SYNOPSIS OF HELEN'S BOOK "LOSE FAT, GAIN HEALTH"

"Lose Fat, Gain Health" was born out of confusion - confusion from the many books and self help programs that claim to offer fat loss and health. Some do one or the other but the results are short term and only serve to disappoint those who are already fragile from previous misplaced faith and money.
Why are there so many books on this subject?
Because people are still searching for the results they can only dream about. I hope I can change that. My clients get results 100% of the time when they take my recommended action. My motivational style works. My program works. What started out as self education research has become a knowledge bank that has served hundreds of clients in my role of health coach. There are many more hundreds of thousands that I would like to help who are blowing up and blowing out while they try to "be good" on the unhealthy recommendations of the media.
This book is not an academic treatise. It is a more general reader-friendly and very functional look at what we all need to be doing in order to return to our natural healthy state and body shape.
The style is conversational, humorous and engaging utilizing the authors experiences and findings as a health coach. Each part is intended to educate and motivate people to take action to either lose fat or gain health. Both concepts are symbiotic; so in the pursuit of bodyfat loss, health is achieved also, and vice versa. It is my wish that this book will motivate people to take the necessary steps to move toward optimal health and a natural distribution of bodyfat.

In opening, I send a clear message to the reader that I am just like them through a brief review of my life. Either in part, or in whole, people relate to this candid account of what could be part of their life story. It is my intention that the reader understand that it is possible to become healthy and reduce bodyfat levels without being a health nut or a leotard clad exercise freak or to have to be part of a social set who hangs at the gym pumping and gyrating to the instruction of an automon who can still smile while in pain. I have lived a significant percentage of my life abusing and neglecting my body and health needs in the name of fun and experiencing life fully, as many have done and still do.
I have gained weight and lost it during various phases of my life: depression, alcohol and cigarettes, poor quality food, no food, excess food and I have tried all manner of fitness routines that were popular at the time. Solutions had to be found for my addictions to alcohol, cigarettes, chocolates, fast food, sugar, stress and the fast life. It is these experiences that allow me to relate to the majority of people who are struggling with their body image, bodyfat, and health.
After completing my Masters of Education where I learned good research techniques, at age 40, I dedicated my time to researching health, fitness and fatness resources to find the solutions. I searched through the plethora of ‘helpful’ books on the subject - almost as many as there are days in a year - to realise that there was not one source that told me the truth about both health and fitness, about what was do-able, let alone about what was sustainable.
From the synthesis of many books and much self-trialling, I found the balance of health and fitness that allowed me to return to health, a natural bodyfat distribution and sustain it. I wanted to share it with my clients. The results were startling and motivated me to extend the information to my clients and now, the greater public.

'Lose Fat, Gain Health' is presented in seven parts. Each part is intended to educate and motivate people to take action to either lose fat or gain health. Both concepts are symbiotic so if, in the pursuit of bodyfat loss, health is achieved and vice versa.
The first chapter, "You are not a biscuit", highlights some of the many variables which make each individual different and, therefore, unable to simply follow a ‘recipe’ as if we were all baked biscuits forged from a cookie cutter. That is why most 'health' programs don't work - they treat everyone as if they were a biscuit. This follows naturally on to the next chapter, "Diets don’t work". The reader is given reasons why diets don’t work. They don't account for individual differences. They are a short term solution to a longer term problem. They are not focused on health and balance. They are not sustainable. The “yo” of the "yo-yo" results in greater fat storage than ever before. The diet cycle is insidious. In fact, this chapter clearly explains why diets are dangerous and, why, in fact, they create the opposite to the desired result. Diets make people fat.
In an entertaining view of evolution, the hunter-gatherer is compared to the current day supermarket-gatherer in the third chapter called ("Hunter-gatherer versus supermarket-gatherer"). Here the reader learns how our behaviours have changed over time while our biological being has not evolved to keep up with it. This serves to bring an understanding of why our bodies are reflecting such poor health.
The final chapter in Part 1, "Cross at the lights", urges people to take small, sensible steps to maintain their health daily to avoid being hit by the proverbial Mac Truck that seems to come from no-where. This is the essence of the book.My motivation is summed up in this chapter. It distressed me so to see people travelling blindly and unknowingly down the road to ill health. Similarly, I am pained to see people struggling with excess bodyfat and poor self-image. It doesn't have to be so painful. I know that if they pick up this book and resonate with this first section, I will have them sufficiently motivated to finish reading the book and then to take the action that I recommend in my program. It is my goal that this be the case for everyone.

Part II reviews some of the basics of health from the medical world. There are seven chapters in this part beginning with the question, "Fit, fat, or healthy?" This educates the reader regarding the notion of what is fitness, health, and the detrimental effects of being overfat. Then, the reader is introduced to the four big health concerns: "Heart smart", "Blood pressure", "Cholesterol", and "Cancer". In plain english and very simple analogies, the reader is informed of the significance of these health states and the importance of doing whatever is possible to avoid the 'bullet'.
The final two chapters of this section of the book introduce the concept of stress - adrenal stress - and how our current lifestyle is constantly overtaxing our body which was designed to slay (or run away from) the sabre toothed tiger and then take a nap. This imaginary foe is what is contributing significantly the demise of our immune system. Finally, in this section, the taboo subject of eliminating frequently is brought out into the open and discussed candidly to bring the reader’s attention to what is basic personal health care.

To help the reader establish some health benchmarks, Part III offers some very realistic options in three chapters. The first chapter, "Fat figures" packs a realistic punch. Basically, if you are fat, you know it. Everyone knows it. Do something about it - especially men who seem not to be quite so cognisant of their fatty deposits. The health risks for men, as well as women, are laid in clear terms. You don’t even have to measure it - just get rid of it. To immortalise this bodyshape in history it is recommended that the reader takes a photo - the butt naked truth - captured in two dimensional full colour. This will serve as an excellent motivational tool for the future if the health focus waivers.
Because some people like to quantify their current status regarding their level of fitness, I have included the chapter,"Aerobic fitness - Let’s measure it". This provides the 'math heads' with a numerical appraisal of their fitness to which they can then refer each month to notice the positive changes. It is not for everyone, as the results soon speak for themselves loudly enough when people begin my recommended program.

Part IV begins with a self disclosure of some of the gremlins who have plagued my attempts to take care of myself. This is important for both men as well as women, because we often feel we are alone in our forest of gremlins. Those who face obstacles of this nature will be heartened to learn that they are not alone, that there is someone else who understands, who has overcome obstacles, both real and imagined, to make their own health a priority. It is my hope that this chapter,"Take flight", encourages them to do that.
Two pieces of equipment are reviewed in detail in this section relating to preparation. The first one is, "The Worst Piece of Equipment" - the bathroom scales. So many people have them but what do they measure? Nothing useful is my message. After an honest appraisal of what the scales actually do to our behaviour (and it’s not a pretty sight), I strongly suggest that the bathroom scales be thrown away.
They can be replaced by, "The Best Piece of Equipment" - the heart rate monitor. After reading this chapter, the reader will be convinced that the heart rate monitor is the best training partner, coach, friend-who-always-tells-the-truth that they will ever find. For people to train smart, they must use a heart rate monitor. If it’s not on ..... there may not be benefit from your effort.

The first chapter in Part V called, "Eat to live or live to eat" , kicks off the seven chapters on food. It takes a direct look at what we are doing in the name of sustenance. Malnutrition is becoming a health problem of the wealthy in America. This chapter explores what we are doing to threaten the survival of our species by 'entertaining our taste buds'. It then looks at the food that is available and leads the reader to notice that "Appearances are deceiving you". Maybe fresh is not best, after all. Our advancing technologies allow the production of greater and great quantities at the expense of quality. Where is the nutritional value?
A very important chapter, "Dudley-do-right did it wrong" busts the myth that low fat is the solution to our bodyfat woes and, in fact, it is making the majority of the population more unhealthy (as well as fat) despite the lowest intake of fat ever. The 'really good guys' try to go one better. The creed that is taking them to self destruction is, "if low fat is good, then no fat must be better". We have never been so wrong in our pursuit to optimize health. In fact, the critical point is made in the book that fats are essential to our survival and are not the food to be feared. Instead, we need to increase our essential fats intake to return to health and natural bodyfat levels. The baby has been thrown out with the bathwater. This genocide is what is causing people to become fatter and succumb to more life threatening diseases at much younger ages than ever before. It’s basic. It’s fundamental.
"Water" - every cell in your body needs it. It’s strange that this chapter even needs inclusion but it has come to my attention through my clients, that it seems 'mother's survivial tips' are not including this as the basic for all health. In general, the majority of the population in the developed and technologically advanced world is drinking everything else but water. This is another sign of affluence for a very dumb animal.
Another currently overlooked essential for our survival and brain function is protein as reported in the chapter, "Protein". The fear of fat has pushed this life sustaining food group off the table and has replaced it with nutrient deficient space fillers. An adequate portion of lean protein is what is recommended - nothing in excess - this is not a high protein diet - this is not Atkins revisited.
The dam buster is revealed in the chapter, "Sugar - the bitter truth". This is what has replaced our nutrition and this is what is undermining our health. The low fat disciples are eating it guilt free by the bucket load. However, if it is low in fat and still tastes good, it is probably high in sugar. Sugar addictions, hypoglycemia, obesity, mood imbalances, arthritis, diabetes, cardiac disease, and cancer can all be found at the end of the sugar trail. As if that’s not bad enough, it gets worse. There are other foods high on the list of fat avoiders diets that act like sugar when we ingest them.
"Sugar - More bad news" uncovers the truth that the long shelf life of the refined carbohydrates might be a positive factor for the supermarket managers, but these refined carbohydrates are negatively affecting our shelf life and have become the scourge of our health as they replace more of the essentials that our bodies need to survive. The low fat, low protein diet regimes, together with the 'time poor' preparation habits of so many successful people, have resulted in a diet high in refined, nutrient-poor foods. Now that the true light has been shone on the foods that we eat and on what constitutes healthy balanced eating, it is prudent to focus on the physical activity side of our health regime.

"Use the 'F' word" brings a realistic and long term approach to exercise and physical training. 'F' is for functional. What is the point of doing something repetitively with our body when we are young if we can't go to the toilet by ourselves in the final years of our lives? Take out the necessary insurance, today, that will ensure (to the best of our knowledge) that we can take care of ourselves, and our loved ones, in our own homes for the entirity of our lives. If we are going to optimise the duration of our lives, we had better make sure we are functional for the duration as well.
"Use your head" presents a good case for training smart if we are going to exercise at all. After we have engaged the head, we had better follow up with "Use your muscles" to optimise the functionality of our lives. If that doesn't inspire the reader to lift some weight, perhaps the 'sex is better' message will do it. Irrespective of the motive, if we do a little each day, we will reduce the ravages of osteoporosis.
"Mirror mirror on every wall" gives permission for people not to like gyms and still have options to take action. A lot of people don't like them anyway, so perhaps they will feel comfortable in the knowledge that they are not weird and that there are other options that will do the trick just fine. Health is not found in the reflection of the mirrors at the gym. It is found in the small steps taken each day for a lifetime.

What began as a pursuit for my own health education when I noticed things were slowing down and hanging down has become a crusade to help an endangered species - humankind.
My book is not to challenge medicine or to substitute for it. It is far more basic than that. It brings the fundamentals of health and fitness to the average person. It very simply informs the reader of the basic health habits to which the body responds to so willingly. My understanding of health and fitness, together with the small steps needed to maintain them, helped me. I thought it might help others.
Evidence now shows it is more universal than not. The body responds quickly and admirably to these basic health and fitness recommendations. Changing a lifestyle to a health style takes time following precisely measured steps. It is a process to be taken over time.
 
'Lose Fat, Gain Health' is the beginning of that process.