Joanna McMillan - Get Lean, Stay Lean: The 6-step lifestyle change program for a happier, healthier body, for life

Introduction

It is now the norm across much of the world to be fat. This is despite a multi-million-dollar slimming industry comprising special supplements, home delivery meal offerings, meal replacement shakes, diet clubs, exercise programs, diets galore and numerous weight loss programs. So what on earth is going wrong? Could there possibly be room for another book on the subject?

I firmly believe the answer is yes. Not because the advice in this book is the latest scientific breakthrough or the newest fad diet to hit the headlines, but precisely because it doesnt offer a quick fix. This book will not give you a beach body in 10 days. But keep reading because what it will give you instead is far more valuable. What you will find here are the skills, the knowledge and the inspiration to make the real changes required to your diet and lifestyle, in order to achieve lasting, permanent results.

Get Lean, Stay Lean is not a program with an end dateits a way of life. Its not about being perfect or becoming some sort of health evangelist. Its a do-able, realistic, joyful and delicious way of living life that aligns with great health, vitality and weight control.

There is no doubt its hard to be a healthy weight in the modern worldit is what experts call an obesogenic environment. We are surrounded by an abundance of food, with many of the cheapest options the worst for us, and we make some 200 decisions regarding food every single day. Our activity levels have dropped substantially and exercise is now rarely part and parcel of everyday life; we have to buck against our nature to reserve energy and instead choose to be active. Our work lives are often more demanding on our time, while stress levels go through the roof. All of this takes a toll on our sleep patterns, and the fact that sleep clinics are popping up everywhere is testament to the fact that this is now a common problem.

You might think its all in your genes and therefore you cant do anything about your body shape. But the good news is that genes are not necessarily your destiny and they are certainly not set in stone. The hot new research area is epigenetics. Although you have been given a set of genes from your biological parents, you do have some control. Epigenetics shows us that genes are like a dimmer light switchthey can be switched on or off, or ramped up or downand the controllers are your diet and lifestyle choices.

We know that the diet and lifestyle of your parents, and even your grandparents, affects your expression of genesyour epigenetics. But while there is clearly nothing you can do about this, the uplifting part of this story is that you can still exert an influence through the choices you make. For those of you who have, or are planning on having, a family, you also affect your children. That has to be a major motivator to turning your lifestyle around. You have the opportunity to affect the health of future generations.

But back to you. Through the six steps of Get Lean, Stay Lean youll learn how to reboot your bodys computer. By adopting certain dietary and lifestyle changes, you really can change the way your body works for the better. You can make yourself better at burning fat, better at controlling your appetite, better at controlling blood glucose and insulin levels, better at exercising, and better at performing at work while still having the energy you need to enjoy life at home. Ultimately you will have a healthier, happier body for life.

Genes are like a dimmer light switchthey can be switched on or off, or ramped up or down.

The 6 steps

The problem with most popular diets or the latest exercise regimen is that they dont consider a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. A short-sighted goal of weight loss over a few weeks isnt going to help you with long-term weight control, let alone your total body health.

In contrast, there are six key steps to the Get Lean lifestyle and I think of these as the pillars that hold your healthy lifestyle together. These are food, drink, exercise, activity, stress and sleepand importantly they are built on a foundation of joy. Because at the end of the day we are pleasure seekers, and when we enjoy what we do, we seek to do it more!

Understanding and giving attention to each of these areas of your life will ensure you are getting optimal results that last. These form the basis of the six-step program.