Same 20 (eBook)

Michelle Johnson-Farley (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 1. Auflage
348 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
9781667876948 (ISBN)

Infos

If you have ever gained and lost the same 20 pounds, then you are in good company. The diet roller coaster is a real and all too familiar experience for so many. We have moved from a culture where diet was the 'way of life' and shifted to an obsession with weight and perfection where it feels like a new fad diet is featured every week. The Same 20 is about empowering you on your weight-loss roller coaster to conquer those same 20 pounds once and for all by decoding diets and enabling you to select the best nutrition path for your life and weight goals. Allow The Same 20 to be your roadmap, a choose-your-own-adventure, to help you get off of the weight-loss roller coaster and commit to taking off the same 20 pounds once and for all. Within the pages of the book, you find a menu of diet options that I have tested. The legwork has been done, and I provide the information you need to decide which option is best for you based on your specific needs. Your goal should be prioritizing your mental and physical health, so let The Same 20 be your support system on your journey. I have helped many people conquer their own weight-loss struggles as a registered dietitian and personal trainer. I'm here for you along your journey, and I'm wishing you strength, encouragement, and motivation as you conquer the same 20 once and for all. Most important, have fun on this ride. 'Life is about the journey, not the destination.'

Award-winning author Michelle Johnson-Farley is a business professional and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who has spent the past decade helping others transform their health and live their best life. After more than 10 years in corporate America, she knew there was more to life, so in an effort to make a difference in the world, she studied to become a registered dietitian. Michelle received her undergraduate degree in business from Linfield College and her master's degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Her infectious energy and positivity allow her to inspire and empower those who she works with on their health and wellness journey. Michelle is relatable, approachable, and passionate, and she will always cheer you on. She believes it is never too late to start fresh and reinvent yourself, to live your best life, and, most importantly, to have fun along the way. Michelle resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children. For more information, visit TheSame20.com

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End the dieting ups and downs and twists and turns foreverDieting is often compared to riding a roller coaster as you gain and lose the same 20 pounds over and over again. If you're ready to get off the roller coaster and never look back, The Same 20 can help you choose the right diet to achieve that goal. Award winning author & registered dietitian nutritionist Michelle Johnson has tried dozens of diets, sparing you the stress of doing so. In The Same 20, Michelle explains why you lose and gain and gain and lose weight and what affect this has on your physical and mental health. She then reveals how nine popular diets can lead to weight loss. Do you like the idea of eating what you want, but don't feel the need to eat around the clock? Try intermittent fasting. Want to eat well and help the planet at the same time? Maybe a flexitarian diet or vegetarian lifestyle is for you. Need to cut bad stuff out of your diet? Try the no-sugar or alkaline diet for better health. The Same 20 offers menus, pros and cons, special considerations, and grocery lists for each diet. You'll also get encouragement and advice for choosing a diet you can maintain over time to get the weight off and, most importantly, keep it off while still meeting your health and wellness goals, having fun, and enjoying the journey. In The Same 20, you discover* How you wind up on the dieting roller coaster and the impact it has on your body* How to identify your personal motivation, also known as your "e;why"e; * How to decode diets, enabling you to select the best nutrition path for your life and weight goals* How to get off the diet roller coaster and stay offThe Same 20 is all about personalizing your diet journey and providing you with the confidence to rip up your ticket to the weight-loss roller coaster once and for all!

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Gaining and Losing
the Same 20 Pounds:
The Diet Roller Coaster

If you have ever gained 20 pounds and lost 20 pounds and gained 20 pounds and lost 20 pounds, you are in good company. The diet roller coaster is a real and all too familiar experience for many. Together let’s commit to ripping up our tickets and getting off the diet roller coaster once and for all.

In this chapter, I explain the impact of riding the diet roller coaster and the health consequences of carrying around those extra 20 pounds. I help you uncover your “why” when it comes to diet motivation and offer an overview of the different approaches to dieting.

Diet: A Four-Letter Word

Deprivation, misery, irritability, lack, starvation, gloom, prison sentence, deficiency, withdrawal, off limits, cheating, willpower, and hunger are just a few of the words people use when talking about dieting. How often do you hear that someone is on a diet and you get excited for them and wish you could join them because you know just how amazing dieting can be? NEVER!

When did diet become such a bad word? Believe it or not, the word diet comes from the Greek word diata, which means “way of life.” When did we move from diet simply meaning a way of life to a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly in hopes of reducing one’s weight?

Dieting has been around for more than 150 years, and there has been no lack of crazy fad diets for Americans to try. I remember doing the apple diet where I ate nothing but apples for a week. You can imagine how successful that diet was! Then I moved on to the cabbage soup diet; that was surely going to do the trick. Spoiler alert — it didn’t.

We have moved from a culture where diet was the “way of life” and shifted to an obsession with weight and perfection. This is evidenced by the weight-loss industry, which is worth approximately $60 billion annually.

Encountering the Same 20 Pounds

Do any of these resonate with you?

• Stressful life events
• Demanding job
• Hormonal changes
• Raising a family
• Caring for a loved one
• Loss of a loved one
• Loss of pregnancy
• Sleep deprivation
• Lack of self-care
• Not enough hours in the day
• Putting your needs on the back burner to care for the needs of others

If any of this sounds familiar, you are not alone. I would wager that if you can relate to any of these, you have also encountered the same 20 pounds in your life. I speak from experience when I share that I have encountered my same 20 pounds several times over the last twenty years. In fact, too many times to count, if I’m being honest.

We all lead busy lives. My goal is to empower you to conquer the weight-loss roller coaster by decoding diets and enabling you to select the best suited nutrition path to lose those 20 pounds, give or take, once and for all.

Revealing the impact of those extra 20 pounds

If the saying “Misery loves company” is true, then Americans are in good company when it comes to commiserating about weight. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, states that 74 percent of all adults and 40 percent of all children and youth in the United States are either overweight or obese. Overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) over 25, and obesity is defined as having a body mass index over 30. (Refer to Chapter 3 for more specifics on body mass index.)

Figure 1-1 depicts the average adherence to the dietary guidelines for Americans across life stages. In the 19–60+ age range, approximately 60 percent of people adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. When reviewing the entire population, ages 2–60+, the average adherence rate is slightly lower at approximately 57 percent. The statistics are not positive and illustrate why so many Americans are overweight and obese.

Figure 1-1. Adherence of the US population to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, across life stages.

Source: dietaryguidelines.gov

Americans consume foods and beverages that contribute to a calorie imbalance, and when coupled with low physical activity, you can understand why so many people have health issues. Carrying around excess body weight can put you at risk for physical pain, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis, digestive disorders, and even certain cancers. Not to mention the impact it has on your mental health, your confidence, and your self-acceptance.

Enduring the not-so-thrilling ride of the weight-loss roller coaster

Let’s review a ride on the weight-loss roller coaster:

1. You have decided to go on a diet. Maybe you have a high school reunion or a vacation coming up, were told by your primary care provider you need to make changes, or are just tired of having to buy new clothes and want to be healthy. Whatever your motivation, you have committed to dieting.
2. You begin your diet, which likely involves a calorie deficit to allow your body to lose weight.
3. You might initially experience all of those lovely words that describe dieting: deprivation, misery, irritability, lack, starvation, gloom, prison sentence, deficiency, withdrawal, off limits, cheating, willpower, and hunger. Dieting sounded great in theory, but now you are in it, and it isn’t as easy as you had hoped.
4. You might initially see weight, likely water weight, drop off pretty quickly. So now you are feeling motivated and excited. Things are happening!
5. You have been on your diet for a couple of weeks. The novelty is wearing off, and you are tired of eating the same 1,200 calories each day. You are irritable, hungry, tired of the bland food, tired of turning down social events because you can’t have any fun, and overall, just sick of dieting.
6. You might begin to see your weight loss stall. It was manageable when things were happening, but now you’re just exhausted and feeling many other expletives!
7. You decide you need a cheat meal, or maybe a cheat meal turned cheat day, turned cheat week. After all, you have done so well so far. The next thing you know, you have consumed so many calories and you are in a food coma. You beat yourself up and tell yourself you will begin the diet again tomorrow.

I realize that Steps 1–7 have many variations. For example, maybe you met your weight-loss goal for your vacation, but then on vacation you jumped to Step 7? Whatever your variation, I hope the illustration gives you a general idea of how the diet roller coaster works.

Exploring why losing weight gets harder and harder

The cold hard truth is that if you have dieted, you can relate to this weight-loss roller coaster. Let me share what happens with your body during each of these seven stages of dieting:

1. You have decided to go on a diet.

Your body: You have a basal metabolic rate (BMR). Think of this as the baseline calories or amount of energy your body needs to function; this is the number of calories you need to keep your heart pumping, your lungs breathing, and your brain processing. That along with an activity factor gives you the total number of calories you need to eat each day to maintain your weight. This caloric value is your set point, the amount you need to maintain the weight your body naturally hovers around. You likely have a set point, give or take a few pounds, of where your body is most comfortable. (You can learn more about BMR and caloric needs in Chapter 5.)

1. You begin your diet, which likely involves a calorie deficit to allow your body to lose weight.

Your body: Now you have deviated from the set point of calories your body needs or is used getting each day to maintain your weight. At this point, your body is programed to slow down your metabolism because it thinks it is in starvation mode. It’s a defense mechanism; it is your body’s way of taking care of you because it thinks you are in danger and food is scarce. It senses something is off (it doesn’t know that this is because of an upcoming reunion, nor does it care). It doesn’t know when it will get food again, so it slows down the metabolic process and preserves what food it does get.

Why this is important? Prior to dieting, your body might have processed your food much quicker and more efficiently, but now it slows down the process and hangs on to each and every calorie.

1. You might initially experience all of those lovely words that describe dieting: deprivation, misery, irritability, lack, starvation, gloom, prison sentence, deficiency, withdrawal, off limits, cheating, willpower, and hunger.

Your body: As part of your body’s survival mode, it turns up the hunger hormones to get you to eat, and at the same time, it decreases the hormones that make you feel full. Your body does what it can to get you to eat and give it some energy.

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Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.12.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie
• ISBN-13: 9781667876948 / 9781667876948