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Lose Your Inches Without Losing Your Mind

David Wilson

American nutritionist Justine SanFilippo knows how badly a fad diet can harm your health; she has tried too many to count."I had no energy, my brain was foggy and I had this weird, metallic taste in my mouth," she writes of one low-carb diet's effect. "To this day, we still think all carbs are bad. But we need them for energy.

"When we eat carbohydrates, they break down into something called glucose. Glucose is actually what our brains run on, so we need carbs."

Besides protein, she advises, you should consume plenty of complex carbohydrates found in foods such as oatmeal. Boycott trans fats. Instead, try omega-3 oils, which can curb stress - the obvious omega-3 source, fish, beats a hotly tipped alternative, flaxseed oil, because the body processes flax less efficiently, she says.

Another foodstuff she endorses is avocado, which abounds in healthy fat. Generally, do not be scared of food - always have breakfast, which will help you endure her recommended cardiovascular workouts and intense weightlifting stints. Carry snacks - nuts, cherries, "veggies", goji berries and more - just in case.

"When you feel that energy crash, it just means your blood sugar levels have dropped," she writes. "So, rather than reaching for that super-duper-mocha frappuccino with whipped cream, eat from your super-healthy stash of snacks. Your belly fat will also decrease when you quit caffeine."

She says an appealingly genial source once obsessed with watching the scales in vain because weight measurements are heavily swayed by muscle; what counts is your waist.

A pedant might say her advice is old hat, but the personal trainer breathes life into familiar ideas and presents some surprising findings.

"One of the most fascinating things that I have learned in my practice is that most of my clients do not eat enough nor frequently enough," she writes. "The most ironic thing is that usually the people who need to lose the most actually eat the least. I know that some of you are saying, 'Yeah, right', as you read this, but it's the truth.

Desperate slimmers adopt a low-calorie diet where a caffeine jolt replaces breakfast. Cue a sluggish metabolism and a wider waistline. They need to understand that the metabolism resembles a fireplace.

"When you are sleeping, it runs on embers - it is still burning, just at a much slower rate, she writes. "When you eat breakfast, it puts logs on the fire. So, if you want to burn more calories throughout the day [and get slimmer], eat something," she says.

Your metabolism need not slacken as you age, she adds. But the reason it might is the tendency to embrace an increasingly inert lifestyle. That means muscle mass loss, a drop in base metabolic rate and increased fat.

The reformed yo-yo-dieter, who gained 20kg at college, says the best way to maintain your metabolism rate is to keep active and watch how much alcohol you consume.

SanFilippo says: "If your inches are not shrinking as quickly as you would like, re-examine your alcohol intake."

She recommends only one alcohol session a week or less - a tough tip to follow, but then her touchstone is a trait that transcends fads: discipline. 

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