Study: The Simple Nutritional Principle Behind All Successful Weight Loss “Diets”
Truthfully, I consider this the end of all diets.
This past week I’ve been covering some of the juicy, nitty gritty principles, systems, and similarities found in dozens of people who have lost 100+ pounds, naturally, and kept it off years later without calorie counting or following fad diets.
Here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Amanda’s almost 100 pound weight loss interview. How she went from having about 15 chronic illnesses, requiring half a dozen pills per DAY just to have regular bowel movements, to a totally different person. Listen to it here.
The straight truth about getting your dream body in 2014. The majority of successful people (long term), rather than focusing on willpower and discipline, instead focus on creating micro habits, implementing systems, and creating processes that do not let them fail. There is the illusion that success comes from willpower and effort – not necessarily true. Watch that video here.
4 common reasons you’re failing to reach your health and weight loss goals. When I speak with students and clients, so many people tell me “I’ve failed because I’m lazy and unmotivated, I lack discipline and willpower.” But realistically, this is NOT true! I bust some other major myths in the article here.
Sol’s transformation: from 300 pounds to six pack interview. Sol was a “big guy” his entire life, and as a musician his lifestyle wasn’t exactly contributing to good health. Sol shares his “real food” philosophy as well as some of the systems he used to stay focused and motivated to lose 130 pounds. You can listen to it here.
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“Alex, What Should I ACTUALLY Be Eating to Lose Weight?!”
In the last video (the interview with Sol), I told you that I’d share exactly what all these case studies ate to see these kinds of results.
Well, some interesting recent research has come out – a Yale professor analyzed the science behind all the major diets (including vegetarian, Paleo, low carb, and others), and he found ONE principle underlying all the successful ones.
That same principle is the principle these people followed, and the one I teach in Dream Body: the Anti-Diet Solution.
I share that one principle in today’s video.
The Real Food Infographic
Upcoming Dream Body: The Anti-Diet Program
Many of you wanted a nutritional approach that made sense to people, worked, worked quickly, and was SUSTAINABLE – without the removal of entire food groups.
So I created a world-class integrative, healthy weight loss program for NORMAL people – not athletes or people who want six packs.
That’s great if you lose 30 pounds. But it’s even better if you keep it off.
ALL of the success stories I profiled have kept their weight off.
This is one of the powers of the program – it’s built on this “just eat real food” philosophy, which you know is healthy, realistic, sustainable, and ultimately WORKS.
Just a reminder, it will be opening soon, so add yourself to the wait list, and then please leave a comment below.
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Click here to join the Dream Body wait list.
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Leave a Comment Below
What’s one frustration, one gripe, you’ve had with previous “diet plans?”
What was the most frustrating part?
What did you HATE about it?
Tell me below.
– Alex
P.S. Don’t forget to get on the wait list for Dream Body.
My complaint: I’m always hungry. I hear you say you were never hungry, but that doesn’t exist for me. I’m doomed.
Hi Maris,
Why do you say you’re doomed? Can you tell me specifically what you eat? Have you tried eating 4-5 oz protein with each meal?
I used to be always hungry even eating a whole foods & a fairly low-carb diet: i.e. 4 oz protein per meal, as many low carb veggies as I wanted, and fruit & nuts in moderation. In fact, I was so hungry I was eating 16-20 cups of fruits/veg A DAY. I was so desperate to be free of the hunger that I had gastric bypass surgery. It didn’t work for my hunger when it worked for virtually everyone else. I was up to eating 8-10 cups of produce a day 8 weeks after surgery & still hungry. With my hunger I had symptoms of faintness, weakness, stomach cramps, nausea, irritability, & headaches that turned into migraines if I didn’t immediately eat. Thank God I finally discovered structured eating that reset my body’s hunger hormones. I started the day after my colonoscopy measuring my food & keeping it to 3 1/2 cups per meal and eating only that much even if I was still hungry and having symptoms. 4 Meals no longer than 4 hours apart & drinking at least 24 oz water between each meal. No snacks although some ppl who start structured eating eat 3 meals & 3 snacks a day spaced no more than 3 hours apart. I was sick at first with the nasty symptoms but I stuck with it. A miracle happened. Within weeks I was no longer insatiably ravenous AND I had a dramatic reduction in symptoms. Within 2 months I was free of hunger & symptoms & started having sensations of fullness. So I would follow the never empty/never full philosophy where I didn’t wait to be starving before eating and I wouldn’t eat til I was full. I would stop just short of full. It was/is miraculous. When I have hunger now it is normal (not intense, insatiable hunger.) I actually added back in whole grains and starchy veggies & am maintaining my weight easily. But I do eat real food & I make low calorie/low sugar desserts now as well because, umm, I like sweets…
I’ve never done a diet ‘plan’ per say and have always watched what I eat – or so I thought. I provide a well balanced nutritional lifestyle for my family, but have just started reading labels and learning about so many ‘extras’ and artificial sweeteners in the food I’m giving them. Scary! I’ve always know that artificial sweeteners are bad, but just recently, I’ve become a little ‘scared straight’ and willing to consider a change. So far, I like what I see here, so I figured I’d sign up and give it a whirl to shed these last 15 pounds from baby number 2 and prep for marathon #5 this fall.
Awesome Melissa! Hope to see you on the inside.
” I provide a well balanced nutritional lifestyle for my family, but have just started reading labels and learning about so many ‘extras’ and artificial sweeteners in the food I’m giving them. Scary!”
Could not agree more. The sad thing is that even if you’re eating boxed food from a health food store… you aren’t always getting great stuff. In my opinion, the best thing to strive for is avoiding ALL packaged foods – and although not always realistic, that’s the best way to avoid any kind of preservatives.
Hi, Alex. Thanks again for your work making things simpler. I’m wondering: what about dairy? Is that real food? From what I’ve read it’s good to avoid non- & low-fat dairy products, but what about “real” milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, etc…?
Hi Patty,
Personally, if you’re eating “real” dairy, I consider it a real food. I don’t eat dairy myself, because my whole family is lactose and you wouldn’t want to be in the same room with me after drinking milk, but as long as you’re focusing on real dairy I think you’re fine.
Hi Alex,
the thing I really HATE about diets is – weighing my food and having to write it all down! I’d spend my whole day wither remembering what I’d eaten, counting up what I could still have or regretting having gone over. Food became the thing I had to think about all day! This is so much better – thank you!
Hi Alex,
This all sounds amazing, can’t wait to join when it opens up!
But just a quick question, you say you’re not hungry when you eat real food, natural food etc. I’m guessing that’s by mixing the right quantities of proteins and fats (and carbs too)?
For lunch/ dinner this would be pretty easy to do, but how do you get enough protein into breakfast without eating eggs every single morning?
Thanks!
Hi Lorraine,
Great question!
Personally, I DO eat eggs most mornings, but you could also do parfaits, yogurts, smoothies (I have lots of recipes I can share) and other things if you get sick of eggs/don’t eat them.
Hi Alex
Can you be more specific about what is classed as “packaged food”? I know it sounds like it should be obvious, but I’m unsure about certain things like dried products eg. soups which just list their ingredients as various veg and spices for example but are dehydrated and therefore in a package. Is a packaged food OK as long as it doesn’t have any of the unrecognisable ingredients? Also what about things like canned tomatoes (I use those a lot), cheese (that comes in a package), yogurt and so on?
Yes, I agree Jayne – I too wonder exactly about the items you’ve mentioned – Alex, please help us understand if/where they do/don’t fit in.
Thks lots,
Hi Lori,
Just answered her question – does that clarify things at all? If not, go ahead and let me know what else you’re curious about :).
– Alex
Hi Jayne,
Generally speaking, if you eat boxed food here are a few key principles:
#1 Make sure the top three ingredients aren’t sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
#2 If the ingredients like in soup are dehydrated and it’s clearly just spices and meats, veggies, etc. that’s totally fine.
#3 Canned tomatoes/cheese/yogurt are all fine in my book!
At the highest level – avoiding packaged anything (not always realistic).
At the next level – canned things, or like you mentioned, products where the ingredients list is 2 lines or shorter – and you very clearly recognize everything in there.
Hope that helps :-).
Thanks Alex. It seems it’s basically a matter of using your common sense about this – as soon as you try to set yourself a hard and fast rule like “no packaged foods”, you can bet that you’ll immediately come across a load of potential exceptions to that rule. So the way I see it,it’s the actual ingredients that matter.
I also wonder about things like “natural flavourings”, which appear a lot on labels (food labelling here in the UK might be different to the US, I’m not sure) but applying the 80/20 rule I guess there’s a bit of flexibility there as long as your basic diet is made up of natural foods.
The ‘foods’ infographic is deceiving. An egg contains 150 calories…for a woman trying to lose weight, she’d reach her daily intake with 10 eggs. Similarly, nuts and seeds are very calorie dense – not a bad source of fat in any sense – but if you eat these ‘as much as you want’ you’re shooting yourself in the foot in the long run.
I love what you say about eating real food-no processed -I was off to a good start then felt a little deprived in the sugar arena. But I do feel so much better just eating real food-thank you for the reinforcement and yes I do work out at the gym too-it makes me feel better-more energy.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for the infographic. I am recently vegan, but am struggling to get enough protein for breakfast without the dairy. What are vegan sources of protein that can be had for breakfast? I do nuts in my snacks and beans, lentils and tofu for lunch/dinner. Thanks!
Hey Lavanya,
What have you been eating currently? Do you eat cereals?
I eat quinoa with stevia/cinnamon. 1/4 c has 8 grams complete protein.
If someone mentions the word ” diet ” to me…then food is ALL I think about. I want something that is realistic & I can keep up for life.
Agree with you Vanessa.
Lack of financial resources. Living pay check to pay check makes it hard to buy quality food. This cause stress, anxiety, and depression. Also looking at a mirror every morning and in my head I hear voices repeating how ugly I am
hahaha, avoid foods with ingredients you don’t understand 😛
Btw, the ‘good’ foods… you know most on that list are high in protein right? No ‘awesome’ carbs? Like beans? It is kinda funny that on the one hand you tell ‘don’t count calories’, but on the other hand you warn about potatoes have high calories (while, … I thought I read somewhere that that isn’t that bad, 100gr potatoe is 76Kcal, which isn’t that bad )
btw, nicest explanation I found somewhere was, if the food doesn’t have a sticker on it telling what’s in it, it’s good 🙂
(you don’t have ingredient lists on apples or broccoli 🙂 ) .