Eric Westman - End Your Carb Confusion: Lose Weight and Kill Cravings with a Diet You Can Stick to For Life

INTRODUCTION

Do you feel totally overwhelmed by the avalanche of information out there about diet and health? Have you given up even tryingto figure out whats right for you? Low-carb? Low-fat? Vegetarian? Keto? Mediterranean? Or have you gone the opposite way, immersing yourself in everything you can get your eyes and ears onevery video and podcast, every book, blog, forum, social media feed, and program from self-proclaimed experts? Maybe not a second goes by that youre not scrolling through things on your phone or immersed in whats coming through your earbuds, and you still have no idea which way to go.

Maybe you already feel great, youre happy with what you see in the mirror, and you want to make sure youre doing the right things to keep this good thing youve got going long into the future. Or maybe you know something isnt right, and youve been trying to figure out how to help yourself. Either way, if you feel frustrated, confused, and maybe even a little angry, youre not alone.

Every day in my clinic, I see patients who are struggling. I talk with people whose quality of life is being shortchanged by excess weight, diabetes, heart disease, joint pain, infertility, fatigue, severe acid reflux, and a long list of other issues that plague so many adults these daysmaybe even you. Some of these people grew up eating whatever they liked and carried those same habits into adulthood. They never paid much attention to the kinds of foods they ate, and now that theyre older, things they got away with as kids are catching up to them. Others have spent years, sometimes decades, following advice they thought would result in optimal health and help them get to a weight they were happy with, only to end up feeling the three Dsdisappointed, disheartened, and discouragedand often heavier and sicker than when they started.

I understand their frustration. Its especially maddening when you think youre doing all the right things. You devote time, effort, and often a lot of money into pursuing a strategy that everyone knows will work. If youre carrying excess weight, youve cut your calories and gotten yourself on a treadmill or elliptical machine most days of the week. If you have acid reflux, youve cut out tomato sauces, spicy foods, and maybe even your beloved coffeeeverything the experts said to stop eating and drinking because they would aggravate the problem. If you have cardiovascular disease, youve probably done what many doctors and nutritionists advise without a second thought: ditched red meat, eggs, bacon, and butter in favor of salmon, walnuts, whole grains, fruit, and as many green vegetables as you can cram onto your plate.

But what has happened? If you feel better and your problems have been resolved, great! Its more likely, though, that your problems havent been resolved. In fact, they might even be worse. But its not your fault. Let me say that again: its not your fault.

When you follow bad advice and get bad results, is the failure yours, or is the problem with the advice?