How to lose body fat without deprivation or joining the gym

Now that Christmas is over are you desperate to find the best way to cut calories and a gym that does pay-as-you-go? If you have ever read one of my articles, you will know that I hold no truck with the utterly misguided eat less move more mantra that seems to have been the only health message for the past 50 years or more. I had followed it unquestioningly after I became an overweight child in the 1970’s up to age 40, now a decade ago, when I discovered that this was not how the human body works.

Pre-40 I had struggled with weight gain and health issues. A stroke of luck led to me diving deep into the nutrition world and has allowed me to spend the past 10 years the healthiest I’ve ever been. Now free of the daily weighing scales mental drain, the yo-yo low fat dieting and the guilt of not being able to sustain intense exercise, my sole purpose is to get this message across and reverse the damage this misinformation has done to global health.

The reason eat less move more is what most people believe is that as humans we love simplicity. It makes sense that if we eat a certain amount of energy (calories) and to maintain a consistent weight then we must expend the same amount of energy. This is the calories in, calories out hypothesis. Therefore, if we want to lose weight then there has to be a caloric deficit and the only way to do that is to cut fat and increase exercise. Easy, right?

Wrong. The above hypothesis not only does not work, it causes a cascade of detrimental effects by increasing your blood sugar levels and leads your body into a constant state of crisis. You simply have to look around at the increase in the average size and the boom in health issues to show that it’s not working.

Your amazing body spends every day of your life trying to reach homeostasis. This is the state of being balanced, of being protected and in a perpetual state of maintenance, with everything working well. Weight gain is your body’s protective mechanism. It stores mainly sugars (which have no nutritional benefit whatsoever) as fat to keep it away from your major organs. You might eat 4000 calories but if those calories don’t contain the right nutrients your brain signals hunger so that it keeps searching to get it right next time you eat. Low fat products often contain a lot of sugar and other chemicals to make them palatable and the brain continues to signal that you are hungry. Likewise, with the widespread use of polyunsaturated chemically produced fats that, in turn, cause chemical problems inside you, the body in it’s quest to reach homeostasis, keeps searching for the right fats and nutrients and makes you hungry. It also keeps the fat locked up during this state of uncertainty. Throw in vigorous exercise, which requires more energy, hunger is ramped up and the deprivation coupled with no discernible progress means you find it too hard to maintain, and you simply give up. The message will always be that you just didn’t have enough willpower. It’s your fault, not the advice. Better luck next time! And the cycle repeats.

So, here’s how it should work. If your body has everything it needs in terms of energy and nutrients it tells the brain to signal satiety. For you to lose weight you have to give it what it needs to function efficiently and reach the homeostasis goal. Avoid sugar and processed foods with chemicals and eat full fat meat, eggs, and dairy plus non starchy vegetables. Your body will then feel safe to release your fat stores as energy and find its ideal weight. Now you really want to move and be active, no willpower required.

Make 2022 the year you give your body what it wants and needs. If you would like personalised advice I am here to help. Or if you would like to get FREE information and recipes to start your own journey to full health just visit natashaiswideeyed.com and treat yourself to a bigger slice of life.