Nutrition Guide to Weight Loss Success

Have you been waging a weight loss battle for years? How has that worked out for you? If you’re like most people, you win little skirmishes here and there. You follow the nutrition guides of new diets that usually involve slashing calories, and you lose 10 or 20 or more pounds. You’re happy. Excited. Relieved. Proud of your accomplishment.

But those diets are way too restrictive. You want to eat real food again. You dream about devouring a piece of chocolate cake with decadent buttercream frosting. It’s not fun being hungry and feeling deprived all the time. And since you can’t eat that way for the rest of your life, you go off the diet and start eating normal foods again.

It doesn’t take long for the pounds to come back. In just a few weeks or months, you’ve gained it all back, plus 10 or so extra pounds. All the happiness, excitement, and pride you felt at your weight loss turns to sadness, depression, and shame. You blame yourself for failing the diet. After all, how could anyone fail so many diets so many times if it wasn’t their fault?

Well, it is NOT your fault.

Do you know that all traditional diets have a 95% failure rate and that the average dieter in America attempts a new diet four times a year? The room of failed dieters is quite crowded and, no, it is not their fault either.

You did not fail all the diets you tried. They failed YOU.

It has been scientifically proven that hormonal dysregulation contributes to most states of overweight or obesity. Dysregulated hormones are primarily caused by poor diet, which can be cured with proper nutrition.

Nutrition guide: How poor dietary habits caused the obesity epidemic

Carrying an unhealthy amount of extra body fat, defined as obesity, has become a global epidemic. Over 500 million adults worldwide are obese (200 million men; 300 million women. But obesity is also America’s problem. A third of the population in the U.S. is obese, and this is expected to rise to 50% by 2030. In addition, more than 70% of the population is overweight or obese.

These numbers are important because obesity is the underlying cause of many conditions and diseases. Here are just a few of them, along with the number of deaths they cause in America.

Health complications of obesity

• Cardiovascular diseases kill approximately 2,200 people per day. (Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine)
• Type 2 diabetes kills more than 79,000 people every year. (Source: Medical News Today)
• High blood pressure contributes to or causes the deaths of 1,100 people each day. (Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Gallbladder cancer kills 2,000 people each year. (Source: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Deaths from other diseases are also indirectly caused by obesity. For instance, obesity is the number one risk factor for type 2 diabetes, a disease that is the leading cause of kidney failure that kills more than 48,000 people per year.

With so many diseases caused by obesity, it’s no wonder that experts and health officials seem to be racing against time to stop this epidemic. To find the cure for obesity, however, they might want to go back in time and examine what caused the obesity epidemic. They will be quite surprised by what they find.

Beginnings of the obesity epidemic

The obesity epidemic was foreshadowed by the growth of the processed-food industry. A few processed foods were available in the early 1900s, but as technology grew, so did new and better ways to make processed foods. For instance, industrial farming methods made growing crops fast and easy.

This led to government subsidies for corn and soy, making corn a cheap commodity. High-fructose corn syrup was created, and food manufacturers began using it in their processed foods as a much cheaper alternative to cane sugar. Many preservatives were also created and found their way into these foods.

Processed food consumption grew, becoming more frequent from the 1950s through today. Then, the low-fat movement of the ‘70s created a perfect storm that encouraged manufacturers to develop processed foods with reduced fat. They also offered fat-free options of many of their popular processed foods. When manufacturers removed the fat from their products, however, they added sugar and artificial flavoring to make them taste better.

Many studies show sugar contributes to obesity, as does regular consumption of processed foods. Sugar has a toxic effect on the body, and processed foods are filled with toxic chemicals, so it’s really no surprise that obesity would be one of the results of the over-consumption of processed foods.

Most experts consider the mid-’70s to be the start of the obesity epidemic.

Nutrition guide: Low-fat nutrition did not lead to a low-fat population.

It is abundantly clear that low-fat diets did not lead to a low-fat population. This is because not only did manufacturers load their foods with extra sugar, but also people thought any low-fat or no-fat food was healthy for them to eat. They thought it would protect them against all manner of illnesses, including heart disease, and that it would keep their weight down or help them lose weight. Little did they know their problems were just beginning.

When they gained weight, they turned to the diet and exercise industry, only to be disappointed over…and over…again.

The diet and exercise industry also did not lead to a low-fat population.

The diet and exercise industry also helped spur the obesity epidemic. Since the 1960s, they have taught the calorie-deficit theory of weight loss, which is wrong. (More about that later.) Many diet and exercise companies sprang up, and although they seemed different from each other, they all used the calorie-deficit theory as their model.

Many major diet companies also said processed foods were okay to eat; some even made them a huge part of their diets, i.e., Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem. These companies made fortunes off of your suffering. Their diets didn’t work for you, and you always had to come back for more help.

You’re so used to suffering you’re probably wondering if anything does work. We have good news. YES. There is a SANE way to weight loss that does work, and we’ll show you how to accomplish it.

It’s About Nutrition!

Getting proper nutrition is the only thing that leads to sustainable weight loss. It’s the only thing that works, and not teaching proper nutrition is why where those other diets went wrong. To explain the process, let’s start with the calorie-deficit theory of weight loss.

The calorie deficit theory of weight loss: an explanation

The calorie-deficit theory of weight loss states that if you burn more calories than you consume in a day, you will lose weight. It teaches that a calorie is the same as any other calorie, and losing weight is simply a mathematical equation, that your body metabolizes calories from all foods in the same way. For instance, if you eat a candy bar and a serving of baked fish, 200 calories each, they have the same effect on your body. And as long as you stay within your total caloric limit for that day, you would maintain or lose weight, depending on your goal.

In other words, the calorie-deficit theory of weight loss treats the metabolism like a scale. (Calories in = Calories out)

The calorie-deficit theory of weight loss is not totally wrong; it’s just incomplete. You see, your metabolism is not like a scale. It is like a thermostat, regulating your calorie input with calorie output around your setpoint weight.

The setpoint weight

The setpoint weight is the level of fat your body thinks it should have based on signals from the hormones, brain, and gut. It varies by about 12 to 20 pounds up or down, and it is the weight your body defends at all costs.

If you try to lose weight by slashing calories, your hormones alert the hypothalamus in your brain that something is wrong. The hypothalamus, the control center of the metabolism, orders specific hormones to make you hungry and cold in an attempt to get you to eat. If you do not start eating your normal amount of calories in a short period of time, it signals hormones to slow your metabolism and not burn any fat.

Slashing calories, the recommendation of many diet plans, is counterproductive because it works against your body’s self-preservation mechanism. It is destined to fail.

The only way you can lose weight is to remove the hormonal clog responsible for your elevated setpoint weight. Once you do that, you will lose weight effortlessly. Your hormones will then regulate your weight around your new, lower setpoint weight.

How poor nutrition elevates setpoint

Eating a poor-quality diet has been shown to elevate the setpoint weight. There are three main food groups that do it.

• Heavily processed foods: These are foods commonly found in the middle aisles of grocery stores. They are loaded with sugar, salt, manufactured fats, preservatives, artificial flavorings, and other toxic chemicals. Research shows these cause systemic inflammation, which elevates setpoint weight.
• Starchy carbs: Foods like rice, bread, corn, and potatoes cause a spike in blood sugar levels, leading to increased secretions of the hormone insulin. Insulin is a fat-storage hormone. Having a constant presence of insulin in your blood tells your body to store fat and not burn any of your fat stores.
• Sugar: More than 70% of processed foods contain added sugars, and sugar has been shown to cause weight gain. This is because it elevates setpoint weight, even if you stay within your calorie limit.

How good nutrition lowers the setpoint

If poor nutrition elevates setpoint weight, good nutrition lowers it. You see, calories are important. You do need a calorie deficit to lose weight. But your calorie output isn’t a set amount. Rather, your body regulates the output by tweaking the burn of other metabolic processes. So, if you eat more calories than you need, it will increase your metabolism to burn extra calories. If you eat fewer calories than you need, it will slow your metabolism. It’s regulating the calorie burn around your setpoint weight.

When you enjoy good nutrition, you feel full and satisfied, even though you typically eat fewer calories than you did before. You have an unconscious calorie deficit, but because your cells are getting all the nutrients they need, they are okay with burning fat.

The below food groups have been shown to lower setpoint weight.

Non-starchy vegetables: Non-starchy vegetables contain the nutrients your body needs to function well. (Compare this to the standard starvation diet.) The fiber content also fills you up fast, which prevents overeating.

Nutrient-dense proteins: These contain more protein per calorie than either fat or carbohydrate. Studies show protein signals long- and short-term satiety hormones, meaning eating enough protein at every meal fills you up fast and keeps you full longer. It is also impossible to overeat nutrient-dense protein.

Whole-food fats: These fats are satisfying, and contrary to popular belief, there is no proof that eating fats makes you fat. In fact, the opposite can be true. Studies show if you replace starchy carbs and sugars with whole-food fats, your body will start burning fat for fuel. Once it burns the whole-food fats you just consumed, it will dip into your fat stores!

Good nutrition and the SANE Diet

The SANE Diet has been proven to lower setpoint weight in over 13,000 peer-reviewed journals. For best results, always try to eat non-starchy vegetables, nutrient-dense proteins, and whole-food fats together in the same meal. When eaten together, these foods clear the hormonal clog and help lower your setpoint weight.

Below are the serving recommendations and some examples of foods for each category:

Non-starchy vegetables

At least 10 servings per day

• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach or kale
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Onions
• Romaine Lettuce

Nutrient-dense protein

3-5 servings per day, 30-50 mg per meal

• Cottage cheese
• Egg whites
• Grass-fed beef
• Lean Meats
• Nonfat Greek yogurt
• Salmon

Whole-food fats

3-6 servings per day

• Almonds
• Avocado
• Coconut
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds
• Olives

You may also enjoy 0-3 servings of low-fructose fruits per day. Some great suggestions are lemons, oranges, goji berries, blueberries, strawberries, and peaches.

The SANE diet is the best way to get the nutrition you need to lower your setpoint weight and lose weight. Try it and see for yourself!

Next step: Nutrition science with SANE