Your Guide to Lasting Weight Loss

By Michelle Carlson

Good news! I once embodied all of the feelings you may be going through right now. I was overweight, underjoyed, lethargic, depressed, tired, frumpy, and hopeless. Those were my 7 dwarfs and you may be feeling one or all of those, but you are not tied to this fate. You can break through and find your truest version of health without having to air your dirty laundry on television. "Your Lasting Guide to Weight Loss" is the stepping stone you need to enable yourself to take control of your life again. You'll learn to seperate fact from fad and you'll be able to trust yourself with decisions about your own health and fitness. Whatever has felt like a stumbling block on your way to success can finally be overcome. Let go, dive in, and discover your healthiest, happiest self ever!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michelle Carlson
• Release date: Jul 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465871695

Michelle Carlson

I am a health and fitness writer, nationally certified master trainer, and certified healthy lifestyle specialist. To top that off I am also a certified Intuitive Eating Coach and Certified Nutrition Consultant. Before any of that I was out of energy, lacking in hope, and obese. I've lost over 100 pounds and made enough mistakes in the process for everybody to learn from!

Book preview

Your Guide to Lasting Weight Loss

Navigating the Maze

Published by Michelle Carlson at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Michelle Carlson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Preface

Since you are taking time to read this book, chances are you are on the verge of making a decision. You are thinking about making a decision that could change your life forever and impact the lives of those around you. Or maybe you just got won over by curiosity and a cheap book. Either way, I am here to help you achieve. Achieve what? Optimal health, higher energy levels, weight loss and maintenance, clearer thinking and a surge of self confidence. Settle in for just a bit, this won’t take too long.

My story is not unlike many others. I’ve struggled with weight gain and enabling fatigue for my whole life. I went from one extreme to the next to find the right answers and was often left more lethargic and depressed than when I first started. Over the course of 6 years I managed to lose 100 pounds. That is a big number, but far more important was what I gained through my studies. I gained enough energy to outrun my kids and I also gained a profound respect and love for food that I was never afforded growing up.

As we embark upon this journey together, I urge you to learn from my mistakes so that you can forge ahead to the healthiest version of yourself possible. Try not to cling to popular opinion and conduct a little research of your own. Invest yourself into this journey and you will be rewarded with the simplest way to lose the excess baggage and reclaim (or claim for the first time) your energy!

We face quite the conundrum in today’s world. If you Google the term fitness you get 1,170,000,000 results (in only .12 seconds!). Try the words weight loss. A whopping 316,000,000 results. That’s a lot of traffic to wade through! Many of them are offering an easy button of some kind with minimal research to back it up. Some of the highest ranking sites boast the popular opinion of celebrities and their trainers. There are many celebrities that are beautiful to look at, yet there are just as many that are not the epitome of health and wellness. I think there are far too many opinions and fad diets out there. The Center for Disease Control states that in 2009 thirty-three states were reported to have an obese population of 25%. That’s ¼ of the whole state! Nine of those states were closer to 30%. Currently 66% of adults and 17% of children (under 12) are overweight in the United States. Have you ever heard of Healthy People 2010? This initiative began in 2000. This is because Healthy People 2000 didn’t meet the goals set. There was a Healthy People 1990 as well. Throughout the years the Healthy People initiatives evolved with our culture. For example, Healthy People 2000 had a main goal of reducing health disparities. The main goal in Healthy People 2010 was eliminating health disparities. Healthy People 2010 failed as well and in January 2010 Healthy People 2020 was initiated www.healthypeople.gov/2020

Are you noticing a pattern here? There are plenty of warnings, yet we’re getting worse, not better. Why is that? Are we complacent? Is it plain laziness? Do we really not care? It would be far too easy to accept any of these answers for the growing epidemic in our nation, but I believe it reaches far deeper.

Our lives are different than they were 50 years ago. Our ancestors did not trek to the gym and wait in line for a treadmill. They walked outside….everywhere. People in the early 1900’s didn’t count calories, they were grateful to get any! In today’s day and age we live a fast paced life filled to the brim with abundance. You can have whatever you want anytime, day or night. Are you willing to pay for it with your life? Bold question, but true. Even if weight is not your main problem, our sedentary lifestyles have lead to an overwhelming prevalence of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, premature aging, and premature death. In 2007 the CDC issued a statement that due to the rise in youth obesity and rapid decline in healthy lifestyles (meaning more sedentary living has become the norm), this generation will be the first generation that will NOT outlive their parents.

Before you put the book away and lock yourself in the closet, listen….there is hope. That is precisely what I am placing before you. This hope is not served in a greasy fast food container, oh no! This hope is on a platter of knowledge, backed by scientific research. The best part? It’s not rocket science! I’m not making you count loads of calories, or combine foods in a complicated manner. I’m not even going to take away your favorites. All that I ask is you