Another very important thing I want you to start thinking about, even before you begin the plan, is that if you want to repair your metabolism and reverse the cascade of metabolism-slowing biochemical events caused by stress and chronic dieting, you are going to have to start with one fundamental change: you are going to have to make nice with food again. Your metabolism wants and needs this. It’s the way your body is designed to work.
So I need you to remember how your body is meant to respond to food. Each time you ingest food, a series of biochemical reactions takes place. Your body learns what these biochemical reactions are, so that when you smell, touch, or just see a food, your body responds in a specific, learned way and begins responding before you even begin eating. But chronic dieters try to separate themselves from food. They’ve developed such a negative relationship with food that they’ve lost all sense of what a healthy relationship with it can be like. I like to say it is the ultimate love air.
This is a relationship that can be hot and steamy, spicy and creamy, icky with sweat and engorged with variety. It also embodies the true meaning of “till death do us part,” because without food you will not have life. And without healthy food it is darn near impossible to have a healthy life. Many chronic dieters see or smell or taste something delicious, and their first thought is: No! or Guilt! That’s not how the body is supposed to react to food. Let’s say you’re going to a dinner party; it’s a food-centric holiday like Thanksgiving or you’re going to your favorite restaurant.
What are you going to do? If you’re a chronic dieter, you’re probably going to feel anxious. Oh, my gosh, how am I going to handle this? Do I skip the appetizer if everyone else is eating it? I can have one drink but no dessert, or three bites of dessert but no alcohol. I’ve got to gure out how I can get through the night without eating any carbs.
And worst of all: I’d better starve myself until tonight, so I can eat everything. How can you have any fun at these events if they stress you out? Not only will you be unable to fully enjoy the times in your life that are meant to be enjoyable, but this stress causes fat storage. You’ll kick your body into famine mode, and then when you do get to the event or dinner, and you overeat, your body will frantically grab all those calories and turn them straight to fat.
You were intending to “be good.” To do what dieters are supposed to do. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do unless you want to store more fat, which I’m betting you don’t! We are going to turn that response around. When you’ve got a fun event coming up, it’s much healthier for your metabolism if you were to think like this: Wow, I got invited to this amazing party! I love Thanksgiving dinner.
I can’t wait to go to my favorite restaurant! Then, you need to eat before the event, throughout the day, to get your metabolism going. (I am going to walk you through exactly how to do that later.) Eating the right way before the big event and feeling positive about it will keep the stress hormones at bay. Instead of saying “Red alert, store every molecule of fat!” your body will say, “Oh boy! Let’s get geared up for this! Let’s get moving!” Then your metabolism will be roaring, and you’ll be in a great position to burn o whatever excesses you might decide to indulge in during your special event.
Not insignicantly, you’re also a lot more likely to enjoy yourself, but not necessarily by gorging on food. You’ll be more relaxed, happier, and the food you do eat, you’ll eat with control and pleasure. It’s win-win. It’s a whole new way of thinking, and a whole new way of living, and you’re going to love it.
Repair your metabolism, and better yet do it by eating great food, and you won’t ever have to worry about calories or guilt or special events or anything food-related ever again. So for the next four weeks, put your head down and charge on through, and let this program get your body back on track.
PROFILE OF A DESPERATE DIETER
I had one client I’ll call Jack. He was a very tall man who was 100 pounds overweight. He wanted to start the program and do it twice over two months. He was desperate to lose weight because his insurance company would not approve a knee surgery until he was at least 40 pounds down. It was during a time when he was extremely busy at work and under a lot of pressure.
I told him, “Jack, just take this opportunity and eat exactly what we lay out for you. The plan is easy. Just put your head down and don’t look up and do it. Plow through your work and see what happens when you come out on the other side.” Two months later, Jack looked up and he was 55 pounds lighter, and he was pissed at me. “That was supposed to be grueling.
I was supposed to be hungry. Why didn’t I do this before? What happened to me?” With his crazy busy schedule and his desperate need for surgery, he didn’t even have time to second-guess the program. He was angry that simply allowing his metabolism to heal and ignite fat burning from within had never been offered to him before. He was angry that for so many years he had had such a negative relationship with food. Before finding his way to my office, Jack had spent years of torturous dieting and fasting, only to find himself plagued with excess weight.
He has now reached his goal weight, got his knee repaired, and does mud runs and crazy fitness challenges. He still expresses a twinge of frustration to me that his metabolism had been slow for so many years when a Fast Metabolism was a real- life option out there waiting for him to find it. I get that a lot and it makes me both sad and happy that I get to do what I do every day. Fall in love with food again and let it support, nurture, and carry you over the threshold to a new paradigm of eating.
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