is “CHEAT DAYS” (or even “Cheat Weekends”).  While the occasional “Cheat Meal” is fine for some people, for many of you (those with CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DEGENERATIVE DISEASES, OBESITY, GLUTEN SENSITIVITY, SUGAR OR HARDCORE CARB ADDICTIONS, etc), cheating has a significant potential to derail both your mindset and your progress.  Furthermore, I feel that you are sabotaging yourself (not to mention your children) when you use junk food as a reward, incentive, or motivator.  Trust me when I tell you that all too often, cheating leads to binging.  Cheat Days become Cheat Weekends, which become Cheat Weeks, that lead to Cheat Months.  Can anyone say, “off the wagon”?

• YOU ARE DRINKING YOUR CALORIES — OR FOR THAT MATTER YOUR NON-CALORIES:  Whether you are drinking lots of Soda, FRUIT JUICES, or sports drinks, the result is the same.  You are consuming too much SUGAR — way too much Sugar.  What do we turn around and do?  We fool ourselves with DIET BEVERAGES.  After all, they have no calories.  While this may be technically true, they act on your ENDOCRINE SYSTEM in the same manner as sugar does, only worse.  This is probably why DIET SODA has been proven guilty of causing greater weight gain than regular soda.  I should not have to tell you to DRINK MORE WATER — but that is exactly what I suggest.

• YOUR MEALS / SNACKS ARE NOT ADDRESSING GUT HEALTH:   Meals that are high in Sugar and Starch feed something called Dysbiosis (too many bad bacteria and not enough good).  Although DYSBIOSIS is almost always caused by ANTIBIOTICS, it’s perpetuated by Sugar or High Glycemic Index Carbohydrates.  Many people believe that this problem can be taken care of by simply taking some PROBIOTICS.  This is true only if your case is mild.  Many of you will need to incorporate FERMENTED FOODS / BEVERAGES into your diet.  I bring this up because GUT HEALTH has been shown to be directly linked to one’s weight (HERE).

• YOU SKIP BREAKFAST — OR EAT THE WRONG THINGS:  Just be aware that eating the wrong stuff (cereal, pancakes, rolls, OJ, waffles, toast, G&G, etc, etc) is far worse than skipping breakfast (HERE).

• YOUR DIET CONTAINS WAY TOO MUCH PROCESSED FOODS:  If you want to defeat both the weight demon and Chronic Illness, you simply cannot eat processed foods.  This is because both Obesity and Chronic Illnesses are caused by “INFLAMMATION“.   Even though you think you know what Inflammation is, I would bet good money that you don’t.  If you want to control your weight and get healthy in the process, follow the advice of DR. DAVID SEAMAN. 

• YOU ARE NOT SNACKING ENOUGH:  In order to keep your Blood Sugar level and your metabolism cranked up, some of you may need to eat lots of small meals (“snacks”) throughout the day.  The key is to making these work for you and not against you.  Two of my favorites are almonds (not too many) and natural beef jerky (I also have a soft spot in my heart for apples).  Many people get the “snacking” part of this; they just do it wrong (too much Sugar / Starch).  If you are doing the KETOGENIC THING, you may need to attack this a bit differently.

• YOU FAIL TO EXERCISE — OR EXERCISE THE WRONG WAY(S):  Many people — especially the younger crowd — think that they can base most of their weight loss on the amount of exercise they do.  This sort of thinking will lead to failure.  Too much, too intense, or the wrong kind of exercise, can lead to ADRENAL FATIGUE and various problems associated with. On the other hand, many folks try to diet without any exercise.  While certainly possible, it makes things tougher than necessary. Your exercise should involve some RESISTANCE TRAINING, and should, if tolerated, involve shorter duration and higher intensity.  In fact, if you will just take a couple of minutes to look at a number of “FITNESS MYTHS“, it may save you some serious grief.

• YOUR LIFE REVOLVES AROUND EXCUSES INSTEAD OF ACTION STEPS:  I cannot even tell you how many EXCUSES I have heard from people about why they can’t lose weight.   Excuses are like —- oh, never mind. 

• YOU’VE BOUGHT INTO ALL SORTS OF MYTHS THAT PREVENT YOU FROM LOSING WEIGHT:  I’ve covered some of these in today’s post, but HERE are many others.  Not all have to do with diet. 

• YOU DON’T HAVE AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER:  There are some folks who are extremely self-motivated.  My hat is off to you.  To everyone else, get an ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER.  Having a friend to motivate you, keep you accountable, and keep you on the wagon, is invaluable to the success of your program.