Visualization for Weight Loss -The Gabriel Method

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Why Diets Don’t Work

N ow that you understand the crucial importance of the mind- body connection to weight loss, let’s turn our attention to some of the physical stresses that may be activating your Fat Pro- grams and discuss what you can do about them. The number one physical stress that makes your body want to be fat is dieting. Dieting—actively depriving yourself of certain foods—acti- vates the FAT Programs. The stress of forcing yourself to eat less and of denying yourself the foods you’re craving, day in and day out, causes hormonal and chemical changes in your body. These changes act as a signal to your brain that it’s time to go into fat conservation mode (see the appendix on page 185 if you would like a more detailed explanation). Dieting sends only one message to your brain: “There’s not enough food. We’d better put every spare calorie we can into fat because we don’t know where our next meal is coming from.” In essence, dieting sends a famine message to your body that trig- gers the FAT Programs, and that’s why diets don’t work. It’s unlikely that anyone has ever told a person struggling with excess weight to eat more , but if you’re starving yourself to try to lose weight, that’s exactly what I’m recommending you do . Diets all follow a similar pattern. By eliminating or severely restricting items from your diet, your body will, for a time, lose

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