http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

I realized while watching this video that the researcher, Robert H. Lustig, Endocrinologist, is right.  It's much, much more than calories in/calories out.  I know many women who count points every day and don't lose weight.  I know other women who exercise consistently and don't lose weight.  Haven't we all dieted and dieted and never lost a pound?  What is going on here?

The video is a presentation of research findings regarding the metabolic effect of fructose on the body.  It is very detailed with lots of biochemistry and data.  I think it is fascinating that if you eat 120 calories of glucose, about 24 calories of that might be stored as fat, whereas 120 calories of fructose would lead to 72 calories stored as fat.  So the ingredients matter.  A lot.

We sort of already know this.  We know that there are good fats and bad fats.  The good fats do wonderful things for your immune system, your joints, and helping you stay full.  They are found in salmon, olive oil, avocados, and nuts.  Bad fats cause coronary disease.  They are found mostly in processed food.  Trying to avoid bad fats is where all the low fat diet food came from.  Unfortunately they just added more sugar.

If you believe the research, what is most important with respect to weight loss is the difference between good and bad carbs.  This doctor calls high fructose corn syrup poison because of its metabolic effect on the body.  What if it is poisoning your efforts?  What if the reason you are stuck and frustrated is because the majority of the foods you buy have ingredients that cause diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Here's the deal.  We have to get away from eating too much processed sugar.  There is no way to lose weight and continue to eat this junk.  We have to get back to a more natural way of eating, which includes lean proteins, good carbs, lots and lots of fiber, and water.  If your pantry is stocked with low fat foods, diet snacks, Weight Watchers ice cream treats, 100 calorie packs and things like that, it's just going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight, if not impossible.

Think of the people you know who have lost weight and kept it off.  I'm willing to bet that their list of favorite new foods contains a lot of chicken, fish and vegetables.  I'm guessing that most people who lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off made a shift from lots of processed foods to whole foods with lots of protein, good carbs and high fiber.

We've all been there:  stocked up on boxes of low fat, low calorie foods, treats, snacks.  Ready to diet.  Monday morning comes along and we're ready.  We have our Lean Cuisine and a SnackWells cookie.  We keep a tight hold on what we eat.  And we gain two pounds at our weigh in.  What???

Here's the good news.  We are meant to eat a lot!  I'll say it again.  We aren't made to diet.  We're supposed to eat!  The problem is that we're eating the wrong stuff.  Not enough real food, and too much crap.  No one will ever tell you to eat less green beans or broccoli or spinach or lettuce or peppers.  The reason we diet in the first place is to try to control the amount of junk.  If we weren't eating junk, we wouldn't have to diet.  I mean, is portion control really ever a big problem with grilled chicken and veggies?  Egg whites and fish?

We have a choice.  We get to eat whatever we want.  It's a beautiful thing.  But if the choices you are making are robbing you of your best life, are they worth it?  Is a sweet treat every day worth yielding your peace of mind to the self abuse that comes from wanting to be at your healthy weight but never reaching it?  It doesn't have to be this way.  Find healthy foods you love.  Start here: http://www.eatcleandiet.com/uploaded_files/downloads/ecd_grocery_list.pdf 

There is no better time than now to make a change, treat yourself better, and get moving towards your goals.  Get moving!