Why Your Diet Doesn't Work

At any given time, more than 60% of people say they are dieting, so if diets really worked, we'd all be pretty damn thin.

But we're not.

Give you one guess why...

Because diets don't work. In fact, they suck.

I've got a video you can watch that will basically explain, in very simple terms, why dieting alone as a means to lose weight doesn't work in the long term. It's about 30 minutes long, but that's because I go into detail and cover lots of info.

And yes, the video is free. Just click the image to the left or see the dieting video here.

So, go get yourself a cold drink and sit back and watch. You'll never go on another diet if you do.

~Dave

These People Are Not Role Models

I keep saying that if people focused on being healthy instead of focusing on being thin, they'd be much better off.

But, it is certainly an uphill battle when the media, fashion industry, MTV, Hollywood, Madison Avenue, etc. keep forcing unrealistic images of "beauty" on the public.

Check out this AP photo of a model on the catwalk during Paris Fashion Week last October, modeling the latest from French fashion house Guy Laroche.

Uhh, sorry Guy.

That's not fashion. That's anorexia, and you're pretty pathetic for glorifying it.

So, how about we all "Just say no" to Guy and everyone like him.

Then, please do yourself a favor and talk to your kids about the importance of choosing good role models.

(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)

~Dave

By the way, you smell bad too...

I've reached the point where I no longer have patience with smokers. I mean, c'mon. Smoking sucks.

I actually had someone tell me the reason they didn't want to quit smoking was because they'd gain weight if they did.

Yeah, that would be a lot worse than bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, stroke, heart disease, mouth cancer, or lung cancer. You'll be getting pushed around in your wheel chair at age 60 with your oxygen tank at your side, but at least you'll still be a size 6.

Listen, I know nicotine is an addictive drug and that smoking is a difficult addiction to break.

Fine.

But if you started smoking within the last 35 years or so, the dangers of smoking were well known and you were dumb enough to start anyway. So, sorry, you get no pity from me for your addiction.

You made a choice to put a burning stick in your mouth and inhale, knowing full well that it could give you cancer, heart disease, and all of the other diseases listed above.

That's just not very bright.

Oh and by the way, while your friends and family may not say it to your face, you smell awful. And when you try and cover it up with that cheap perfume or cologne, it only makes it 100% worse. Your teeth are turning brown, and your breath smells just like the tailpipe on your car.

But, please, don't quit smoking. I wouldn't want you to risk putting on a couple of pounds.

~Dave

It's Time to Stop Dieting

As you can see by the date below, this press release will be going out in a couple of days. You can get a sneak preview here.

~Dave
****************************************


April 2, 2008 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New online fitness community Healthy Weight Inner Circle debuts

Programs stress common sense approach towards healthy living.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Perfect Fit, LLC announces the debut of its new online fitness community, Healthy Weight Inner Circle. The site is a private, members-only resource exclusively for people who are serious about losing weight and getting healthy.

“Healthy Weight Inner Circle gives a person 24/7 access to the private, members-only area where they’ll find a wealth of exclusive information, including articles, exercise video clips, nutrition information, recipes, workouts, discussion forums, and much more,” says Dave Soucy, Fitness Expert, Author, Certified Personal Trainer, and owner of Perfect Fit, LLC. “What members WON’T find are any fads, gimmicks, or diets. Our community is for people who have finally realized that fad diets and gimmicks just don’t work. Healthy Weight Inner Circle is about losing weight and getting fit for a lifetime, and we help people do that by getting them to stop focusing on being thin, and start focusing on being healthy. If people focus on being healthy first, then thin will come.”

The site will feature new weekly and monthly workouts specifically designed to burn fat and build muscle, with members having access to the complete archive of all past workouts as well. With close to 100 exercise video clips (and more being added) members will learn exactly how to perform each move safely and effectively, either at the gym or in the privacy of their own home. In addition, HWIC's Recipe Box has close to 100 easy-to-make recipes for appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, and more. Also, there are articles that expose the incredible amount of misinformation regarding diets and weight loss that circulates in the marketplace. Finally, the HWIC Discussion Forums will give community members the opportunity to interact, have discussions, and get answers to their questions on fitness, nutrition, fat loss, motivation, and more.

“Healthy Weight Inner Circle is different from the thousands of diet sites on the internet,” adds Soucy, “as my goal is to get people to STOP dieting. The diet industry is a $50 billion business built on hype and false promises. Healthy Weight Inner Circle is here to help members break the dieting cycle once and for all. If they do, I know they’ll finally lose their extra weight for good. I’m so confident in this that I’ve removed all of the risk and decided to let anyone try out the site for a full 14 days for just $1. If they don’t agree with me, they can cancel any time. But, I know once they experience the HWIC community, they’ll never go back to their old dieting ways again.”

Soucy also operates Perfect Fit Fitness Bootcamps in Manchester, NH and is the author of several works including The Caveman's Guide to Fitness, The 17-Week Body Transformation Course, The Perfect Fit Personal Fitness and Workout Journal, and the healthy-eating cookbook Eating Right Made Simple.

More information can be found at www.HealthyWeightInnerCircle.com.

Get Through It, or Get Better?

Here's a question for you...

When you are working out, what is going through your mind? Are you just forcing yourself to go from exercise to exercise so you can "just get through your workout"? Is your sense of accomplishment that even though you didn't want to do it, you dragged your butt to the gym and got through your workout?

Or, when you are working out, are you doing it with the intention of getting better? Getting better by losing more fat, gaining more muscle, doing one more rep, lifting 10 more lbs, etc?

If you start walking into your workouts with the mindset that you want to be a bit better than your last workout, I guarantee you will get better results than if you are just trying to get through it.

~Dave

Healthy Weight Inner Circle

Okay, I know I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging lately.

What can I say? I've been busy.

I actually have been writing lots of stuff. Been filming even more stuff.

It just hasn't been for here.

I'm working on a new web site that will be the final destination for those of looking to lose weight, get healthy, and do it the right way. The site will be called Healthy Weight Inner Circle, and it will be for those of you ready to break the dieting cycle for good.

If you want to see what Healthy Weight Inner Circle is all about, just watch the short video below.



~Dave

Treat Yourself Like Your Dog

Maybe you have a dog. Maybe you don't.

Maybe a cat, turtle, hamster, parakeet. Some sort of pet.

If not, just work with me and pretend you have a dog.

You love the dog, treat it like a member of the family. Give him good food, plenty of water, lots of space to run, and a nice comfy bed.

You wouldn't let him drink coffee all day, eat junk food and pizza, smoke cigarettes, lay around on the couch, and not get enough sleep, would you?

Of course not.

Then why do you let yourself do that?

You've only got one body to get you through this life. Maybe you should think about treating yourself at least as good as your dog.

I'm just saying...

~Dave

Today Is The Tomorrow You Worried About Yesterday, part 2

In a previous post I wrote about how most people's reasons for not working out weren't really reasons at all, but excuses.

For those of you still having trouble fitting in your workouts, see if any of these excuses sound familiar.



~Dave

What's Your New Year's Resolution?

I've written about New Year's resolutions before, discussing why they usually don't work and how to make yours stick, so I'm not going to get into that today.

What I am curious about though, is that for those of you who are making a resolution, what exactly is it? I've posted a poll on one of my other blogs and would appreciate it if you could take about 20 seconds and check it out at www.DietVictimsBlog.com.

Thanks and Happy New Year,
Dave

You Can't Out-Train Lousy Nutrition

I see lots of people who are faithfully following a proper exercise program, but are frustrated because they aren't losing weight or inches. For some reason, many people think that just because they exercise regularly, they can then eat like crap and get away with it.

Well, I guess you can, as long as you don't care if you look and feel like crap as well. But if your goal is to lose weight, then you've got to get as serious about your nutrition as you are about working out. If you're not willing to do that, then don't expect to see great changes in the mirror or on the scale.

And as I said in a previous post, that doesn't just mean eating well. You've got to eat well, but what you've really got to do is eat well and create a caloric deficit.

That translates into 'stop eating crap and eat fewer calories than you burn'.

Combined with an appropriate training program, that is how you lose weight, because no matter how you try, you can't out-train lousy nutrition.

~Dave

The 12 Days of Fitness

If you're interested in receiving tons of health and fitness info for free this holiday season, then read on.

My friends Dax Moy and Pat Rigsby are coordinating a great program called The 12 Days of Fitness, and I'm happy to say that I'm one of a handpicked group of just 250 health and fitness experts from all around the world to participate in the largest fitness gift-giving program ever.

This means that, as well as getting your gifts from me, you'll be able to download a wealth of videos, audios, ebooks and special reports on just about every area of health and fitness from Diet & Nutrition, to Fat Loss, to Strength Training, to Back Pain (that's one of mine) to Mom's Fitness and just about EVERYTHING in between.

Dax and Pat have ensured that only top quality gifts have been allowed into this year's gift-giving, meaning that many of the contributors have created gifts that you would happily pay for...

But you get each and every one of them for free!

All you have to do to get your hands on these gifts is to register at www.12daysoffitness.com and you'll be notified when the first set of gifts are available. (In case you haven't figured it out, they'll be spread out over 12 days so you aren't overwhelmed with hundreds of choices all at once.)

Just my way of saying thanks for reading my blog.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get on over to www.12daysoffitness.com now!

~Dave

No Need To Overthink Weight Loss

In my previous post I talked about how just 'eating right' may not always be enough to cause you to lose weight. That still doesn't mean it has to be complicated though.

My brother is a good example.

He's lost about 30lbs in the past 2 years or so, and you might be surprised at how simple his weight loss secret is.

He simply gave up eating until he was full. Instead, he ate until he wasn't hungry.

Simple, yet a very big distinction.

Most people eat more than they need to because they eat until they feel full. And because most people eat very quickly, your brain doesn't catch up to your stomach, and by the time you feel full, you've over-eaten by a good percentage.

My brother's method: eat more slowly and stop eating when you are no longer hungry.

Simple, yet effective enough to get a fifty-something year old guy back down to his high-school weight.

~Dave

Eating Right and Not Losing Weight?

Here's a quote I hear fairly often:

"I'm eating right and I'm still not losing any weight. How can this be?"

Well, it's usually pretty simple. By 'eating right', most people mean they aren't eating junk food, they're staying away from sugar, eating plenty of fruits and veggies, eating frequently, etc.

That's great.

That doesn't mean you'll automatically lose weight though.

As an example, I just had a routine physical exam. I get one every 2 years and my weight this year was within a pound of where it was 2 years ago. And I'd say that I eat right (well, most of the time anyway).

But, what you need to realize is that if your goal is to lose weight, simply 'eating right' is usually not enough. The bottom line is you need to be disciplined, making sure that in addition to making the good choices listed above, you are also eating such that you are creating a caloric deficit (calories in has to be less than calories out).

Now, that doesn't mean starving yourself. You still need to make good choices, eat frequently, etc. But, you also need to make sure you're following a proper exercise program designed to burn fat and build muscle, so that you are burning more calories every day.

Eating right is a good thing. It can help lower blood pressure, control diabetes, lower your bad cholesterol, and any number of other healthy benefits. But, by itself, it is often not going to be enough to get you the weight loss results you want.

~Dave

Dave's Rules for Thanksgiving

First, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. If you're trying to lose weight and are worried about blowing it tomorrow, don't worry. Here are my simple rules to get you through it just fine:

1- Don't go anywhere hungry. People always say "I'm not going to eat all day to save up calories for Thanksgiving dinner." Well, that's about the worst thing you can do. Eat normally all day before your Thanksgiving feast. That way, you won't be starving, which just causes you to tank up on chips, dip, cheese, candy, and all of the other stuff spread out before dinner happens.

2- If you're doing the cooking, chew gum while you cook. This will keep you from eating an extra 1000 calories while you are surrounded with food in the kitchen.

3- When it comes time for dinner, eat whatever you want, just eat sloooowllly. Come on, it's Thanksgiving. Enjoy it and eat whatever you want for dinner. By eating slowly, you'll let your brain catch up with your stomach and you'll be less likely to overeat and have to unbutton your pants in order to breathe.

4- Watch football.

5- If you're hosting, send everyone home with leftover desserts. Don't keep them around. The best way to keep pie out of your pie hole is to not have it in the house.

5a- If you're a guest somewhere, don't let them send you home with leftovers other than turkey. The best way to keep pie out of your pie hole is to not have it in the house.

6- On Friday, just get back on track eating right and exercising. One day of eating like a Viking won't kill you. If you need some motivation and tips to get on track, visit www.DietVictims.com.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Dave

How To Lose Weight and Why Diets Don't Work

If you've had a hard time losing weight (who hasn't?), check out this video.



www.DietVictims.com
~Dave

Food Label Lies, Part 2

A quick follow up to my previous example of how food companies lie to you. Here are a couple of other good examples, courtesy of the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

Kellogg's Special K Fruit & Yogurt
The ads for this cereal tell us how it "combines the crunch of whole grain goodness, the smooth creaminess of yogurt and the sweet taste of berries..." Notice how the objects in the sentence are 'crunch', 'creaminess', and 'taste'. That's because the cereal really contains more highly processed refined rice than whole grain wheat, no actual berries at all (they're really just dyed apple pieces), and no yogurt (just heat-treated yogurt powder).

Smucker's Simply Fruit
Well, it might be, sort of. It actually contains more fruit syrup than real fruit, and the syrup isn't made from the fruit in the product's name. It is made from apple, pear, or pineapple juice concentrate, which is cheaper than the fruit they tell you is in the jar.

DanActive Immunity Dairy Drink
This is one of my favorites. Dannon tells you that this drinkable yogurt will help to "strengthen your body's defenses." Unfortunately, the reality is that Dannon only did one study to see if drinking this stuff actually kept people from getting sick, and they found out it didn't. But, let's not let that get in the way of clever marketing.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a great newsletter, Nutrition Action. You should check it out at www.nutritionaction.com.

~Dave

How Food Manufacturers Lie to You

If you open your cupboard, I'm guessing you'll find a can of non-stick cooking spray. I know there's one in my cupboard.

Look at the front of the can, and regardless of the brand, you'll probably see "For fat-free cooking", "calorie-free cooking spray" or something similar.

Now, turn the can around and look at the ingredients. Basically it is canola oil, flavoring, and propellant. If you look at the bottle of cooking oil you probably also have in your cupboard, you'll see that it has 120 calories per tablespoon, with 100% of the calories coming from fat.

So, how is it that taking canola oil from a bottle and putting it in a spray can removes all of the fat and calories?

It doesn't. That cooking spray has 120 calories per tablespoon and is 100% fat.

So, how is the manufacturer able to get away with lying to you? The law allows them to. You see, FDA regs say that if a food has less than .5 grams of fat PER SERVING, it can be called fat-free.

Take a look at the serving size on your cooking spray: .25 grams. If the serving size is less than .5 grams, there has to be less than .5 grams of fat in it, right?

To point out how ridiculous a serving size of .25 grams is, they even tell you that equals a spray lasting 1/3 of a second. Even if you could hit the trigger, spray, and get your finger off the trigger in 1/3 of a second, you wouldn't cover much of your pan.

But, that doesn't matter, as there are no rules defining serving size. So, food manufacturers can simply manipulate serving sizes, even to ridiculous degrees, to justify the marketing hype on the front label that gets you to buy the product.

Now, I'm not saying non-stick cooking spray is bad. I'm just saying it isn't calorie- or fat-free. In fact, it is 100% fat.

The point is, you can't always believe what is on a food label.

~Dave

My Anniversary Present to You, Part 1

So, it's my 17th wedding anniversary this week.

Doesn't seem nearly that long, but if you include the time we dated, my wonderful wife Wendy and I have been together for more than half my life.

Most people can't make that claim. I'm obviously a very lucky man.

And she's not the only wonderful girl in my life, as I am also proud to have two beautiful daughters as well.

Life is good.

So, to celebrate, I'm going to start giving stuff away. Yup, for my anniversary, I'm giving you gifts.

First up, you can now grab my ebook "A Healthy Back in Ten Minutes a Day" for free.

No strings attached. Simply go to www.YourHealthyBack.com and sign up and you'll get a free copy. Kind of hard to beat free.

I'm not sure how long I'll keep that offer up, so go over there now. If you miss out, well, don't worry. There will be more free stuff coming very soon. Although I haven't decided exactly when or what it will be, I have decided on the price.

$0.

Stay tuned...

~Dave

Whose Fault is it if You're Overweight?

A new report by a British government-sponsored think-tank states that obesity does not simply result from over-eating and a lack of exercise, but is a consequence of modern life.

"Although personal responsibility plays a crucial part in weight gain, human biology is being overwhelmed by the effects of today's 'obesogenic' environment, with its abundance of energy-dense food, motorised transport and sedentary lifestyles.

"As a result, the people of the UK are inexorably becoming heavier simply by living in the Britain of today."

Excuse me, but that's a pile of crap.

Not only do we have individuals who refuse to take responsibility for their own situations, instead choosing to blame fast food restaurants, soda companies, junk food manufacturers, and whoever else happens to be a convenient target, but now we have the British government encouraging people to abdicate personal responsibility for their weight issues.

Give me a break. I think they created this report just so they could coin the word "obesogenic".

Nobody forces you to eat all of the energy-dense food available at every corner in the form of fast food restaurants. Just because there is a McDonalds on every block doesn't mean you have to eat there.

And motorized transport is now a culprit? Buy a bike. Take a walk. If you are taking your car to go around the block to buy a cheeseburger, that isn't society's fault, pal. Look in the mirror.

And don't even try to tell me that a sedentary lifestyle is caused by anything other than personal choice. Society doesn't glue your lazy ass to the couch to watch Oprah. You do. If you don't exercise, there is nobody to blame but yourself.

And, as expected, you have the pundits and know-it-alls lining up to say that this report proves that governments aren't doing enough to tackle the obesity issue. According to this report, "Tackling obesity, like tackling climate change, requires a range of changes in society, from increasing everyday activity through the design of the built environment and transport systems to shifting the drivers of the food chain and consumer purchasing patterns to favor healthier options."

Puh-lease. Let's over-complicate matters so that we can continue to justify expanding waistlines.

You're overweight? Don't blame McDonalds for making hamburgers or Ford for making inexpensive cars. You, and only you, made the choice to drive a block for a cheeseburger.

~Dave

Today is the Tomorrow You Worried About Yesterday

"I don't have time to exercise."

"I'm too busy."

"It takes too long to work out."

Want some cheese with that whine?

Every day people tell me the reason they can't exercise is because they simply don't have time. That's not a reason. That's an excuse. Big difference.

Most of these people have time to watch Survivor or The Bachelor though. They also have time to keep up with the latest on Britney Spears. No wonder they don't have time to exercise.

Guess what? Fit people are just as busy as you.

You can't tell me you don't have 15 minutes to get a workout in. Wait, don't think you can work out in 15 minutes?

I just did.

I did a quick warmup of some arm circles, bodyweight squats, and pushups. Then I did a circuit of dumbbell lunges, incline dumbbell chest press, and 1-arm rows. I did the circuit 3 times and finished off with a set of ab wheels.

Worked hard, hit all the major muscle groups, used weights that challenged me to do 10 or so reps per set, and finished in 15 minutes.

Please stop telling me you don't have time to work out. More importantly, stop telling yourself that you don't have time to work out as you watch Survivor.

~Dave