How Not to Get Fat

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Quadrille Publishing Limited Alhambra House 27–31 Charing Cross Road London WC2H 0LS www.quadrille.co.uk

NOT TO GET The most effective way to manage your weight is to avoid getting fat in the first place. No one wants to spend their life on a diet, dealing with cravings and denying themselves the food that they want. Yet it seems that 1 in 4 adults seem to be on a diet ‘most of the time’.

This book shows that prevention is better than cure.

IAN MARBER

Author’s photograph by Sue Foll

HOW

HOW NOT TO GET FAT

Ian Marber MBANT Dip ION is the principal consultant at The Food Doctor Clinic in London’s Holland Park. He is a regular contributor to many leading magazines and newspapers and an advisor and contributing columnist to three of Britain’s most influential health magazines, Healthy, Zest and Top Santé.

His latest book is Supereating (2008); other recent titles include The Food Doctor Diet (2004), The Food Doctor Everyday Diet (2005), The Food Doctor Everyday Cookbook (2006) and The Food Doctor Diet Club (2007).

Ian is also a sought-after guest on national television and radio.

HOW

NOT TO GET

If all diets work, why is it such a problem for us to maintain a healthy weight while still enjoying life? And why do we fall into the trap of sending ourselves on an endless rollercoaster of boom and bust, dieting and overeating, which makes us feel bad or ashamed about ourselves?

How we think about food is usually at odds with the way in which our bodies turn food into energy. In our minds, we often see food as the enemy, and engage in a battle that we feel we will always lose.We learn how to diet, not how to eat, and when we treat ourselves the weight creeps back on again.

In this practical and often humorous guide Ian Marber explains how our bodies work, reminds us of how unhealthy our emotional relationship with food can be, and provides simple guidelines on good nutrition. Quite simply, Ian shows us what to eat, and when, so that we will never get fat.

IAN MARBER £9.99

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HOW NOT TO GET FAT If all diets work, why is it such a problem for us to maintain a healthy weight while still enjoying life? And why do we fall into the trap of sending ourselves on an endless rollercoaster of boom and bust, dieting and overeating, which makes us feel bad or ashamed about ourselves?

In Ian Marber’s long-standing experience as a nutritional therapist, most people want to eat in a way that satisfies their hunger, enables them to enjoy good food, minimizes cravings, and works with even the busiest work, or social, schedule – all without gaining weight.

But how we think about food is usually at odds with the dispassionate way in which our bodies turn food into energy. Many eating problems stem from an obsession with food, or low self-esteem. In our minds, we often see food as the enemy, and engage in a battle that we feel we will always lose. Or attitudes from family, friends, colleagues, and the media about our weight, or how we should look, lead many of us to try extreme diets, buy low-calorie foods, or over-exercise.

We learn how to diet, not how to eat, and when we treat ourselves the weight creeps back on and another cycle of emotional guilt and self-denial begins.

In this insightful, revealing, and practical guide, Ian explains how our bodies work, reminds us of how unhealthy our emotional relationship with food can be, and provides simple guidelines on good nutrition. Ian teaches us to know what to eat, and when, so that we can enjoy a life-long positive approach to our food.

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Ian Marber MBANT Dip ION is the principal consultant at The Food Doctor Clinic in London’s Holland Park, where he conducts one-to-one consultations with clients, advising on all aspects of nutrition, and the effect incorrect food choices can have on physical health and wellbeing. He is a regular contributor to many leading magazines and newspapers including Men’s Health, Harper’s Bazaar, Easy Living, the Evening Standard and the Daily Telegraph. In addition, Ian is an advisor and contributing columnist to three of Britain’s most influential health magazines, Healthy, Zest and Top Santé.

He is also a prolific writer, and all his books have achieved worldwide success. His latest book is Supereating (2008); other recent titles include The Food Doctor Diet (2004), The Food Doctor Everyday Diet (2005), The Food Doctor Everyday Cookbook (2006) and The Food Doctor Diet Club (2007).

Ian is also a sought-after guest on national television and radio. £9.99 Paperback with flaps 978 184400 790 5 176 pages 210 x 160 mm 45,000 words Colour throughout with over 25 illustrations Publication: January 2010 Quadrille Publishing Limited Alhambra House 27 – 31 Charing Cross Road London wc2h 0ls www.quadrille.co.uk

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HOW NOT TO GET FAT If all diets work, why is it such a problem for us to maintain a healthy weight while still enjoying life? And why do we fall into the trap of sending ourselves on an endless rollercoaster of boom and bust, dieting and overeating, which makes us feel bad or ashamed about ourselves?

In Ian Marber’s long-standing experience as a nutritional therapist, most people want to eat in a way that satisfies their hunger, enables them to enjoy good food, minimizes cravings, and works with even the busiest work, or social, schedule – all without gaining weight.

But how we think about food is usually at odds with the dispassionate way in which our bodies turn food into energy. Many eating problems stem from an obsession with food, or low self-esteem. In our minds, we often see food as the enemy, and engage in a battle that we feel we will always lose. Or attitudes from family, friends, colleagues, and the media about our weight, or how we should look, lead many of us to try extreme diets, buy low-calorie foods, or over-exercise.

We learn how to diet, not how to eat, and when we treat ourselves the weight creeps back on and another cycle of emotional guilt and self-denial begins.

In this insightful, revealing, and practical guide, Ian explains how our bodies work, reminds us of how unhealthy our emotional relationship with food can be, and provides simple guidelines on good nutrition. Ian teaches us to know what to eat, and when, so that we can enjoy a life-long positive approach to our food.

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Contents Introduction 6 1 How we work 16 2 How we think 52 3 How to eat so we never have to diet 146 Index 174 Acknowledgments 176

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How the metabolic rate works We hear quite a lot about metabolism and many people will claim a slow metabolism as the reason why they have weight issues.

To be clear, the metabolic rate is the amount of calories that the body requires to maintain itself. All functions require energy, from movement to thought, from digestion to breathing, and the primary source of energy is what we eat and drink.

Input and output Bear in mind that glucose is extracted from food, and then circulates in the blood, entering cells where it is used to make energy. If the glucose levels are too concentrated then the excess is stored away, first as glycogen and then as fat. Conversely, when our food intake is cut the body will dip into its reserves of fat forcing them to be converted back into glucose to make up for the deficit.

Taxing the system We may decide that we want to be healthier and adopt an exercise programme and diet. There are countless reasons why we might do this ranging from weight gain, a milestone birthday, a family get together or illness. Whatever our reason, and however sound it may be, our body runs as a machine and is completely unaware and uninterested in ‘why’ we are doing something and responds to ‘what’ instead.

Does our metabolic rate slow down as we get older?

It is a widely held belief that the metabolic rate slows down with age and as a result we will inevitably gain weight. While this is true to some extent, the degree of slow down is also directly related to how many times we have dieted and overeaten in the past, as well as the level of physical activity and exercise we have undertaken.

20

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It can also be argued that the reduced levels of muscle in older people mean that less calories are required for maintenance which fits in nicely with the reduced appetite that often accompanies older age. Furthermore, we tend to be less physical as we age, and so this could contribute to the reduction in energy requirements which in turn will slow down the metabolism.

Diet and money

In the very short term, if we have There is an interesting analogy to overeaten for a couple of days, then be made between diet and money. cut back again, our metabolism may be If we think of glucose as money, alerted to the increase, but unless the then glycogen is our overdraft and situation continues for several days, it is fat is what is in our deposit account. unlikely to alter its workings. The same is If we get a cut in salary, then we know true when we are careful about what we that we have to budget. The same is eat, following a lower calorie diet. If the true of our metabolism as it allows intake is just a little lower, then the fat the deposit account to be cleared out that was once glucose will be broken down to make sure that there is enough glucose to go round. to create energy to make up for the deficit.

However, the human condition is such that we want to see results and we want to see them quickly, we want proof that our investment of time and energy is paying off.

So the diet we start tends to be dramatic and punitive, and even if we don’t cut calories that much, the increased exercise and activity creates a noticeable difference between what was coming in and going out and what the new levels are. You may have cut your calories from 2000 per day to 1500, and started walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift and exercising three times a week. This is obviously to be commended, but your metabolic rate has no idea about your plans, nor does it have the ability to reward you for your efforts by arranging things in your favour. Instead, it dips into its reserves, first glycogen which is quickly depleted, and then fat, forcing cells to give up their fat to allow it to be converted back into glucose.

The seesaw approach The first diet we follow, or even the second, will not cause us a problem, but when we have a chaotic and inconsistent intake of food as well as output of energy, our metabolism becomes confused. Let’s think back to the money analogy – your bank manager sees you clear out your current account, go through your overdraft and then work your way through what you had on deposit. Now, this isn’t a bad thing as your weight drops and you benefit from all the positive effects of a good diet and exercise. But then we slow down, we have reached our target weight, and the three times a week at the gym seems too

how not to get fat how we work

21

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How the metabolic rate works We hear quite a lot about metabolism and many people will claim a slow metabolism as the reason why they have weight issues.

To be clear, the metabolic rate is the amount of calories that the body requires to maintain itself. All functions require energy, from movement to thought, from digestion to breathing, and the primary source of energy is what we eat and drink.

Input and output Bear in mind that glucose is extracted from food, and then circulates in the blood, entering cells where it is used to make energy. If the glucose levels are too concentrated then the excess is stored away, first as glycogen and then as fat. Conversely, when our food intake is cut the body will dip into its reserves of fat forcing them to be converted back into glucose to make up for the deficit.

Taxing the system We may decide that we want to be healthier and adopt an exercise programme and diet. There are countless reasons why we might do this ranging from weight gain, a milestone birthday, a family get together or illness. Whatever our reason, and however sound it may be, our body runs as a machine and is completely unaware and uninterested in ‘why’ we are doing something and responds to ‘what’ instead.

Does our metabolic rate slow down as we get older?

It is a widely held belief that the metabolic rate slows down with age and as a result we will inevitably gain weight. While this is true to some extent, the degree of slow down is also directly related to how many times we have dieted and overeaten in the past, as well as the level of physical activity and exercise we have undertaken.

20

how not to get fat how we work

It can also be argued that the reduced levels of muscle in older people mean that less calories are required for maintenance which fits in nicely with the reduced appetite that often accompanies older age. Furthermore, we tend to be less physical as we age, and so this could contribute to the reduction in energy requirements which in turn will slow down the metabolism.

Diet and money

In the very short term, if we have There is an interesting analogy to overeaten for a couple of days, then be made between diet and money. cut back again, our metabolism may be If we think of glucose as money, alerted to the increase, but unless the then glycogen is our overdraft and situation continues for several days, it is fat is what is in our deposit account. unlikely to alter its workings. The same is If we get a cut in salary, then we know true when we are careful about what we that we have to budget. The same is eat, following a lower calorie diet. If the true of our metabolism as it allows intake is just a little lower, then the fat the deposit account to be cleared out that was once glucose will be broken down to make sure that there is enough glucose to go round. to create energy to make up for the deficit.

However, the human condition is such that we want to see results and we want to see them quickly, we want proof that our investment of time and energy is paying off.

So the diet we start tends to be dramatic and punitive, and even if we don’t cut calories that much, the increased exercise and activity creates a noticeable difference between what was coming in and going out and what the new levels are. You may have cut your calories from 2000 per day to 1500, and started walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift and exercising three times a week. This is obviously to be commended, but your metabolic rate has no idea about your plans, nor does it have the ability to reward you for your efforts by arranging things in your favour. Instead, it dips into its reserves, first glycogen which is quickly depleted, and then fat, forcing cells to give up their fat to allow it to be converted back into glucose.

The seesaw approach The first diet we follow, or even the second, will not cause us a problem, but when we have a chaotic and inconsistent intake of food as well as output of energy, our metabolism becomes confused. Let’s think back to the money analogy – your bank manager sees you clear out your current account, go through your overdraft and then work your way through what you had on deposit. Now, this isn’t a bad thing as your weight drops and you benefit from all the positive effects of a good diet and exercise. But then we slow down, we have reached our target weight, and the three times a week at the gym seems too

how not to get fat how we work

21

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Fat clothes and thin clothes From the neck downwards, our body is like a machine responding to the countless triggers that influence it. It will adapt to varying temperatures, and to the different levels of activity, rest and food that it gets and it does so in a non-judgemental and cold hearted manner.

In other words, the way that we work takes no account of how we think. Our highly evolved and sophisticated metabolism – and the way that food is broken down, glucose extracted and energy created – has no idea, nor does it care, that we think we could or should be slimmer.

It doesn’t know that you overate last night because you deserved it. Or because it was a reward for having worked hard this week.

Or a birthday. Your thought process might be entirely justifiable.

It might go something like this . . .

‘It’s been a long week and I haven’t had a chance to see many friends or family. I was only out on Tuesday evening and that was only to see a movie. I have been good all week, worked hard and done some exercise but it’s not easy to get to the gym, and anyway, who cares? It was Friday night and so a few of us met for some drinks and then we had dinner. I know I drank a little too much and I know I ate too much, but it’s ok as I deserved it and anyway, I can work it off at the gym today. If I get there.

I can always go tomorrow.’

Does any of that sound familiar?

Now, suppose you didn’t manage to get to the gym, or take that long walk you had promised to take, partly to make up for your excesses of Friday night, deserved though they may have been. It’s probable that as you are in a period of not being quite as ‘good’ as you might ideally like to be, then you continue to eat and drink a little more, partly because you know that soon, you will have to get back on track and get healthy. Again.

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how not to get fat how we think

Our reserve wardrobe The following weekend you might find your favourite pair of black trousers, the ones that you wish you had bought two pairs of as they fit really well and make you look slim and tall. But when you put them on, they are tight and you don’t feel comfortable. Reluctantly, you change into the other black ones, part of your ‘fat wardrobe’.

The sense of frustration and disappointment is probably something that you know well, and unless you are a very relaxed person, it is bound to cause anxiety. This anxiety is nearly always damaging, taking you into a whole realm of self doubt and low self esteem.

Instead of being able to fit into those wonderful black trousers, the clothes that you are forced to wear act as a reminder of your failure. In an effort to get back into them, and to avoid the cycle of eat and binge, boom and bust, you reluctantly go back on the diet.

No more treats for you, from now on it’s low fat and no alcohol.

You cancel plans with friends who you would normally drink with, perhaps start to get up a little earlier than before to get to the gym before work, and, mercifully, the weight starts to go. You are working hard at losing weight, and you feel released from the burden of self-loathing that started to creep into your daily thoughts.

But then what?

You can’t manage the gym every morning, and you can’t avoid the friends forever, can you? In time, you will inevitably slip and the cycle starts again and the black trousers are put away in favour of the ones that are more forgiving, at least until you start to diet again.

how not to get fat how we think

55

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Fat clothes and thin clothes From the neck downwards, our body is like a machine responding to the countless triggers that influence it. It will adapt to varying temperatures, and to the different levels of activity, rest and food that it gets and it does so in a non-judgemental and cold hearted manner.

In other words, the way that we work takes no account of how we think. Our highly evolved and sophisticated metabolism – and the way that food is broken down, glucose extracted and energy created – has no idea, nor does it care, that we think we could or should be slimmer.

It doesn’t know that you overate last night because you deserved it. Or because it was a reward for having worked hard this week.

Or a birthday. Your thought process might be entirely justifiable.

It might go something like this . . .

‘It’s been a long week and I haven’t had a chance to see many friends or family. I was only out on Tuesday evening and that was only to see a movie. I have been good all week, worked hard and done some exercise but it’s not easy to get to the gym, and anyway, who cares? It was Friday night and so a few of us met for some drinks and then we had dinner. I know I drank a little too much and I know I ate too much, but it’s ok as I deserved it and anyway, I can work it off at the gym today. If I get there.

I can always go tomorrow.’

Does any of that sound familiar?

Now, suppose you didn’t manage to get to the gym, or take that long walk you had promised to take, partly to make up for your excesses of Friday night, deserved though they may have been. It’s probable that as you are in a period of not being quite as ‘good’ as you might ideally like to be, then you continue to eat and drink a little more, partly because you know that soon, you will have to get back on track and get healthy. Again.

54

how not to get fat how we think

Our reserve wardrobe The following weekend you might find your favourite pair of black trousers, the ones that you wish you had bought two pairs of as they fit really well and make you look slim and tall. But when you put them on, they are tight and you don’t feel comfortable. Reluctantly, you change into the other black ones, part of your ‘fat wardrobe’.

The sense of frustration and disappointment is probably something that you know well, and unless you are a very relaxed person, it is bound to cause anxiety. This anxiety is nearly always damaging, taking you into a whole realm of self doubt and low self esteem.

Instead of being able to fit into those wonderful black trousers, the clothes that you are forced to wear act as a reminder of your failure. In an effort to get back into them, and to avoid the cycle of eat and binge, boom and bust, you reluctantly go back on the diet.

No more treats for you, from now on it’s low fat and no alcohol.

You cancel plans with friends who you would normally drink with, perhaps start to get up a little earlier than before to get to the gym before work, and, mercifully, the weight starts to go. You are working hard at losing weight, and you feel released from the burden of self-loathing that started to creep into your daily thoughts.

But then what?

You can’t manage the gym every morning, and you can’t avoid the friends forever, can you? In time, you will inevitably slip and the cycle starts again and the black trousers are put away in favour of the ones that are more forgiving, at least until you start to diet again.

how not to get fat how we think

55

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Aren’t you doing well? Being on a diet means different things to different people. For some, it simply means being careful what they eat, and reining themselves in soon after they over eat. They understand how to eat so they can enjoy wonderful food and drink. They know how to stay within their upper weight limit, and have found a practical way to exercise and stay healthy.

Sadly, such people are very much in the minority, and as they generally haven’t experienced what it is like to battle with cravings, dieting, gaining weight and the personal disappointment that comes with the situation, inevitably they are unsympathetic.

Sin and reward The majority of people have been affected by the desire or compulsion to lose weight, and they are mostly unhappy with the way they look.

They may feel embarrassed about their weight, and understandably relish the compliments they get when they are on a diet. Comments such as ‘I can see, it’s all coming off’ and ‘Aren’t you good’ are cause for delight. However, when the weight is gone, and they don’t have to be quite so good, some weight creeps back on.

You and I might not notice this weight gain, and even if we did, it’s certainly not a big deal. For the successful dieter, however, who has basked in the attention and feeling of superiority that losing weight brings them, it’s a risky time. They are bored with the diet, and having denied themselves for so long, what better reward is there than to eat? In this way the food becomes the sin and the reward, the pleasure and the pain. The weight gain represents failure, and often leads to either panic or indulgence.

Panic and indulgence Panic involves going back on the diet which removes the choice from what and how to eat. The boundaries that the diet imposes (and it doesn’t matter which diet it is) bring a welcome discipline to the potentially out-of-control dieter.

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how not to get fat how we think

Indulgence is the path to ruin, until the next diet that is.

Flushed with success and feeling vital and slim, the dieter slowly puts on weight, a little here, some there, and as no-one says anything, they fool themselves into thinking that they are getting away with it, and anyway ‘I don’t want to look gaunt, do I?’.

One-way comments Commenting on someone’s weight loss is encouraged and very welcome. It is the social norm, as being overweight is perhaps a manifestation of today’s Seven Deadly Sins (see page 81). However, it is considered unsupportive if not downright rude to comment on weight gain. ‘I can see that it’s coming off’ people say, gesturing to the dieter when they are losing weight. You don’t hear them say ‘It’s all coming back, that’s a pity, isn’t it, after all your hard work?’.

If they did, perhaps the dieter would rein in and get a stark if not truly uncomfortable reminder of what they are doing.

Your personal barometer In the absence of such honesty, the dieter relies on his or her own barometer to gauge their weight gain. How clothes feel is often the most pressing reminder. The black trousers, the ones that are so flattering, are a little tight now and leave marks where the seams have pressed into the flesh.

Now, the dieter has three choices 1 Be sensible and eat a little less but don’t starve or overdo it.

2 Think ‘sod it, who cares?’ and keep eating, knowing deep down that you will have to diet again ‘sometime’.

3 Go back on the diet and be very strict as a punishment for having been stupid enough to have gained weight after all that effort and abstinence.

how not to get fat how we think

129

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Aren’t you doing well? Being on a diet means different things to different people. For some, it simply means being careful what they eat, and reining themselves in soon after they over eat. They understand how to eat so they can enjoy wonderful food and drink. They know how to stay within their upper weight limit, and have found a practical way to exercise and stay healthy.

Sadly, such people are very much in the minority, and as they generally haven’t experienced what it is like to battle with cravings, dieting, gaining weight and the personal disappointment that comes with the situation, inevitably they are unsympathetic.

Sin and reward The majority of people have been affected by the desire or compulsion to lose weight, and they are mostly unhappy with the way they look.

They may feel embarrassed about their weight, and understandably relish the compliments they get when they are on a diet. Comments such as ‘I can see, it’s all coming off’ and ‘Aren’t you good’ are cause for delight. However, when the weight is gone, and they don’t have to be quite so good, some weight creeps back on.

You and I might not notice this weight gain, and even if we did, it’s certainly not a big deal. For the successful dieter, however, who has basked in the attention and feeling of superiority that losing weight brings them, it’s a risky time. They are bored with the diet, and having denied themselves for so long, what better reward is there than to eat? In this way the food becomes the sin and the reward, the pleasure and the pain. The weight gain represents failure, and often leads to either panic or indulgence.

Panic and indulgence Panic involves going back on the diet which removes the choice from what and how to eat. The boundaries that the diet imposes (and it doesn’t matter which diet it is) bring a welcome discipline to the potentially out-of-control dieter.

128

how not to get fat how we think

Indulgence is the path to ruin, until the next diet that is.

Flushed with success and feeling vital and slim, the dieter slowly puts on weight, a little here, some there, and as no-one says anything, they fool themselves into thinking that they are getting away with it, and anyway ‘I don’t want to look gaunt, do I?’.

One-way comments Commenting on someone’s weight loss is encouraged and very welcome. It is the social norm, as being overweight is perhaps a manifestation of today’s Seven Deadly Sins (see page 81). However, it is considered unsupportive if not downright rude to comment on weight gain. ‘I can see that it’s coming off’ people say, gesturing to the dieter when they are losing weight. You don’t hear them say ‘It’s all coming back, that’s a pity, isn’t it, after all your hard work?’.

If they did, perhaps the dieter would rein in and get a stark if not truly uncomfortable reminder of what they are doing.

Your personal barometer In the absence of such honesty, the dieter relies on his or her own barometer to gauge their weight gain. How clothes feel is often the most pressing reminder. The black trousers, the ones that are so flattering, are a little tight now and leave marks where the seams have pressed into the flesh.

Now, the dieter has three choices 1 Be sensible and eat a little less but don’t starve or overdo it.

2 Think ‘sod it, who cares?’ and keep eating, knowing deep down that you will have to diet again ‘sometime’.

3 Go back on the diet and be very strict as a punishment for having been stupid enough to have gained weight after all that effort and abstinence.

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Free yourself from dieting We have already explored the two mechanisms that most people battle in their quest to lose weight. Once you understand these, you will be able to eat and exercise in a way that should prevent weight gain.

It seems simple, but once you can manage your blood glucose levels then energy levels remain consistent, which means that cravings diminish, as do all those worries about what we eat. Furthermore, putting into place a food plan designed specifically for glucose management inhibits glucose from being stored away as fat.

The key is to combine the various food groups so that the glucose is created slowly and consistently from what you eat. This is actually very easy once you look a little more closely at the speed at which the food groups are broken down.

How to combine food groups Fat and protein are broken down slowly, while carbohydrates are broken down more rapidly. You know about simple and complex carbohydrates, and most people think complex are the good ones.

But even a complex carbohydrate when eaten alone is going to release its glucose quite rapidly. Complex carbohydrates are better than the simple ones but this doesn’t make them right, at least not for our purposes.

Complex carbohydrates should always be eaten with protein and fat, a little of each. This combination is not easy to break down and the digestive system has to work to do so. This takes time which is ideal for not gaining weight while still enjoying eating and good food.

In everyday terms, this might mean having an egg and toast for breakfast instead of a grain based cereal. Or if you have porridge, a complex carbohydrate, you should add some fat or protein to it, which means a smaller portion of grain mixed up with some almonds.

It doesn’t matter which protein you have, so you can be as maverick as you want. You are free to combine any protein with any complex carbohydrate, and when you grasp this and apply it to your eating, you can be free from dieting as well.

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HOW NOT TO GET FAT If all diets work, why is it such a problem for us to maintain a healthy weight while still enjoying life? And why do we fall into the trap of sending ourselves on an endless rollercoaster of boom and bust, dieting and overeating, which makes us feel bad or ashamed about ourselves?

In Ian Marber’s long-standing experience as a nutritional therapist, most people want to eat in a way that satisfies their hunger, enables them to enjoy good food, minimizes cravings, and works with even the busiest work, or social, schedule – all without gaining weight.

But how we think about food is usually at odds with the dispassionate way in which our bodies turn food into energy. Many eating problems stem from an obsession with food, or low self-esteem. In our minds, we often see food as the enemy, and engage in a battle that we feel we will always lose. Or attitudes from family, friends, colleagues, and the media about our weight, or how we should look, lead many of us to try extreme diets, buy low-calorie foods, or over-exercise.

We learn how to diet, not how to eat, and when we treat ourselves the weight creeps back on and another cycle of emotional guilt and self-denial begins.

In this insightful, revealing, and practical guide, Ian explains how our bodies work, reminds us of how unhealthy our emotional relationship with food can be, and provides simple guidelines on good nutrition. Ian teaches us to know what to eat, and when, so that we can enjoy a life-long positive approach to our food.

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Quadrille Publishing Limited Alhambra House 27–31 Charing Cross Road London WC2H 0LS www.quadrille.co.uk

NOT TO GET The most effective way to manage your weight is to avoid getting fat in the first place. No one wants to spend their life on a diet, dealing with cravings and denying themselves the food that they want. Yet it seems that 1 in 4 adults seem to be on a diet ‘most of the time’.

This book shows that prevention is better than cure.

IAN MARBER

Author’s photograph by Sue Foll

HOW

HOW NOT TO GET FAT

Ian Marber MBANT Dip ION is the principal consultant at The Food Doctor Clinic in London’s Holland Park. He is a regular contributor to many leading magazines and newspapers and an advisor and contributing columnist to three of Britain’s most influential health magazines, Healthy, Zest and Top Santé.

His latest book is Supereating (2008); other recent titles include The Food Doctor Diet (2004), The Food Doctor Everyday Diet (2005), The Food Doctor Everyday Cookbook (2006) and The Food Doctor Diet Club (2007).

Ian is also a sought-after guest on national television and radio.

HOW

NOT TO GET

If all diets work, why is it such a problem for us to maintain a healthy weight while still enjoying life? And why do we fall into the trap of sending ourselves on an endless rollercoaster of boom and bust, dieting and overeating, which makes us feel bad or ashamed about ourselves?

How we think about food is usually at odds with the way in which our bodies turn food into energy. In our minds, we often see food as the enemy, and engage in a battle that we feel we will always lose.We learn how to diet, not how to eat, and when we treat ourselves the weight creeps back on again.

In this practical and often humorous guide Ian Marber explains how our bodies work, reminds us of how unhealthy our emotional relationship with food can be, and provides simple guidelines on good nutrition. Quite simply, Ian shows us what to eat, and when, so that we will never get fat.

IAN MARBER £9.99