Shulman - The metabolism-boosting diet: burn fat, balance hormones and lose weight for life

A grand adventure is about to begin.

Winnie the Pooh

Even as a five-time author, each time I sit down to pen a book, I experience a degree of excitement and nervousness about beginning a new project. Not only was writing The Metabolism Boosting Diet incredibly exciting for me, but it was a distinctively unique experience. Before writing the book, I had been blessed to work with thousands of men, women and teens on their weight loss journey. Seeing their dramatic health improvements along with their significant weight loss successfrom 15 to 100 pounds or morehas been the most rewarding work of my life. Every time I witness a new client following the system, losing the weight and feeling better, I comment to my clinic director that it is as though they have found their shine once again. As their health improves and their weight goes down, their shoulders go back, their skin clears, their energy soars, and their surge in confidence can be felt and seen. The layers of heaviness of poor health and excess weight that they first walked into the clinic with are gone, and the lightness of optimal health and vitality gets the chance to shine through.

Although seeing the weight melt off my clients is thrilling and we celebrate each and every pound and inch gone, there is more to this process than just the number on the scale or tape measure. Why? Because health is the first wealth. As my client Marianna, a recent cancer survivor, said through tears, Joey, this is about far more than just fitting into my jeans. While Marianna acknowledged that losing the weight and dropping sizes felt great, she was aware of something even bigger taking place. She was using her food and dietary intake as a powerful preventative approach to disease and, as she put it, it was one of her greatest tools for living her best life.

Within these pages, and with the permission of my clients, I share a number of their stories and pictures with you. Whether it is the mother of five young children, the professional who was just dumped by her boyfriend, the post-menopausal woman who told me she would never lose weight, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, my goal is to show you that they are you. It does not matter what you do for a living, how much weight you have to lose or what age you areI assure you, you can and will do this.

After watching the most amazing transformations, what I know for sure is that using optimal nutrition as the platform to propel your life to a higher level is a guaranteed path. As you will discover and see in the pages of this book, the health and life changes that begin by simply changing your food and following the Metabolism Boosting Diet are nothing short of breathtaking.

And now its time for you to put yourself on your own to-do list and take control of your health with food. I assure you, when you eat better, you feel better and do better each and every time.

Lets begin!

Lets be honest, shall we? Weight loss is about much more than counting carbohydrates, limiting calories or following weekly weigh-ins. In truth, to lose the weight for life and for your results to stick, you must change nutritionally, physically and emotionally. If the change is not permanent and the plan is not sound and achievable, all results will be temporary. The plan has to fit you and your metabolism to provide lifelong results.

After working in the weight loss world for over a decade, I have seen it all. I have also been witness to the fact that things fall off track and need to be steered back to what works. For example, I regularly see clients who, before implementing the Metabolism Boosting Diet, have fallen into diet trapseating 500 to 600 calories a day, restricting their intake of all fats, drinking smoothies for meals, ordering food by mail, or dropping all forms of carbohydrates. In short, whatever promises to work, they will do it. Although these unbalanced approaches may trigger some weight loss in the beginning stages, in the long run they typically conk out your metabolisms engine, making future weight loss attempts even harder and more frustrating. On a deeper level, these types of quick-fix dietary approaches create further damage to your relationship with food and move you even farther from hitting your long-term health and weight loss goals. Drained of energyand often moneyand disappointed by their failed attempt, most people either move on to the next diet that seems to offer the answer or give up entirely.

Its time to end the insanity that is occurring in the weight loss world.

Nutritional pioneer Adelle Davis has been quoted as saying, We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can help us to become much more than who we are. In other words, of course you are greater than the burger you had at lunch or the pasta you ate at dinner; however, the food you eat will be the foundation that helps the best you to flourish. When you eat better, you feel better and therefore can do better.

On a first visit with weight loss clients, I listen carefully to the terminology they use to describe their current state of health and how they are feeling. Stuffed, bloated, uncomfortable, out of control, depressed and sluggish are words I often hear. How can you possibly be the best at your job as a parent, partner or sibling when so much of your energy is tied up with your food, your weight and your body image? Wouldnt it be liberating to finally free up that energy and shift to a stage that is far healthier and more productive? The good news is you can!

Before prescribing a weight loss program to any of my clients, I ask two fundamental questions:

1. How many times a day do you think about your weight?
2. On a scale of zero to 10, how much does your weight affect your mood on a daily basis? (Zero means it does not affect your mood; 10 means it dramatically affects it.)

These questions are integral to the Metabolism Boosting Diet because they highlight how being overweight affects you on so many levels. The majority of my weight loss clients initially report thinking of their weight 3 or more times per day and rank the effect on their mood as 8 or higher. Now ask yourself these same questions. If you think of your weight more than 2 or 3 times a day and you rank the effect your weight has on your mood as 7 or higherwell, that is far too much energy for you to waste and it is time to stop. It is time to shift to a dietary approach that promotes health, balance and long-term sustainable results.

Along this journey we are about to take together, I encourage you to become aware of your eating patterns and to be compassionate with yourself. Since approximately 66% of Canadians currently struggle with their weight, I assure you, you are not alone. I also want you to know that you are not weak or lacking in willpower. However, chances are, due to a variety of reasons that will be determined as we go along, there are factors (stress, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, yo-yo dieting, emotional or nighttime eating) that have burnt out or slowed down your metabolism, making you gain unwanted weight. Do not panic: in this book you will learn the steps you need to take to flick on your metabolic switch so that you can lose the weight for good.