Weight Loss in America
Whether at a party, at the gym, or on the phone, the topic of weight loss almost always finds a way to sneak into the conversation. “I’m watching my calories,” “I need to lose a few,” and “I just started a new diet,” are among the most common weight-loss refrains. And then there’s the airwaves transmitting all kinds of diet and exercise programs that promise to help you lose weight and get fit. But how do the promises hold up?
Let’s take a look at the numbers according to US government stats:
- 2/3 of Americans are overweight
- 35-40% of Americans are obese
Worldwide? As measured by World Health Organization (WHO) stats…
- 1.6 billion and counting are overweight
But we aren’t taking the weight lying down. An estimated 45 million Americans are on a diet…unfortunately, the success of these diets is short term. By some estimates more than 80% will gain back any weight lost within two years. In fact, a UCLA meta-analysis of 31 long-term diet studies showed that two-thirds of dieters gained back more weight than they lost within four or five years!
Put all that research together and you’ve got a pretty irrefutable conclusion on your hands: these diets, calorie counting, and weight loss plans simply aren’t working.
How to Lose Weight for Good
The Primal Blueprint Approach to Weight Loss
That’s why the Primal Blueprint’s approach to weight loss rejects “dieting” in favor of permanent dietary changes that will help you lose weight and keep it off forever!
We do not believe in dieting to lose weight; we believe that you can transform your body into a fit, lean fat-burning machine simply by eating the right foods. (Notice we didn’t say sacrificing all the foods you love! The right foods include juicy meats, healthful fats and even indulgences like dark chocolate!) This isn't a crash diet or excessive calorie restriction, it is weight management.
The Primal Blueprint eating strategy is based on the very same diet consumed by our primal ancestors. Humans evolved as hunters and gatherers eating mostly meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts.
Over time, our diet incorporated more and more grains and processed sugar. Over the past 50 years or so, processed foods have become full of the exact opposite of what our body needs:
- grains
- high fructose corn syrup
- unhealthy industrial seed oils
- trans fats
And our diet, which was primarily made up of protein and fat, has become increasingly dominated by carbohydrates and sugars.
The body is mostly designed to process protein for growth and fat as its main energy source. Our bodies, and especially our minds, enjoy carbs and sugars—they taste good and let our brains know it by sending signals of pleasure with every bite. Unfortunately, there’s a problem with these yummy bites.
Sugars are absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream to give us an energy boost, but the body is only going to absorb what it needs for its immediate energy purposes. In the body, cabs are like sugars. The body turns carbs into sugars and again only uses what it needs. That’s the real dilemma—whatever the body doesn’t need, it turns into fat for storage.
Back in the day humans were happy to have some stored energy because they didn’t know when their next meal might come. Today, we don’t have that problem. We get plenty to eat and not enough exercise and physical activity, so we don’t tend to burn our stored fat. Instead, we keep consuming excess carbs and sugars—which are turned into fat. Each year a few more pounds are added on.
How to Achieve your Ideal Body Composition
Fortunately, there is a way to change this whole dynamic and adjust your diet so that you can achieve your ideal body composition and enjoy lasting results. Just follow the Primal Blueprint guidelines for eating to learn how to successfully eliminate grains and sugars and replace those fat-producing ingredients (ahem, carbs and sugars) with delicious meals that will turn your body into the fat-burning machine it wants to be!
Start with this video on our first Primal Blueprint Law: Eat Plants and Animals.
Our weight loss essentials can help you get off the diet rollercoaster and on the road to a lifetime of successful weight management.
