January usually means the beginning of one of the national pastimes in the UK…trying to lose weight. As a UK expert in this field I am fed up and disgusted by the misinformation, misdirection and out-and-out lies that are constantly put in front of us by all forms of media lobbied by the powerful Dieting, Exercise and Food Industries.

To define this a little more, I imagine that the goal for most people is permanent and substantial fat-loss. So here are a few, uncomfortable ‘Lies’ that are not normally revealed to the general public but what I delivered to a recent National Obesity Conference in the UK.

1. You Must Exercise More - Exercise is the best thing since sliced bread for health & Fitness – but for weight management it is over-rated. Yes, exercise burns calories but most of us only have time to carry out moderate exercise i.e. 3 times a week for 30 minutes. This just is not enough activity to really make a significant difference to the energy balance equation. The sad thing is a lot of people take up exercise with the wrongful advice, find their results are disappointing and give up and not experience the lifelong benefits you get from being healthier and fitter.

2. You Must Eat Less -Dieting in its many disguised forms causes weight gain! Yes there is an initial weight loss (mainly water) but study after study has shown the weight returns, sometimes more, sometimes a lot more. Diets make you pick a fight with your own body and there is usually only one winner! In fact there have been over 26,000 diets over the last 70 years and, what’s worse; most of the customers who participate in commercial weight-loss programs are REPEAT customers. Eventually the program fails and what does the Industry do? They tell you it is your fault that you did not get the results you wished for, that it was because of your ‘lack of discipline’. This is beyond shameful!

3. You Must Eat Healthier - Recently the focus has been on eating healthier as the way to go. This misses the point on such a fundamental level that it really frustrates me. It is not WHAT you eat but HOW MUCH. You can become obese eating healthy foods and you can lose weight eating ‘junk’. Eating ‘5 a day’ is for your overall health and has nothing to do with weight management.

4. Use A Weighting Scales or BMI Score For Feedback - Please do not have any expectations when jumping on your weighting scales because there are just too many variables, most of which you cannot control e.g. how much water you are holding, the weight of food in your stomach, the weight of waste products in your bladder and bowels, your scales consistency and, most importantly, your unique body composition. As for the BMI scale simply ignore it. This was originally used as a tool for researchers and clinicians to compare studies. If you want something more accurate simply measure your chest girth and waist girth difference and keep a record of the changes over time.

5. 3500 Calories Equal 1 Pound of Body fat – Many experts teach you about the Law of Thermodynamics and tell you to consciously balance your energy intake and calories burned off. So 3,500 calories equals 1lb of fat and if you have a deficit of 500 calories each day over a week you will lose a pound of fat. Sounds good advice …after all a law is a law in science but the problem is even physiologists in an exercise physiology lab, using a calorimeter, find it extremely difficult to be accurate measuring this energy equation with their subjects so the general public will struggle. You know what, if you are out by only 100 calories per day that would equate to over 10 pounds per year.

6. Emotional Eating Is Ruining Any Chances I have – Research has shown that all of us eat for emotional reasons (both happy and sad occasions). Congratulations, you are human ok. However, here’s the problem: for normal weight people it’s presented as cute or funny but for someone who is overweight it’s diagnosed as a fully-blown psychological problem. Emotional eating does exist but you need to ask yourself if your overeating is due to starving yourself on some dieting program first before you start to dig deeper with your emotional make-up.

7. The Answer To Your Weight Problem Lies With Outsiders Influence – What many companies and providers do not publish is the following simple statement:

"If you eat normally again you will return to your normal weight range for the rest of your life. The problem is your eating is probably 'screwed up' because of all the outside influences which are blocking any chance you have of success in this area. The challenge is to re-learn HOW to eat normally again, HOW to re-connect with your natural eating signals of HUNGER, APPETITE and SATISFACTION."

Our body is very good at sending out signals. Please understand the wonders of your own body. Think about this for a minute...When you are thirsty your body will let you know it requires liquids - so you drink some fluids until your thirst is quenched. No big deal, right? If you are tired your body will give you signals so you rest until you feel refreshed. Again, no big deal. If you are too hot or too cold, yes, you guessed it, your body will let you know and you do something about it. In other words you TRUST your own body, listen to the signals it is giving and act on these. However when it comes to genuine hunger the natural response is to go and eat something BUT somehow we become totally confused and look for someone else to give us a bunch of rules to follow. You already know how to drink, sleep and control your temperature! THE SAME GOES FOR EATING WHEN YOU ARE GENUINELY HUNGRY.