Julian Whitaker - The Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program

2006 by Julian Whitaker, M.D.

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ISBN: 978-0-7180-3498-6 (PBD)

ISBN: 978-1-4185-7643-1 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Whitaker, Julian M.

The Whitaker wellness weight loss program / by Julian Whitaker

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-4016-0297-5 (hardcover)

1. Reducing diets. 2. Weight loss. I. Title: Wellness weight loss program. II. Title.

RM222.2.W43 2006

613.2'5dc22

2005037512

To Julian, Conrad, Louisa, and Max Whitaker Tammy, Angelina, David, and Shahana Faridi Bret, Brandon, and Benjamin Boyd

CONTENTS

T he twentieth century saw great advancements in sanitation, control of infectious diseases, childbirth, and trauma care that translated into an unprecedented increase in average lifespan. Today, however, we are facing a health challenge that threatens to reverse this upward trend: our growing epidemic of obesity.

In an insightful article entitled A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the 21st Century, published in 2005 in the New England Journal of Medicine, leading aging researchers predicted dire consequences of this epidemic. Looking out the window, we see a threatening stormobesitythat will, if unchecked, have a negative effect on life expectancy. Despite widespread knowledge about how to reduce the severity of the problem, observed trends in obesity continue to worsen. These trends threaten to diminish the health and life expectancy of current and future generations.

I have been practicing medicine for more than 30 years and have treated tens of thousands of patients at my clinic in Newport Beach, California, so I am well aware of the burden of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other consequences of obesity. However, I am unconvinced that there is widespread knowledge about how to reduce the severity of the problem. If there were, we wouldnt have such a problem. Instead, there are scores of conflicting diet books and programs, each of them claiming to have the solution to obesityand people looking for help are more confused than ever.

Thats why I wrote the Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program. After researching and testing virtually every diet out there, I came to the obvious conclusion that the only way to achieve permanent weight control is to avoid foods that promote fat storage and discourage fat burning and return to the diet our bodies were designed to eat. Its high time this simple, scientifically proven, patient-tested concept, which has been buried under mountains of government-sponsored propaganda for decades, is recognized and put into practice. Only then will we stem the rising tide of obesity.

Like most projects, the Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program was a group effort. This book could not have been written without the superlative efforts of Peggy Dace, who has collaborated with me on many research, writing, and editing projects over the past 13 years. I would also like to thank Donna Sanford, Whitaker Wellness nutritionist, for her help with menu planning; Idel Kelly, Whitaker Wellness chef, for sharing her recipes; Sharon Barela and Madlen Simms for their research and contributions; Ryann Smith for her editing; and my wife Connie Whitaker for putting up with me. Additional thanks go to David McKenzie, who lit the fuse under this project, and Geoffrey Stone, our excellent editor at Rutledge Hill Press.

I f youve gone on diets in the past and lost weight only to regain it, youve picked up the right book. If youve had problems staying on any kind of weight loss regimen because of hunger and lack of discipline, look no further. If you want to lose weight, lower your cholesterol and triglycerides, keep your blood sugar on an even keel, dramatically reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease, and look and feel better than you have in years, then the Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program is for you.

What makes the Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program different from all the other diet books that promise similar results? It addresses the one thing that makes most weight loss programs fail: sticking with it. The average dieter loses his or her resolve in less than two months. Some people quit because they feel hungry all the time. Others get bored by limited food choices or give it all up for their favorite forbidden foods. More than a few get sidetracked and lose focus and discipline. Still others become discouraged because they dont see results fast enough.

What sets the Whitaker Wellness Weight Loss Program apart is that it provides you with all the tools you need to overcome hunger and food cravings, stay on track, and see results fast. How do I know? Because Ive seen it work for my patients, who have no more or no less willpower or motivation than you.

The only thing you have to bring to the table to ensure success is a true desire to lose weight and an acceptance of the fact that this will require some changes in your life. If you are willing to make a commitment and follow this program, I guarantee that you will achieve your weight loss goals faster than you might anticipateand keep weight off indefinitely.

Lets get started.

S o you want to lose weight? Join the crowd. At any given time, at least half of all American adults are trying to do the same thing. That tells us a few things. First, we have an enormous weight problem in this country, and second, what were doing about it just isnt working.

What were not lacking are books and programs that promise to help you lose weight. This may surprise you, but I can tell you without hesitation that most weight loss diets do work, over the short term anywayprovided that you stick with them. But thats the problem. Most diets set you up for disappointment because they fail to address that most basic of human drives: hunger .

Hunger is a physiological need for food, a physical sensation that drives you to eat. It is controlled by an elaborate network of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other chemical messengers that tell you when to eat and when to stop. Hunger is a merciless taskmaster. Unfortunately, the typical weight loss diet is a prescription for hunger. Inadequate intake of calories or the wrong types of foods stimulate a series of biochemical reactions in the body that cause the brain to cry out, Feed me! When you cave in to these signals and eat, its not because you are weak-willed or lacking in discipline. You are simply succumbing to an essential survival mechanism.

Another drawback of most weight loss programs is that they ignore the way the body stores and uses fat. Everybody knows we have an epidemic of obesity on our hands. Many experts blame it on large portion sizes we just eat too much. There is some truth to this, but its not as simple as eating less. Every bit as important as how much were eating is what were eating. Not all foods affect the body the same way. Some foods, even when eaten in moderation, encourage fat deposition while others actually promote fat burning. If your food selections put you in the fat- storage mode, you can exercise all you want and youre still going to have trouble losing weight.