Desperate for Weight Loss? Feed the Beast!

"I¡¦ll do anything to lose weight. The beast? What beast? Just tell me where that beast is, and I¡¦ll feed it."

Hold on, a minute, my friend. Before I introduce you to the beast, I¡¦d like to take a poll.

The question is simple: "What¡¦s the quickest way to lose weight?" Before you read on, what¡¦s the first thing that pops into YOUR head? No peeking now¡K

Fess up. What just squeaked out of your brain?

If your answer was something like dieting or watching carbs or cutting fat or exercising or positive affirmations hung up on your refrigerator door (or, better yet, bathroom mirror) "I am skinny. I am skinny. I am skinny," sorry, you are wrong ¡V no, silly, not wrong about being or not being skinny, but wrong about quick weight loss.

Actually, the quickest way to lose weight is to
STARVE yourself. Hey, I didn¡¦t say the best way now, did I? Look back ¡V I said the quickest way.

Well, that sounds ridiculous, doesn¡¦t it? Who in the world would starve themselves, on purpose no less, to lose weight?

Lots and lots of people, and YOU just may be one of those people who has done exactly that¡Xstarved yourself to drop the fat¡Xand not just once either.

"What? How could that be?" you cry.

Is there any chance that you¡¦ve ever gone on a diet to lose weight? Or maybe even too many diets in your lifetime to count?

I hope you¡¦re sitting down¡Xhere¡¦s the shocker. It¡¦s likely that every time you went on a weight loss "diet," you lost weight because you were actually starving yourself¡Xyou restricted TOO many calories.

Or, even if you got enough calories, those calories came from foods that were empty of the right nutrients¡Xanother not-so-obvious way of starving.

Sure, your stomach can feel full, but if you don¡¦t get the right nutrients, then you constantly crave more food¡Xyour body¡¦s way of pushing you to get life-saving nutrition¡Xnot that YOU¡¦VE ever had any of those mind-body-snatching cravings. ƒºƒºƒº

You, with the help of your trusty teammates, Will and Discipline, may be able to beat back those overpowering "feed-me, feed-me" urges and cravings¡Xfor a while. You can do it. You can do it, you tell yourself.

Indeed, you can and do "do it." You lose weight, and the victory of weight loss is ever so sweet. You¡¦re feelin¡¦ pretty darn spunky about yourself.

And then, bam! It happens again, just like every time before¡Xstarvation beckons "the beast" for help, and "the beast" rears its ugly head.

So, my friend, it¡¦s time to meet "the beast" up close and very personal. His name: "Hunger."

Hunger is a mighty beast. Just like Thirst and Sleeping and Breathing¡Xall those powerful instinctive beasts have one common mission¡Xto keep you alive.

You can¡¦t beat back "the beast" forever. Hunger will take you over, in spite of your allies, Will and Discipline, and the result: You will eat¡Xjust a bit here and there at first. Then you will eventually fill-up on all those food favorites that you promised yourself to get out of your life¡Xforever. Well, forever didn¡¦t last long at all.

The scale goes up one more time, and your self-esteem plummets down. You feel like a failure once again and that old, familiar feeling creeps back¡Xyou just feel crummy about yourself.

You beat your head against the wall trying to figure out why you can¡¦t fight "the beast," Hunger. You figure you must be lazy or weak or just plain dumb to eat the foods that sabotage your good intentions for weight loss and health gain.

Whew! Be relieved¡Xyou are NOT lazy or weak or dumb. You are quite simply¡Xhungry.

You did not fail¡Xthe diets failed you. Any food plan that starves you is designed to fail¡X"the beast" will win¡Xevery time.

If you are hungry, you will eat¡Xsooner or later. Your hunger instinct is built into you to keep you alive.

So the next time you get hungry, instead of trying to ignore or deny or fight "the beast," how about doing the obvious¡Xfeed "the beast" and thank it for protecting you and keeping you alive.

Oh, one little point: feed "the beast" the best¡Xfoods packed with nutrients and fiber and low on calories, instead of foods and pseudo-foods that are overloaded with fat, cholesterol, animal protein, salt, sugar, white flour, and way too many calories that love to live on your hips, tummy, thighs, and butt.

And, for goodness¡¦ sake, stop feeding "the beast" when it is full and satisfied. Don¡¦t overstuff it!

And what are the premium foods that satisfy "the beast," fill you up, and sustain weight loss, as well as promote health and fitness, over the long haul of your lifetime?

One, two, three¡K.All together now¡X"Whole, fresh fruits and vegetables and plant foods!" Ahhh¡K.such music to my ears¡Xyou¡¦re good. You are really, really good!

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Now that you KNOW the secret keys (REAL live foods) to permanent weight loss and health gain, why not take that next iddy, biddy step¡Xput your wisdom into practice every day.

You CAN tame "the beast" and have the body you want and deserve.

All you have to do is wash, open mouth, insert, bite down, and chew!

Dr. Leslie Van Romer is a motivational health speaker, writer and lifestyle coach. Visit Dr. Leslie at Http://DrLeslieVanRomer.com for practical direction, hope and inspiration.