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200th Newsletter Edition - 4 years of learning

On mark of my 200th weekly email newsletter over the last four and a bit years I decided to write down some of the main things I have learnt. Some of these come before my newsletters started as I  approach my tenth year in the industry working one on one with people to get in shape.

The things that I have learnt are of interest to you because the errors I have made are made by most people day in day out when it comes to changing their body shape. What I have learnt from the last 4 (read 10 years)

1) Exercise has poor correlation with fat loss! -The whole weight loss industry is based on exercise. Feeling that burn! My experience has showed me that exercise has little effect on your body fat levels UNLESS you are eating right for your body too. There are many many overweight regular exercisers and take a look at your average amateur marathon runner. They are not anywhere near as thin as you would expect if exercise was the solution.

Saying that though, when you are eating the right foods, in the right amount and have reduced sensitive foods within your diet then exercise can accelerate results. However, the influence of exercise and the results you achieve will always be linked to your food intake.

2) Calories in vs calories out model of weight loss does not work! Everyone in the weight loss field is obsessed with calories. The problem with the calorie model is that it simply does not work. The assumption that the body is a machine which relies on simply units of energy is a gross simplification and does not stand up to reality. The calories in versus out model does not differentiate the types of calories, e.g. I could eat 200 calories of chocolate, fish, broccoli, olive oil, crisps etc. The calories model suggests it is the same effect for all of these. Anyone can tell you that is not the case.

By the same token if the model was a simple maths equation I could do massive amounts of running and avoid eating and get in shape in about 1-3 weeks whoever I was. This does not happen. Likewise, when you are ill and eat hardly anything for five days you do not normally lose much body fat. (Weight normally reduces through dehydration but body fat stays about the same more often than not).

The final problem with the calories model is that it assumes the body would have to take up any calorie deficit by using up your body fat. This is not the case, it is simply one option the body can use. However, this depends on hormones and overall internal biochemistry.

Though the body will be forced to lose body fat in an actual famine, it is hard to to near impossible to maintain this for prolonged periods for the average person. It is even harder long term. Everyone thinks that all people get thin in a famine. The truth is many people die before they get thin. An absence of calories is not a sure fire way to lose weight.

3) Different people have greatly nutritional needs - This is the most obvious thing I have ever seen after working with hundreds of people and seeing the complete contradiction on every issue of nutrition. Yet, the average person still denies this, or accepts it but then follows along with the same generalized protocols. At the coal face, when working with people, any professional can see their clients will only get results across the board using different nutrition plans. Read more on Metabolic Typing to understand this further.

4) There is no such thing as a healthy food - As discussed in point three not only is there no foods that could be considered healthy for everyone because we are all different, but also almost every food can annoy a body as well. This means that though some foods should "work" for you, e.g. are healthy, they actually annoy you. This may be a 1 in a 100 or 1 in 10 000 case but if it applies to you then the food needs to be removed from the diet. The main problem with society today is that the main "healthy foods" probably annoy 80-90% of the population.

5) Exercise and nutrition do not mean anything in the long term without the right mind set - These last couple of years I have centered my focus on the mind set. I now understand that almost anyone can get results short term. Personally though, nothing annoys me more than seeing someone who got great results right back to where they started a few months later. Sadly though, this is the state of the weight loss industry. I have lost count of how many people I have met who did one of those "milkshake" diets and lost considerable weight yet found a way to put it all back on.

Ultimately, long term results come only from long term behaviours. Your long term behaviours relate back to your mind set and your ability to handle emotions. Most my focus is now on ensuring the long term mind set can be put in place. Look to my new book, web sites and training system which is due for release in the new year.

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Thank you for reading my newsletter and support over the last 4 years plus. I have some great things in store in the future.

Ben