Paul Waters - The Complete Guide to Weight Loss

Note

While every effort has been made to ensure that the content of this book is as technically accurate and as sound as possible, neither the author nor the publishers can accept responsibility for any injury or loss sustained as a result of the use of this material.

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First edition 2014

This electronic edition published in 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Copyright 2014 Paul Waters

ISBN (print): 978-1-4729-0317-4

ISBN (ePdf ): 978-1-4729-0316-7

ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-4729-0315-0

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Paul Waters has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements

Cover photograph Shutterstock

Inside photographs Gerard Brown, with the exception of pages in the print edition: Zia Soleil / Iconica /

Getty Images; (left) Shutterstock; (right) Crown copyright 2013

Commissioned by Charlotte Croft

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CONTENTS

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Throughout the book the following terms are used consistently:

Weight loss in this context it refers to any reduction in body weight, although it relates to the loss of fat and not lean tissue. At times it is used interchangeably with fat loss.

Weight maintenance the maintenance of weight loss/fat loss for a sustained period (usually 12 months) from the point at which the programme started. It can allude to a set amount of weight loss maintained, usually between 510 per cent, although as no clear definition has been agreed, in this book it refers to the maintenance of any amount of weight/ fat lost.

Overweight relating to an excess of body fat, regardless of weight.

Obesity relating to a severe excess of body fat, regardless of weight, such that it increases the risk of disease. The term morbid obesity is used occasionally to describe greatly increased risk of disease.

FOREWORD

Anybody who has tried to help overweight people achieve and maintain a healthy weight knows how difficult that is. Whether we are doctors, nurses, fitness professionals, counsellors or behaviour change specialists, most of us have struggled to persuade obese patients or clients to eat healthily and become physically active. Of course when they do it is hugely rewarding but personally I have often found it the most frustrating area in which to work, particularly when significant weight reduction is achieved only for it all to be put back on again in a few months!

If we are to be successful in helping people achieve and maintain a healthy weight then we must have a thorough understanding of obesity as an abnormal and unhealthy condition, what can be done about it and how to do it. This is what Paul Waters provides in this book. There is, of course, a plethora of books on obesity but few bring together such a breadth of information. It will be especially useful to fitness professionals, as increasingly we find ourselves working with overweight clients.

Paul approaches his subject in a clear and methodical manner. He explains complex physiology in a way that is accessible, easy to understand and with memorable illustrations. Paul is well known in the UK fitness sector for his teaching ability but what makes this book so useful is that he is also a practitioner. He has worked with many overweight clients, he knows what works and what does not. He has considerable insight into why clients find it so difficult to lose weight and why trainers find it so frustrating helping them to do so. But neither of these diminish his passion for wanting to assist clients in leading healthy lives because he knows from experience how transformative this can be.

This book is a mine of information and practical advice gathered into one volume. Paul has done clients and professionals alike a great service in one form or another this book is an invaluable resource for those of us who work with overweight people.

Dr John Searle OBE

Formerly Honorary Chief Medical Officer ukactive (formerly the Fitness Industry Association)

PREFACE

Read a newspaper, turn on the TV or go online today and youll be hard-pressed not to see an article, story, advert or programme related to the worldwide issue of obesity. Health problems caused by being overweight, childhood obesity, the latest fad diet craze, new drugs or surgery that claim to offer a solution to the problem, research on nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, or companies selling shakes or supplements touted as the miracle cure to the excess levels of fat that many of the worlds population carry around with them every day.

In 2011, around 30 per cent of children in the UK were classified as overweight or obese (Public Health England, 2013). A recent news story based on a series of research papers suggested that by 2030, 48 per cent of British men and 42 per cent of British women will be classified as obese, with millions more overweight (NHS Choices, 2011). By 2050, it is estimated that 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children will be obese (Public Health England, 2013). The picture in the USA is similar if not worse. In 2010, 36 per cent of adults were obese, thats around 85 million people, and a staggering 69 per cent, or 162 million were classified as overweight or obese (US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). This means that if a solution cannot be found, the definition of normal weight will need to change dramatically, as being healthy will be considered unusual.

This book was borne out of a passion to help people to live healthier, happier lives and to help them to lose weight or to maintain a suitable weight for them in a healthy, sustainable way. This is not easy in the world we live in today. In recent years the world has been described as an obesogenic environment, where a whole host of factors have contributed towards the ever-expanding waistlines of the worlds population, from the inhabitants of those warm islands of the South Pacific to the hardy indigenous tribes people who live high in the Arctic Circle.

The aim of this book is to link together all of the common threads in this oversized tapestry and give you an easy-to-follow guide as to the common causes of obesity and how changes in mindset, lifestyle, nutrition and exercise can help people to lose weight or keep it off in increasingly difficult circumstances. The advice given is based on scientific research and the wealth of experience gained in my many years in the fitness industry helping clients with their weight loss goals and listening to and working with instructors at the coalface. The book is addressed primarily to fitness and health professionals, but is written in such a way as to be easily read by anyone with an interest in the subject.