Lose It Right - Book Review!

I've had the great pleasure of reading James Fell's new book, Lose It Right, and let me tell you, it's a great read!

The book is written by James Fell, a Calgarian fitness journalist, MBA, columnist for Chatelaine and the LA Times, amongst a long list of achievements.  He has written a very pragmatic, well researched, and entertaining approach to weight management and leading a healthy life.  He truly walks the walk, enjoying a permanent (and impressive!) healthy lifestyle after struggling with his weight in the past.

The book goes through three Stages:

Stage I: Learning why we as a society, and as individuals, struggle with our weight.  From portion sizes, stress, and external food cues, to understanding the dopamine reward pathway in our brain that reinforces rewarding behaviors, James runs the gamut to help us explore the diverse elements that may be contributing to each individual's weight struggle.


Stage II: Preparation for changing your lifestyle, from changing how you view food, to goal setting, and how to manage practical aspects of lifestyle change.


Stage III is the Doing part of the book - James' actual how-to's of morphing your lifestyle into a healthy one.

You can read an excerpt from his book here.

What I really love is that this book is all about not just doing a lifestyle plan, but becoming that lifestyle.    James' plan has an emphasis on exercise - while exercise is important, it's not for everyone, or at least it is more for some people than for others.  Also, it's important to speak with your doctor before you embark on a new exercise routine, to ensure it is safe for you to do so.

But regardless of the details of how you embark on a healthier lifestyle:

"Losing It Right is about changing who you are.  It is not a list of actions, but rather someone you become."

And finally, my very favorite quote:   "Don't just do this.  BE this."

Follow me on twitter: @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2014

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McDonald's or Twinkies for Weight Loss??

The media loves to lather attention on stories of people who lose weight by controversial means.  And who better to draw attention to than those who do it by eating nothing but fast food or junk food?! It's the ultimate sexy paradox.

There's the teacher who has recently been heralded for his 37 pound weight loss eating nothing but McDonald's for three months.  And then there's the nutrition professor who dropped 30 pounds in 8 weeks eating Twinkies.  

Well, I for one am not lovin' it.

I agree that these 'diets' prove the point that weight loss is achieved when calories in is less than calories out.  I also think it is quite cool that the teacher used this opportunity to teach his students about how to read and interpret restaurant nutritional information - this is an important skill in navigating our toxic societal obesity terrain.

However, these headline 'diets' put out a lot of wrong messages as well.  First of all, successful weight management is about permanent lifestyle change, not temporary diets.  How about if we follow these guys up over the next few years and see what happened to their weight after they stopped their temporary diets?

Secondly, weight management is about addressing the underlying contributors to the weight struggle - from the emotional relationship with food, to the home environment, to stress in the work place, and so on.  No discussion of these issues with these guys as far as I can see.

And I don't think I need to say that from a nutritional perspective, neither of these diets are recommended.

So how about we focus on the stories of people who make appropriate, healthy, permanent lifestyle changes and enjoy sustained weight loss as a consequence?  I'd love to hear your stories - send them in!

Follow me on twitter: @drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2014

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