The Four Myths of Dieting

Just about every diet known has failed to deliver results for sustainable, long-term, healthy weight loss. It’s not that we don’t have what it takes, the problem is we’ve been deceived by very clever messaging that uses partial truths to hook us.

The secret is simpler than you think – proper metabolic function. However, it’s not easy and it will take a combination of factors to increase your chances of success.

You’ve heard it said before, there is strength in numbers – well in this case, the greater the number of factors included in your effort, the better the odds are of succeeding at healing your metabolism and losing weight.

Although this sounds simple and easy, the truth is that it is complicated and hard. Complicated because we have been deceived, and hard because we love our indulgent lifestyle!

Case in point: the weight loss industry is a $20 billion industry, and, according to an ABC News report in 2012, over 100 million dieters make four to five attempts EVERY YEAR to lose weight. Very few people have made the connection to realize that diets ARE the problem. It’s obvious based on these figures that diets don’t translate into lasting changes nor to healthy, sustainable and permanent weight loss.

So what is the secret to permanent weight loss? What factors are necessary to result in healthy fat loss that never comes back? If not a diet, then what?

First, you must know the truth about why we gain weight in the first place, and what must happen for it to come off, healthfully, safely, and permanently!

Second, you must be willing to make the commitment to change. Simply put, we gain weight, which is really excess fat, because we’re wired for it – it is the body’s fuel storage mechanism for surviving a famine. As far as making the commitment, it helps to expose the lies and myths about weight loss and “dieting.”

So, here are 4 myths (partial truths) I’m going to bust wide open, so you’re no longer deceived, and you can begin your journey to healthy weight.
Myth #1: “You eat too many calories.” This is partly true, but the truth is that it’s not about too many calories, it’s about not enough nutrition, because it is impossible to overeat calorically if all you did was nourish your body with whole, nutrient-rich plant foods; the kind you have to chew well to swallow.

Myth #2: “You’re too heavy” or “You weigh too much.” Again, partially true, but the truth is that it’s not about excess weight, it’s about excess fat, because you can be skinny or underweight and be metabolically obese. In other words, you can be thin, but the ratio of fat to lean tissue in your body can be unnatural and unhealthy, and the scale would not tell you that. By focusing on health first, your body will shed the excess fat as your metabolism heals.

Myth #3: “You eat junk food.” This is partially true, but the truth is that it’s not about eating junk food, it’s about WHY you eat it, because if you were truly healthy, your body could safely manage the occasional indulgence of your favorite food without long-term ill effects. The reason we eat too much junk food is that we’re addicted, and we can’t stop. It is the overconsumption of nutrient-deficient junk food that causes nutritional deficiencies that can damage our metabolism. Add to that the fact we are always stressed and are exposed to toxins at a rate faster than our bodies can safely eliminate and you have the perfect recipe for obesity.

Myth #4: “You don’t exercise enough.” This is partially true, but the truth is it’s not about too much inactivity, it’s about infrequent detoxification, because exercise is NOT essential to weight loss – exercise is essential to health, and HEALTH is essential to fat loss. Think of it this way, exercising after eating junk food is like running your car on dirty fuel; faster acceleration does not clean the fuel. If you exercise without detoxifying, you simply circulate the toxins throughout your body only to push them back into the fat cells once you stop your fat-burning regimen. What you need is to detoxify while getting regular, daily PHYSICAL ACTIVITY done for the sake of improving your health. Once the toxins are out, so will the need for those excess fat cells.

In summary, dieting IS the disease, and the only true way to lose fat is to nourish your body in order to heal your body – this is God’s law of health. Once your body starts healing itself, the fat will begin to shrink and your body will settle to a healthy weight.

Be careful though, I am NOT suggesting that this is a perfect formula! Whereas the placebo effect in healing a broken metabolism may stack the deck in your favor, God’s law of health is not a law that equalizes the infinite number of physiological, psychological, biological, spiritual, or environmental factors that impact human health, and which likely contributed to damaging your metabolism. After all, we’re the ones to blame for our own poor lifestyle choices. But this also doesn’t mean we play the victim and give up. It just means we try again and again.

Keep in mind however, that trying again involves risk because the pursuit of wellness is a journey and contrary to what our modern culture tries to tell us, we don’t have it all figured out. Therefore, in the absence of knowing it all, we’re left with faith, humility, and persistence to keep trying in a new way until we’ve come to know the truth about health.

And here’s the first truth: deprivation-type diets are quick-fix solutions; a true “weight-loss” program would include an introduction to the principles of living an optimal lifestyle; one that focuses on health, as opposed to weight-loss, as the means to bringing balance back into your body’s metabolic functioning. I believe this, in turn, eventually corrects your fat-to-lean tissue ratio. Just remember that individual results will vary depending on individual differences in age, gender and genes.

So where can you find such a program? I believe your search should begin with lifestyle change programs, such as the CHIP program (www.chiphealth.com), our own program we call The 20/40 Project* or simply a strategy you develop on your own. Whichever you choose, know this: permanent weight (fat) loss requires a permanent change!

Are you ready to start (or continue on) your journey to a healthier, slimmer you? Call or email me to set up a complimentary evaluation to determine your obstacles to achieving true success. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Sam Benavides (909) 580-0467 [email protected]

*Learning the truth about God’s law of health as it relates to “weight loss” is the reason we developed The 20/40 Project; to be an initiation, or a rite of passage, that earns you the reputation of defying the status quo of yo-yo dieting, growing obesity and chronic illness which sadly, is the prevalent condition of most Americans living in the 21st century. We believe the 20/40 project is your ticket to defect to the land of wellness, never to return to the land of indulgence!

To learn more about the 20/40 Project, go to www.better-life-fitness.com or email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.