Stan Spencer - The Diet Dropouts Guide to Natural Weight Loss: Find Your Easiest Path to Naturally Thin

Stan Spencer gives an excellent account of why people so often overeat. Even more helpful are his many tips on ways to eat smarter and live better.

Kent Berridge, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan

An absolute must for anyone who wants to learn how to lose weight permanently. It is the first fat loss book I have read that I cannot fault or disagree with.

Liam Sartorius, fitness and weight loss coach

This book is information-packed! There are hundreds of books written on these topics, but this one brings it all together in one place in a logical format. I will recommend it to my patients.

Darrin Bang, DC

Dr. Spencers book presents a common sense, safe, and enduring weight loss program that presents the essential elements of a healthy lifestyle.

James E. Gangwisch, PhD, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

An excellent book that is well written and evidence based. It will help dispel a lot of the myths that surround weight management.

Gary Mendoza, PhD, RNutr

Very informative, and right on target.

Wayne Westcott, PhD, Fitness Research Director, Quincy College

The Diet Dropouts Guide to Natural Weight Loss: Find Your Easiest Path to Naturally Thin

Copyright 2013 by Stan Spencer

Published by Fine Life Books, Riverside, California

finelifebooks.com

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

ISBN 978-0-9835717-0-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-9835717-1-1 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928360

This book contains the opinions and ideas of the author. Nothing in this book is intended to constitute or replace medical or professional advice. Consult a medical professional regarding your specific dietary, exercise, and mental health needs. The publisher and author specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk that is incurred as a consequence of the application of any of the contents of this book.

The cup measurement used in the recipes is 240 mL, the tablespoon is 15 mL, and the teaspoon is 5 mL. A calorie, as the term is used in common speech and in this book, is equal to a kilocalorie or Calorie (with a capital C), as those terms are used in scientific research. A Calorie is 4.2 kilojoules.

To Amy, who is a beautiful testament to the power of the principles presented in this book.

Contents

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to many friends, family members, associates, and professionals for their contributions to this books development.

My sincere thanks to Michelle Bidwell and Marcia Bang for their careful and skillful editing. Thanks to Tina Campbell for bringing the book cover and graphics to life.

Im grateful to Karen Kuhn, Dale Chadwick, Marilyn Wenzel, Liam Sartorius, Dr. Gary Mendoza, John Jurkiewicz, Chris Smith, Diana Silkwood, Lisa Powell, Julie Rogers, Bill Mercado, Kama Perry, Cindy Clarke, Patricia Lowther, and Betty Kelly Sargent for reading the manuscript and providing helpful comments and encouragement.

Dozens of scientists kindly reviewed those portions of the manuscript referring to their published papers, and several gave additional helpful advice for improving the book. I am especially grateful to Doctors Jack Hollis of Kaiser Permanente, Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania, David Stensel of Loughborough University, J. Wayne Aldridge and Kent Berridge of the University of Michigan, Michael Speca of Alberta Health Services, Ronette Briefel of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Graham Horgan of the University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Walley of Imperial College London. Any mistakes or deficiencies that remain are my own.

I thank my mother, Melva Spencer, for her example of healthy cooking with natural ingredients. Thanks to her and my father, George, for supporting and encouraging me in my studies and writing over the years.

Thanks and apologies to my children. The older ones provided helpful comments on the manuscript, and all endured my lack of attention as I spent countless hours researching and writing.

My deepest gratitude goes to my wife, Amy, for tirelessly reviewing and critiquing the manuscript, and for her enduring patience, support, encouragement, and love throughout this project.

Introduction

This is not a diet book. You can lose weight on almost any diet. But diets end, and when they do, the weight returns.

This book is about natural, permanent weight loss. Natural weight loss simply consists of changing the situations, habits, and thought patterns that caused you to gain weight in the first place. If you make those changes permanent, your weight loss will be permanent also. Thats it. You dont need supplements, specially formulated shakes, surgery, fancy exercise equipment, or any other weight loss product. You dont even need to track calories, follow detailed meal plans, or learn complex recipes. If your ancestors could be thin without following a special diet or buying the latest weight loss product, you can too.

Hundreds of scientific studies relevant to natural weight loss have been conducted over the past few years. This book takes the most useful information from those studies and presents it simply, cutting through diet hype and weight loss myths to provide practical advice for lasting weight loss.

In the short time it will take you to read this book, you will learn thinking and lifestyle habits to help you slim down naturally. With this information, you will be able to create your own weight loss plan your easiest path to naturally thin in about five minutes. As you follow the path, you will gradually stop gaining weight and start losing it. And the best part is, because of the permanent lifestyle changes you are making, the weight wont come back!

Is this book a good match for you? It probably is if:

• you want to get to the root of the problem and address the real reasons for your extra weight, whether they be poor food choices, slow metabolism, emotional eating, out-of-control cravings, or lack of exercise;
• you want to lose weight permanently, even if it takes a while; and
• you appreciate books that are brief and to the point.

This book may not be a good match for you if:

• you are looking for a diet or exercise plan; or
• your main goal is to lose weight quickly, even if the weight eventually comes back.

Why the Weight?

I f this were the early 1960s instead of the 2010s, you might not need a weight loss book. Most people were thin then.

Not now. Even with all the dieting we do, more than two thirds of US adults are now overweight, and the rate of obesity has almost tripled since 1960.

The extra weight isnt natural, nor is it healthy. It not only affects our looks and physical abilities, it increases our risks of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, complications of pregnancy, menstrual irregularities, and cancers of the uterus, breast, colon, and kidney.

So what is behind this weight gain epidemic?

A Less-Active Lifestyle

Our bodies are designed for manual labor and long-distance walking. Many of us, however, enjoy door-to-door motorized transportation to and from a desk job followed by hours of television or other passive entertainment. Such a lifestyle not only burns few calories but can also encourage us to eat more than we would if we were busy with physical activities.