Donna Aston - The End of Dieting

Published in 2011 by Hardie Grant Books

Hardie Grant Books (Australia)

Ground Floor, Building 1

658 Church Street

Richmond, Victoria 3121

www.hardiegrant.com.au

Hardie Grant Books (UK)

Dudley House, North Suite

3435 Southampton Street

London WC2E 7HF

www.hardiegrant.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

Copyright Donna Aston

EISBN 9781742736723

Cover photography by Ken Pryor

Cover and text design by Peter Daniel

Typeset in Joanna 11.5/17.5pt

ABOUT DONNA ASTON

With more than 20 years experience, Australian-born fitness trainer and author Donna Aston has earned a reputation as an expert in the fields of weight loss, health and fitness. Having dramatically transformed her own body, Donna continues to help countless others achieve their personal goals through private consultations and training, public speaking and various publications. She has worked in Australia, Europe and the US as a private health and fitness trainer and advisorwww.donnaaston.com.

One of Australias most sought after health and fitness experts, Donna has had guest appearances on numerous Australian lifestyle television shows. She is also a regular contributor and expert for many magazines, television and radio programs.

FOREWORD

By Dr Mei Ling Doery MBBS BMed Sci
Public Health Physician Board Member, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation
(20062011)

THE TRUTH

How would you know if something were the truth? This question is foremost in my mind when I think about the mass of lifestyle advertisements, weight-loss schemes, health scams and fitness fads you might encounter on any given day. With this barrage of often conflicting information, it is more important than ever to be critical of what you read and buy into.

I first read Fat or Fiction as a medical student, after seeing Donna. Her approach resonated with me because it combined common sense with what science could prove about physiology. It fit with the history of industrialised food production and the current obesity epidemic. It was telling the truth.

HOW DO YOU KNOW ITS THE TRUTH? FOUR QUICK TESTS

Is it contravened by other widely accepted theories (its not a radical fad)?

Is it congruent with reality (no magical thinking required)?

Can it be seen and done in practice (can be done by a human holding down a job and social obligations)?

Does it stand the test of time (the person spruiking it is still around after you have bought in)?

If it doesnt pass at least some if not all of these, look closer.

Unlike many other books peddling the answer to good health, Fat or Fiction did not demand magical thinking from the reader (just believe and you will see). And unlike the less-than-fit academics who presented the handful of nutrition lectures during my medical studies, Donna could clearly walk her talk.

Fat or Fiction passed a number of other important tests. When many were going crazy for fat-free, highly processed products and meal substitutes, Donna was teaching fundamentals and coherently arguing the case for real food.

Beyond simply providing instructions, Fat or Fiction delivered insight and understanding. It is this clarity above any particular piece of information that has proved most valuable to me personally and professionally, while also standing the test of time.

TEN YEARS ON

Ten years since I first read Fat or Fiction, there is more obesity than ever before and, paradoxically, many who suffer from being too thin or wanting to be. Despite great medical advances, our lifestyles are so out of shape that many of the diseases from which we now suffer are preventable. As a society we are failing to establish a sustainable relationship with our own bodies. If this trend continues, todays generation of children in the developed world is set to be the first in modern history to live shorter lives than their parents.

There are complex and detailed explanations for this, however, I believe the power of this book is not in its ability to analyse the problem (the medical profession is doing well at this). The End of Dieting is an important read because it poses the question of How can we be well sustainably? In doing this, The End of Dieting provides a recipe for success, which is distinctly different from antifailure.

While the multibillion-dollar diet industry continues to confuse and take advantage of people, setting them up for disappointment, education remains the single most powerful vaccine against the tide of preventable illness. This book is a terrific example of how motivated individuals can take charge of their health in the face of modern social and cultural obstacles. It sets forward the principles for how you can experience more than freedom from diet induced disease, and in doing so create the opportunity to thrive.

CONTENTS

Its now just over ten years since I wrote my first book, Fat or Fiction, describing how I won my own weight-loss battle and exposing how fat is not the enemy most people seem to think it is (thats sugar). But despite selling more than 120,000 copies, being joined by a host of other books (mine and other peoples), and the issue being always in the media, it seems the message of how to change your body composition for the better and why low-fat (and fad) dieting is the greatest scam going simply isnt getting across. More and more clients are coming to see me totally confused. Men and women alike are so overwhelmed by complicated and conflicting information relating to fat loss, nutrition and exercise that they simply cannot see their way clear. This daily bombardment of the latest quick fix to a leaner, fitter self means that the straight-forward advice and solid guidance I can offer from my twenty years researching health, nutrition and exercise is needed now more than ever.

It may not be rocket sciencethough it is science that underpins the essential steps you need to take to transform your body and change your habitsbut theres certainly an art to explaining the truth about how our bodies work. So Ive developed a set of absolutely practical and essential tools (including case studies, tried-and-tested tips and tricks, and a modular menu planner) that readers can use to calculate the changes they need to make: from what exercise you need to do, and how much; to what you should eat, and when.

This is it: the instruction manual for maintaining your body that you were never given. The wait is over. In the following pages youll find detailed explanation of the three keys to a happy, healthier you described within the broader context of how we got to where we are, where were all going wrong, and the future that awaits if you dont change your game.

Inspiration hasnt only come from my clients. Recently I experienced an aha moment when, of all things, I was buying a new car. There I was, sitting patiently as the salesman enthusiastically thumbed through the owners manual, keen to point out what seemed like hundreds of very foreign features, when I realised how little I really knew about what made my car tick. This is how most of us feel about our own bodies. Rather than perform any maintenance, we plead ignorance and rely on some service department to deal with it. How many of us are really au fait with the intimate workings of our cars Anti-lock Braking System, Parking Distance Control or Dynamic Stability Control? Similarly, we jump blindly from one seductive diet and exercise fad to another, hoping that each will provide the answer were looking for, because we just dont understand how it all fits together. Your car may have come with a manual (whether you read it or not is another issue), but unfortunately, your body didntuntil now.