This was a great article! I think you are bang on but ballsy too, cause shmuck who sold a book is gonna be mad! Ahh well. I’ll never forget the first diet I tried, it lasted about 2 days. One of those high protien things a friend had told me about. I was starving! and Miserable. It was then ( after particularily watching a friend yoyo diet, lose 20 lbs, gain 30 lbs.) That I knew dieting was stupid.
After much trial and error, I eat very well, very lil processed food.
Sad truth about for alot of People now a days are looking for easy-peasy instant gratification and a lot of “fat or weight loss experts” have clued in to this. I know that I can want an item, buy it and feel great for a short time and then move onto desiring something else, vicous cycle. Or I can work my butt off, eat very well, get into a powerful mindset, lose the 11 lbs. of fat in that last 3 months that I have and feel really good about my acheivments!
Truth is most people do not want to work hard enough to get real buff, so they try and cheat thier way there. But as you know its a continual journey, not a destination.
Cheers! (with lemon water of course)

No i don’t believe in a super pill….but i have daily time limits and resources($$$)to make this happen. I have the will…the desire….just need to be directed down the right path and a path that will see some results. i know it will be a life change and it will require work for a few yaers and maintainence after.

Help free me from this maddness
Thanks for you and this site.

Paul

Brian
(for anyone who is just “lurking” here and hasn’t made a change yet, please believe me when I tell you that you may dread or hate exercising, but you will eventually come to love it and the healthy foods! To quote Tom Venuto: “Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels”.)

The exercise portion was getting boring. After having tried BFFM, & TT, both of which I did at a gym, alone, I find I need more structure. I am one of those who really gives 100% in a cardio or weight training/resistance class. I’ve just purchased some DVD’s that combine both cardio, weights and HIIT. I did the first set yesterday and felt great. I am not one of those who “watches” a DVD – I’m glad & thought to grab a towel. It is a commercial DVD but if it does what I need and want, it will work. I don’t expect it to fall off, I just want to see progress. I’m measuring myself today so I have a base line to compare with. I’ll keep you posted.

I am not overweight. But I have the same battles and body fat issues to deal with as those who are. It’s as much of a battle for me to gain or to keep one pound of weight as it is for anyone to lose a pound of weight. Do you know what really motivates me to keep exercising and controlling my diet? Liking or disliking what I see in the mirror. I know from personal experience that I haven’t liked my body when I was inconsistent with my diet and exercise programs. And when I say diet, I’m not talking about those starvation, deprivation or rigid diet plans that will only deliver quick fixes and short term results. Diets that I can’t see anyone living with for the rest of their lives. I’m talking about a lifestyle of healthy eating. Replacing processed and junk foods with fruits and vegetables and other healthier alternatives. I didn’t say it would be easy. But for me, being lean, fit and healthy (with a body I can be satisfied looking at and living in) is more important to me than anything I can eat. No matter how good it is. By all means my diet is not perfect. There is plenty of room for improvement. I think most of us have an idea of the type of foods that will blow us up and keep us overweight. Here is a partial list: cakes, pies, cookies, donuts, pastries, biscuits, muffins, some fast food and several more non-nutritional junk food items. And when you add in the fillings and the toppings, you’ve multiplied the calories of that junk. And that doesn’t include the calorie surpluses one may ingest from other foods. I do eat junk food occasionally. It seems to have the highest amount of calories. And as an ectomorph I need all of the calories I can get. But moderation is the key. I don’t want to get sick or obese or to add 50 plus pounds of body fat to my body.

I’m gonna wrap this up now. Good luck to all of you out there who want to lose weight and keep it off. There is only one diet plan that I would consider implementing into my life. It’s called the new dash eating plan. A copy of that diet plan can be found, I think on the US Food and Drug Administration web site. The new dash eating plan appears to be a healthy eating plan consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products. Natural food choices. I don’t think I’d have a problem living with that. Meats, fruits, vegetables, soups, salads and dairy products never made me obese. Those foods make up the bulk of my diet. To paraphrase Scott in the diet and fat loss industry ebook, it’s the lifestyle of over-eating an abundance of processed, carbohydrates (starches and sugars) that are usually linked to obesity and health problems.

Wow, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the time that you took to tell me about yourself and how you are living the Unstoppable Lifestyle.

How can I argue with something that makes you feel great, look great, and has you super pumped up and passionate about continuing to improve your body and health?

I’ve done a cleanse once before for 12 days. (but I was allowed some food, it wasn’t just a liquid diet.) First 2 days were great, third day I felt like I got hit by a semi. After that I began to feel awesome.

But I would never do it again because I did feel deprived and I do enjoy meat and a tasty chocolate bar once a week. But that is just me.

I’m just not one for extremes, but obviously in your case it didn’t feel so extreme and it actually helped you develop some wonderful habits.

I’m all for raw foods baby! It’s really where you are going to get much of your nutrients and energy from.

Nutrition is very personal and unique to each individual and that’s the problem that I see with the industry is that they come up with a plan and all of the sudden that’s the only one that works. I don’t think so!

I see people do very well on low protein – high carb and I see people do very well on the exact opposite.

The key is to find what works best for you, what makes you feel the best, and what you can stick to as a lifestyle for the long term.

All of my answers are not the ‘right’ answer. The right answer is what’s going to work for YOU.

Avocado’s and macadamia nuts… mmm healthy fats

I’ve had some of those hawaiian macadamia nuts before… good stuff.

All that I can say is it’s a darn good thing that your trainer fired you. I would hate to see you comply to something that does not feel natural to you.

The only true way to find out what works is to try different things, give 100% effort and base it on the results that you achieve.

I think you have your answers. Still, keep an open mind to other options and when the time is right give them a try too.

Keep up the great work my Unstoppable Friend!

Scott Tousignant, BHK, CFC
http://www.FitChicFatLoss.com

Let me tell you a little bit about my fat loss journey. I am a 37 year old working single mom, my daughter is 4 years old, and since her birth in 2003 I have gained 40 lbs and struggled on and off with depression. In mid-July of this year, I did an 11 day “Master Cleanse” (lemonade/maple syrup/cayenne pepper/water) fast on the advice of my naturopath to help with symptoms of acid reflux, constipation, and poor digestion. I know you are skeptical of such things, but all I can say is that my acid reflux/digestive problems–all gone. As a side benefit, I lost 8 pounds, but I got so much more out of it then I ever imagined I would (especially in terms of insight into the psychological factors that make me eat/overeat). When I was finished I felt so good and healthy and clean and positive that I didn’t want to put anything harmful into my newly-rejuvenated self, so I followed my instincts and only consumed raw, plant-based food. I didn’t know how long that would last, but its been about 6 weeks now, and I’ve lost an additional 20 pounds, I’ve reinstigated my (long-dormant, physically-demanding) yoga practice, and most importantly I feel radiantly healthy inside and out, mentally and physically. I’m in the ZONE. I just want to keep going.

I used to love to lift weights at the gym, and while that’s not really possible now due to my demanding schedule, I figured I could at least get some dumbells and work out a bit at home. I got a dumbbell set, a set of elastic bands, and a swiss ball at the local sporting goods store.

I made an appointment with a personal trainer, just wanting someone knowledgeable to come to my house and set me up with a few workouts that I could do given the space/equipment/size I have. A very large muscle-bound man showed up at my house, and after talking to me a bit, told me he thought cleansing and raw foods was a joke, and that if I wanted to be his client I would need to eat “at least tofu and oatmeal”. His rationale being that I could never build/develop muscle on such a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet, and so I wouldn’t get good results and this would “reflect badly” on him. He also told me he was an expert with 15 years of experience and a passion for diet and nutrition, and didn’t want a client who was second-guessing his advice in that area. So he fired me as a client!

This just made me more determined. I know how my dietary choices are making me feel (absolutely, unbelievably great) and I’m not going to question that. And I also know that its possible for me to get a fit, healthy, toned, beautiful body if I’m willing to work for it, which I am. I got on my favorite research tool, the internet, and ran into a lot of conflicting advice. Lots of reps, low weight! Fewer reps, heavy weight! High carb! Low carb! Cardio burns fat! Cardio makes you fat! Then I found The Fit Bastard on YouTube speaking rationally about supplements. Glory hallelujah! That led me to http://www.thefitchic.com and knew I had found just the right thing for me. I’ve been working out with the Fit Chick plan for about 3 days now, and its easy and fun and exciting and takes barely any time at all.

But seriously, I very much like your down to earth, practical, empowering style. Everything you are saying sounds so right on in terms of mental attitude and the willingness to do the work (exercise), but work smarter not harder. And make it fun. I can agree to disagree on the topics of detoxing, cleansing, and diet and still reap the benefits of the Fit Chick plan.

But the best part about your program is, since you don’t actually know me, you can’t fire me for eating how I like! (Which is anything and as much of it as I want as long as it is raw fruits and vegetables. And a SILLY amount of avocados and macadamia nuts for someone losing almost a pound a day. That’s living foods enzyme action. I’m a believer. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, nutritionists!)

Thanks so much, Scott, for all your words of encouragement and advice. I already KNOW I have my dream body waiting for me, its just waiting to be revealed. It’s a foregone conclusion. I’m a 5%-er. I’m UNSTOPABLE.

Mahalo nui,
Jennifer
Maui, Hawaii