One of the most frequent questions we receive at our RISE Group Personal Training Clubs (in Buxton, Derbyshire and Macclesfield, Cheshire) is
“Why to the government not tell us this?”
There are numerous reasons why not, but one of the main one we’ll cover here is what we call ‘Over complication through over simplification’.
Up until the 1970s it was fairly widely accepted that carbohydrate consumption was one of the main cause of obesity. However, this knowledge didn’t seem to be having the desired effect on addressing the problem – the world was continuing to get fatter. So, amongst other changes, the calorie model was pushed to the fore. It was so simple that it seemed fool proof:
“Burn off more energy then you consume and you’ll lose weight”
This seemed to be the answer – let people know that if they’re gaining weight they just need to exercise more or eat less (or both). Before you know it, that was the message everywhere.
However, since this happened our average fat levels (both in the UK and worldwide) have accelerated to far worse levels.
So, what does this mean? Firstly, as we’ve mentioned many times before, the calorie model is technically correct. In a body gaining fat, more energy has entered then has left. However the consuming of too much energy or not using enough was not the reason for the increased fat levels in the first place. As explained elsewhere, hormonal balance will have been diverting a certain number of calories consumed into fat stores, almost IRRESPECTIVE of how much was consumed or burnt.
The government model says if you need 2,000 of energy per day, 2,100 will cause you to store 100 calories as fat and 1,900 will cause you to lose 100 calories from fat stores. If your hormone balance is diverting a certain number of calories (let’s say 100) per day into fat stores, then 2,000 will divert 100 to fat and leave you with 1,900 for energy. Cutting down to 1,500 calories or burning an extra 500 in the gym will still divert 100 to fat and leave 1,400 for energy. Going right down to 1,000 calories a day will still divert 100 into fat and leave 900 for energy.
You don’t get fat because you eat too much or do to little – you get fat then have to eat more or do less to make up for this.
The same applies to dietary fat intake. The only evidence has been that certain types of fat cause problems (trans fats and hydrogenated fats). However a nice, simple, “all fat is bad, reduce your intake of it” message has been put out there.
Both of these over simplifications (the calorie and dietary fat models) are what we referred to earlier as “Over complication through over simplification” – it’s been made so simple that it’s not really right and doesn’t work for most in reality. Remember, this has been the pushed message for over 30 years and the problem it was designed to solve has got exponentially worse.
So, what is the answer? Well, the ultimate answer is individual to each person. That’ why the Bio Signature Modulation system that use for our Personal Training clients and members has such great weight loss results. However, if you’re looking for a good starting place, then only eating fresh, natural foods (meat, fish, nuts, pulses, vegetables, fruits, etc) that are native to our country (assuming you are of Anglo Saxon descent) and removing all man made food (bread, pasta, cereals, cake, ready meals, snack bars, carbonated soft drinks, etc) or natural foods not native to this country (such as potatoes and rice) will get you most of the way. This is often the first step we get our members to make then get more specific and personalised with the direction we give them over time.
