Wednesday, 30 September 2009
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Friday, 3 July 2009
July 2009 Club Email
Hi all,
Here's the Harcombe Diet Club news for July...
Thank you so much for signing up, buying books and for your queries – however you came to be on this email list. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you don’t want any more updates.
I’ve just come back from a fascinating 3-day conference in Liverpool run by the “Association for the Study of Obesity.” Here are the things that I found most interesting:
Most amazing fact: A person with a BMI of 35 has 93 times the risk of developing Type II diabetes than a person with a BMI of 21. A BMI of 35 is also not breathtakingly high – 1.2 million people in the UK currently have a BMI of over 40. An average height woman (5’4”) who is 14 stone 7lbs has a BMI of 35 and an average man (5’9”) who weighs 17 stone has a BMI of 35.
Most interesting comment: One of the highlights of the conference was the opportunity to receive presentations from two obese people – sharing their experiences. One had had a gastric bypass and the other was waiting for one. The former said in his presentation “There are some people who are fat and happy, but I don’t know any”. My experience and findings would support this.
The big news in obesity is surgery. The Liverpool team is the most renowned and active in the UK and they are performing 1100 surgical weight loss operations a year. The NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines say that people with a BMI of 40 or higher can be considered for weight loss surgery. That means 1.2m people ‘qualify’ already and that also means 10,000 people in the Liverpool area alone. 1,500 people are being referred to the Liverpool weight management centre each year, so this team simply cannot cope with demand, let alone clear any back log. If you have a bright child, wondering what career they should go into, weight loss surgery is the answer! Obesity is not generally a light-hearted topic, but there was one ‘fun’ moment when one of the speakers said about weight loss surgery “well, if you connect your oesophagus to your anus, of course you will lose weight.” This does quite nicely describe what the surgery options are, however, - bypass the digestive tract, shorten the digestive tract, and/or constrict the operation of the stomach in some way. We don’t know what this will do to vitamin and mineral absorption in the body, let alone the long term effects of surgery. Why would any government pay for operations like this before considering (in my view) less radical options such as banning transfats and sugar – the ingredients in the products that are the main cause of obesity?
The last ‘acceptable’ ‘ism’. There were some outstanding presentations on the psychological aspects of obesity and how ’fat’ people are seen and treated by society. The evidence that there is discrimination against overweight people is irrefutable and overwhelming. From childhood studies into weight and early school performance to discrimination in the workplace – evidence is widely available that overweight people don’t do as well at school and aren’t given the same opportunities at work. A Personnel Today journal (2007) survey of 300 senior managers and directors in business revealed that 79% of respondents considered it acceptable to discriminate (not hire/not promote) against overweight people. Their reasons? “These people are clearly weak-willed, lazy and out of control”. I see an overweight person and see (most likely) a calorie-counter and a victim of the wrong advice. The last thing I see that person as is weak-willed.
Childhood obesity: There was a jaw-dropping prediction from the childhood obesity expert at the conference – an adolescent who develops Type II diabetes is unlikely to see their 50th birthday! The psychological aspects of childhood obesity were also sobering. One brilliant study, done by Strauss & Pollack in 2003, involved 90,000 children across over 120 schools in the US. Children were asked to name their friends (they could name as many as they liked) and the results were then mapped onto a picture. This picture had a mass of white dots in the middle with high numbers of friend links going TO these white dots and a mass of black dots around the outside, with just one or two friend links for these people. The white dots were normal weight children and the black dots were overweight children. So much for fat and popular, let alone fat and jolly. This is cruel stuff. The final interesting comment in the area of childhood obesity was the view expressed that whether it is genetic or lifestyle (i.e. nature or nurture) “whenever I see an overweight child walk into my clinic I know that an overweight parent, or two, will follow.”
What I’m up to:
1) The biggest news by far for June was getting onto the Amazon best seller list. In the w/c 14 June 2009, “Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight” spent 5 days in the Top 20 and the recipe book was in the Top 100. We were over the moon! A huge thank you to all of you who helped put it there. Books do drop off the list as quickly as they jump on, but we know that we’re knocking on that door and every article is a chance of getting back on the list.
2) Another wonderful highlight of the month was lunching with the producer of “Britain’s Biggest Loser” and the hunky trainer, Richard, from the programme! Fingers crossed to see if anything comes from this.
3) I did another ‘walk the pavements’ day with my wonderful publicist, EdenCancan, in London. We met Closer, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Psychologies and Red Magazines and an article for Glamour followed the same day. I’m in the October edition analysing the diets of a 4 women - size 8/10/12 and 14 – and 1 male. All with a view to see how they can eat more healthily, not just lose weight. It is really interesting to see what real people eat on a daily basis. Especially different sizes and genders.
4) I’ve had two features in “Heat” magazine in June. The second one was quite funny – it was an article on Kerry Katona having put on two stone since January and the dangers of yo-yo dieting. There was a cosmetic surgeon also quoted, talking about what liposuction actually is. The trouble is, the surgeon and I had our pictures and words mixed up, so my friends were texting me to ask “Since when do you know anything about liposuction – you faint at blood tests?!”
5) I’ll be sending you all the weekly diet tips that go to the media each week. The first one was on “How to lose or maintain weight on holiday”. There’ll be another one next weekend. I am doing youtube videos on most of these (www.youtube.com/zoeharcombe) if any of you prefer to view them, rather than read them.
Don’t forget - if any of you have any before and after pictures – we’re really happy to get you payments from magazines for them (the bigger the difference, the more they pay)! Our first case study Laura, is getting ready for a make over and photo shoot for “Closer”, any day now!
A request from my publisher and publicist – please can any of you who like the diet go on Amazon and leave a book review! I have thousands of email testimonials and about 8 reviews on Amazon! Thank you SO much.
We’re having a heat wave in the UK at the moment. If it’s hot where you are, cut back on carbs in the heat – it’s a great way to stay cool and lose weight at the same time. Carbs provide immediate energy and make you feel warmer. Salads, cold meats & fish will keep you cool and hunger-free.
All the best – Zoë x
Here's the Harcombe Diet Club news for July...
Thank you so much for signing up, buying books and for your queries – however you came to be on this email list. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you don’t want any more updates.
I’ve just come back from a fascinating 3-day conference in Liverpool run by the “Association for the Study of Obesity.” Here are the things that I found most interesting:
Most amazing fact: A person with a BMI of 35 has 93 times the risk of developing Type II diabetes than a person with a BMI of 21. A BMI of 35 is also not breathtakingly high – 1.2 million people in the UK currently have a BMI of over 40. An average height woman (5’4”) who is 14 stone 7lbs has a BMI of 35 and an average man (5’9”) who weighs 17 stone has a BMI of 35.
Most interesting comment: One of the highlights of the conference was the opportunity to receive presentations from two obese people – sharing their experiences. One had had a gastric bypass and the other was waiting for one. The former said in his presentation “There are some people who are fat and happy, but I don’t know any”. My experience and findings would support this.
The big news in obesity is surgery. The Liverpool team is the most renowned and active in the UK and they are performing 1100 surgical weight loss operations a year. The NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines say that people with a BMI of 40 or higher can be considered for weight loss surgery. That means 1.2m people ‘qualify’ already and that also means 10,000 people in the Liverpool area alone. 1,500 people are being referred to the Liverpool weight management centre each year, so this team simply cannot cope with demand, let alone clear any back log. If you have a bright child, wondering what career they should go into, weight loss surgery is the answer! Obesity is not generally a light-hearted topic, but there was one ‘fun’ moment when one of the speakers said about weight loss surgery “well, if you connect your oesophagus to your anus, of course you will lose weight.” This does quite nicely describe what the surgery options are, however, - bypass the digestive tract, shorten the digestive tract, and/or constrict the operation of the stomach in some way. We don’t know what this will do to vitamin and mineral absorption in the body, let alone the long term effects of surgery. Why would any government pay for operations like this before considering (in my view) less radical options such as banning transfats and sugar – the ingredients in the products that are the main cause of obesity?
The last ‘acceptable’ ‘ism’. There were some outstanding presentations on the psychological aspects of obesity and how ’fat’ people are seen and treated by society. The evidence that there is discrimination against overweight people is irrefutable and overwhelming. From childhood studies into weight and early school performance to discrimination in the workplace – evidence is widely available that overweight people don’t do as well at school and aren’t given the same opportunities at work. A Personnel Today journal (2007) survey of 300 senior managers and directors in business revealed that 79% of respondents considered it acceptable to discriminate (not hire/not promote) against overweight people. Their reasons? “These people are clearly weak-willed, lazy and out of control”. I see an overweight person and see (most likely) a calorie-counter and a victim of the wrong advice. The last thing I see that person as is weak-willed.
Childhood obesity: There was a jaw-dropping prediction from the childhood obesity expert at the conference – an adolescent who develops Type II diabetes is unlikely to see their 50th birthday! The psychological aspects of childhood obesity were also sobering. One brilliant study, done by Strauss & Pollack in 2003, involved 90,000 children across over 120 schools in the US. Children were asked to name their friends (they could name as many as they liked) and the results were then mapped onto a picture. This picture had a mass of white dots in the middle with high numbers of friend links going TO these white dots and a mass of black dots around the outside, with just one or two friend links for these people. The white dots were normal weight children and the black dots were overweight children. So much for fat and popular, let alone fat and jolly. This is cruel stuff. The final interesting comment in the area of childhood obesity was the view expressed that whether it is genetic or lifestyle (i.e. nature or nurture) “whenever I see an overweight child walk into my clinic I know that an overweight parent, or two, will follow.”
What I’m up to:
1) The biggest news by far for June was getting onto the Amazon best seller list. In the w/c 14 June 2009, “Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight” spent 5 days in the Top 20 and the recipe book was in the Top 100. We were over the moon! A huge thank you to all of you who helped put it there. Books do drop off the list as quickly as they jump on, but we know that we’re knocking on that door and every article is a chance of getting back on the list.
2) Another wonderful highlight of the month was lunching with the producer of “Britain’s Biggest Loser” and the hunky trainer, Richard, from the programme! Fingers crossed to see if anything comes from this.
3) I did another ‘walk the pavements’ day with my wonderful publicist, EdenCancan, in London. We met Closer, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Psychologies and Red Magazines and an article for Glamour followed the same day. I’m in the October edition analysing the diets of a 4 women - size 8/10/12 and 14 – and 1 male. All with a view to see how they can eat more healthily, not just lose weight. It is really interesting to see what real people eat on a daily basis. Especially different sizes and genders.
4) I’ve had two features in “Heat” magazine in June. The second one was quite funny – it was an article on Kerry Katona having put on two stone since January and the dangers of yo-yo dieting. There was a cosmetic surgeon also quoted, talking about what liposuction actually is. The trouble is, the surgeon and I had our pictures and words mixed up, so my friends were texting me to ask “Since when do you know anything about liposuction – you faint at blood tests?!”
5) I’ll be sending you all the weekly diet tips that go to the media each week. The first one was on “How to lose or maintain weight on holiday”. There’ll be another one next weekend. I am doing youtube videos on most of these (www.youtube.com/zoeharcombe) if any of you prefer to view them, rather than read them.
Don’t forget - if any of you have any before and after pictures – we’re really happy to get you payments from magazines for them (the bigger the difference, the more they pay)! Our first case study Laura, is getting ready for a make over and photo shoot for “Closer”, any day now!
A request from my publisher and publicist – please can any of you who like the diet go on Amazon and leave a book review! I have thousands of email testimonials and about 8 reviews on Amazon! Thank you SO much.
We’re having a heat wave in the UK at the moment. If it’s hot where you are, cut back on carbs in the heat – it’s a great way to stay cool and lose weight at the same time. Carbs provide immediate energy and make you feel warmer. Salads, cold meats & fish will keep you cool and hunger-free.
All the best – Zoë x
June 2009 Club Email
Hi all,
Here's the Harcombe Diet Clube news for June...
Thank you so much for signing up, buying books and for your queries – however you came to be on this email list. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you don’t want any more updates.
This month I wanted to share with you some of the diet news stories that have been in the press since the last update and also to share some personal news about what I’m up to...
There have been three particularly interesting press stories in May, from around the world:
1) Researchers at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, at Deakin University, (that’s a mouthful!) have just completed a study into the obesity epidemic in the US. They concluded that “Diet, not lack of exercise, is to blame for obesity.” The findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam in May. For the WHO-Deakin study, researchers calculated what Americans should weigh based on their current, higher food intake and compared it with their actual weight to estimate physical activity being done. Their first conclusion was that people have actually increased their physical activity over time. Their main conclusion, therefore, was that it was food intake that we need to manage to overcome the obesity epidemic. Professor Boyd Swinburn, from Deakin University, said that the findings would be similar for other developed countries in showing that changes in exercise played a minimal role relative to food intake.
Followers of The Harcombe Diet will guess that I love this study! In both books I say exercise is a great thing to do for general health and well-being, but, in no way is it going to solve a weight problem or an obesity epidemic. As a simple example of why not, I point out that we can eat in 45 seconds what will then take 45 minutes to burn off. The WHO-Deakin researchers use a similar comparison. They say that the average American needs to cut back by the equivalent of a fizzy drink and a small portion of fries, or walk an extra 2.5 hours per day – which is more likely?!
2) Many thanks to Paul ‘PJ’ James from Australia for providing the next bit of research. PJ was a super fit, ‘male model’, gym instructor in Melbourne, Australia who decided to deliberately gain weight, to see what life was like for his overweight clients at the gym. You can check out pics of PJ before and after at the following link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1184450/From-super-fit-super-fat-Muscly-fitness-instructor-ballooned-20st-experiment-lose-weight.html)
PJ has found he has not only gained several stone (he was once 12.5 stone and is now 20 stone), but he has gained cravings for ‘junk’ foods that he has never previously enjoyed. He has been shocked by the emotional side effects, the lack of energy and just how quickly you can ruin your body with a bad diet. The cravings don’t surprise me at all – PJ has almost certainly developed one or more of the three conditions that are behind food cravings. The good news is that he should get rid of these if he returns to the fish, meat and vegetables that he used to enjoy before (the foundations of Phase 1 essentially).
3) There was a horrific study in the UK in May called “Junk Food for Babies.” Well done to the Children’s Food Campaign lobby group (of which I am a member) for highlighting this outrage. The survey of more than 100 foods, marketed for babies and toddlers, found that many are high in fat, salt and sugar – setting children up for a lifetime of wanting these kinds of foods. (What better time to get people addicted to sweets than when their taste buds are still forming?!) Farley’s original rusks had more sugar per gram than McVities Chocolate Digestives. Cow & Gate Baby Balance Bear biscuits contained transfats, which are the worst possible fats for a human to consume (literally, hydrogen is added to manufacture these fats).
I don’t know which is worse – these findings, or the fact that Heinz tried to knock the study and defend its own position. (Heinz make Farley’s Rusks and a number of the other products in the survey). Corporate affairs Director, Nigel Dickie, said that Farley’s Rusks were enriched with vitamins and minerals. It’s OK to give infants junk, therefore, if we add in a few nutrients to compensate?! Cow & Gate’s response was much better – they announced that they are stopping production of the biscuits containing transfats.
What I’m up to:
1) The work with the London publicist, EdenCancan, is going from strength to strength. We had a ‘walk the pavements’ day in May where we went to four different publication houses and met 12 different magazine and newspaper editors and health editors. Interest has been really good and a number of articles are now in the pipeline….
2) … The first one being – UK club members look out for the News of the World magazine (Fabulous) on Sunday 7th June – we have a double page feature of Phase 1 going in. With 5.6 million readers, this should be the best coverage to date!
3) There are two blogs, which you may like to check out – the members’ blog can be found at: (http://membersblog.theharcombediet.com/). I’m following “Britain’s Biggest Loser” at the moment and writing about this in the (http://whydoyouovereat.blogspot.com/) blog. The weight loss makes for a real live obesity experiment. These 16 people have pretty much single handed blown apart the calorie theory… the blogs explain how…
4) … Talking of which, I attended the first obesity conference in Wales on May 12th and I can honestly say I have never felt such hostility in my life. I had the audacity to say that I didn’t believe the calorie theory and to offer some facts as to why and I was literally ostracised by some people (dieticians mostly) for the rest of the day. I said things like “the average person in the UK is eating 1.6lbs of sugar per week – that’s 400 empty calories a day”, to which one dietician replied “it’s all energy” and another replied “what’s wrong with that?”
Thank you so much to the dieticians and doctors there who were open minded and who were interested in all views. Thank you especially to the conference chair, Dr Haboubi, who has invited me to meet with him to discuss my research and views in more detail.
5) We’re still doing diet tips of the week and these are still going up on the members’ blog. We’re still having great fun with Beacon Radio in the Midlands. Fresh & Jo are the breakfast presenters there and they are so funny. We’re still doing some case studies and have the first before and after pictures already – Laura has lost 2 stone in about 6-8 weeks and is still working towards her natural weight, but is looking sensational already. She’s also the loveliest lady you could possible meet, so it’s been wonderful helping her get her life back.
If any of you have any before and after pictures – we’re really happy to get you payments from magazines for them (the bigger the difference, the more they pay)!
A request from my publisher and publicist – please can any of you who like the diet go on Amazon and leave a book review! I have thousands of email testimonials and about 3-5 reviews on Amazon! Thank you SO much.
Nearly beach time for the Northern Hemisphere club members. If you’ve left it till late, Phase 1 can always help!
All the best – Zoë x
Here's the Harcombe Diet Clube news for June...
Thank you so much for signing up, buying books and for your queries – however you came to be on this email list. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you don’t want any more updates.
This month I wanted to share with you some of the diet news stories that have been in the press since the last update and also to share some personal news about what I’m up to...
There have been three particularly interesting press stories in May, from around the world:
1) Researchers at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, at Deakin University, (that’s a mouthful!) have just completed a study into the obesity epidemic in the US. They concluded that “Diet, not lack of exercise, is to blame for obesity.” The findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam in May. For the WHO-Deakin study, researchers calculated what Americans should weigh based on their current, higher food intake and compared it with their actual weight to estimate physical activity being done. Their first conclusion was that people have actually increased their physical activity over time. Their main conclusion, therefore, was that it was food intake that we need to manage to overcome the obesity epidemic. Professor Boyd Swinburn, from Deakin University, said that the findings would be similar for other developed countries in showing that changes in exercise played a minimal role relative to food intake.
Followers of The Harcombe Diet will guess that I love this study! In both books I say exercise is a great thing to do for general health and well-being, but, in no way is it going to solve a weight problem or an obesity epidemic. As a simple example of why not, I point out that we can eat in 45 seconds what will then take 45 minutes to burn off. The WHO-Deakin researchers use a similar comparison. They say that the average American needs to cut back by the equivalent of a fizzy drink and a small portion of fries, or walk an extra 2.5 hours per day – which is more likely?!
2) Many thanks to Paul ‘PJ’ James from Australia for providing the next bit of research. PJ was a super fit, ‘male model’, gym instructor in Melbourne, Australia who decided to deliberately gain weight, to see what life was like for his overweight clients at the gym. You can check out pics of PJ before and after at the following link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1184450/From-super-fit-super-fat-Muscly-fitness-instructor-ballooned-20st-experiment-lose-weight.html)
PJ has found he has not only gained several stone (he was once 12.5 stone and is now 20 stone), but he has gained cravings for ‘junk’ foods that he has never previously enjoyed. He has been shocked by the emotional side effects, the lack of energy and just how quickly you can ruin your body with a bad diet. The cravings don’t surprise me at all – PJ has almost certainly developed one or more of the three conditions that are behind food cravings. The good news is that he should get rid of these if he returns to the fish, meat and vegetables that he used to enjoy before (the foundations of Phase 1 essentially).
3) There was a horrific study in the UK in May called “Junk Food for Babies.” Well done to the Children’s Food Campaign lobby group (of which I am a member) for highlighting this outrage. The survey of more than 100 foods, marketed for babies and toddlers, found that many are high in fat, salt and sugar – setting children up for a lifetime of wanting these kinds of foods. (What better time to get people addicted to sweets than when their taste buds are still forming?!) Farley’s original rusks had more sugar per gram than McVities Chocolate Digestives. Cow & Gate Baby Balance Bear biscuits contained transfats, which are the worst possible fats for a human to consume (literally, hydrogen is added to manufacture these fats).
I don’t know which is worse – these findings, or the fact that Heinz tried to knock the study and defend its own position. (Heinz make Farley’s Rusks and a number of the other products in the survey). Corporate affairs Director, Nigel Dickie, said that Farley’s Rusks were enriched with vitamins and minerals. It’s OK to give infants junk, therefore, if we add in a few nutrients to compensate?! Cow & Gate’s response was much better – they announced that they are stopping production of the biscuits containing transfats.
What I’m up to:
1) The work with the London publicist, EdenCancan, is going from strength to strength. We had a ‘walk the pavements’ day in May where we went to four different publication houses and met 12 different magazine and newspaper editors and health editors. Interest has been really good and a number of articles are now in the pipeline….
2) … The first one being – UK club members look out for the News of the World magazine (Fabulous) on Sunday 7th June – we have a double page feature of Phase 1 going in. With 5.6 million readers, this should be the best coverage to date!
3) There are two blogs, which you may like to check out – the members’ blog can be found at: (http://membersblog.theharcombediet.com/). I’m following “Britain’s Biggest Loser” at the moment and writing about this in the (http://whydoyouovereat.blogspot.com/) blog. The weight loss makes for a real live obesity experiment. These 16 people have pretty much single handed blown apart the calorie theory… the blogs explain how…
4) … Talking of which, I attended the first obesity conference in Wales on May 12th and I can honestly say I have never felt such hostility in my life. I had the audacity to say that I didn’t believe the calorie theory and to offer some facts as to why and I was literally ostracised by some people (dieticians mostly) for the rest of the day. I said things like “the average person in the UK is eating 1.6lbs of sugar per week – that’s 400 empty calories a day”, to which one dietician replied “it’s all energy” and another replied “what’s wrong with that?”
Thank you so much to the dieticians and doctors there who were open minded and who were interested in all views. Thank you especially to the conference chair, Dr Haboubi, who has invited me to meet with him to discuss my research and views in more detail.
5) We’re still doing diet tips of the week and these are still going up on the members’ blog. We’re still having great fun with Beacon Radio in the Midlands. Fresh & Jo are the breakfast presenters there and they are so funny. We’re still doing some case studies and have the first before and after pictures already – Laura has lost 2 stone in about 6-8 weeks and is still working towards her natural weight, but is looking sensational already. She’s also the loveliest lady you could possible meet, so it’s been wonderful helping her get her life back.
If any of you have any before and after pictures – we’re really happy to get you payments from magazines for them (the bigger the difference, the more they pay)!
A request from my publisher and publicist – please can any of you who like the diet go on Amazon and leave a book review! I have thousands of email testimonials and about 3-5 reviews on Amazon! Thank you SO much.
Nearly beach time for the Northern Hemisphere club members. If you’ve left it till late, Phase 1 can always help!
All the best – Zoë x
May 2009 Club Email
Hi all,
Thank you so much for signing up, buying books and for your queries – however you came to be on this email list. Please feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you don’t want any more updates.
This month I wanted to share with you some of the diet news stories that have been in the press since the last update and also to share some personal news about what I’m up to...
April press stories:
1) There was much excitement in the UK with the launch of some clinical over-the-counter diet pills. The first one, Alli, has been available over-the-counter in North America for some time and on prescription in the UK.
a) Alli, made by GlaxoSmithKline, works on the principles of digestion: carbs start being digested in the mouth, protein in the stomach and fat digestion doesn’t start until the fat reaches the colon part of the body. Alli works on the basis of trying to get the fat through the colon and into the toilet as quickly as possible, so that the fat can’t be absorbed. You can probably work out the key downside already: Some people reportedly don’t even make it to the toilet before the tablet works! GSK must be aware of this as the leaflet advises wearing dark trousers and carrying a spare change of clothes. Nice! The tragedy is that people are so desperate to lose weight that they would even consider taking this. The only way to lose weight is to work with your body – never as violently against it as this entails!
b) Appesat is a seaweed extract, which expands in the stomach and is meant to curb appetite. I’m rather sceptical about this one also. For one, we generally manage to finish almost every meal before any food reaches the stomach and starts registering fullness. More importantly, people who find themselves eating things that they don’t want to, despite wanting so badly to be slim, are addicted to food. Food addicts have no concept of feeling full. We (I was a food addict once) eat way beyond any feeling of fullness and we have a physical ‘need’ for a particular food – driven by Candida, Food Intolerance and Hypoglycaemia. In my experience appetite has very little to do with any of this!
2) A study in Britain, the US and Norway has been done into possible genetic reasons for anorexia. The study of 200 sufferers, aged between 12 and 25, found that 70% showed signs of damage to certain brain cells. This seemed quite exciting until the study acknowledged that perhaps only 1 in every few hundred females may be born with this condition and there are likely to be at least 1 in a hundred sufferers of the condition. My experience and research has led me to believe that anorexia is primarily a psychological disorder, with a need for control and low self esteem at the heart of the condition. More interestingly – most anorexics go on to develop some kind of binge eating and it was this observation, (that trying to eat less leads to overeating), which was behind many of the breakthroughs that led to The Harcombe Diet.
3) The UK is behind the US again – this time in putting calories on menus of fast food restaurants. A compulsory scheme was introduced in New York in 2008. A voluntary scheme has just been introduced in the UK – Pizza Hut and KFC are amongst those who have signed up. The menus in these establishments will now tell us that an individual pizza has 880 calories and 3 pieces of KFC with fries will deliver 867. What the menus should say is – don’t worry about the calories in these – it is the fact that they are full of hydrogenated fat, sugar and processed nasties that should make you run out of here and into the nearest Italian restaurant where you can have a healthy plate of fish and salad!
What I’m up to:
1) I’ve started working with a publicist in London called EdenCancan and they are just wonderful. We have been in “Closer”, “Psychologies”, “Bella”, “FHM”, “Take 5” and “Women’s Fitness” already. We have more articles for Women’s Fitness lined up, along with an article going to print for “Cosmopolitan” and a major feature planned for “She” magazine.
2) Following a number of requests, we’ve set up a member’s blog for club members (http://membersblog.theharcombediet.com/) where you can see back issues of the monthly newsletters and add your own comments and questions about the diet and answer each others.
3) We’re doing Diet tips of the week and issuing them to all magazine and newspaper editors and TV/Radio stations. The first 5 have been put on the members blog - “ How to avoid the afternoon slump”; “When fruit is not good for you”; “How to enjoy a healthy Easter Egg”, “How to carb load for the marathon” and “Why diet is much more important than exercise in losing weight.” Several more are ready to go and these are generating publication and radio interest each time they go out.
4) We’re having a wonderful time with Beacon Radio in the Midlands. Fresh & Jo are the breakfast presenters and they invited me on to talk about the marathon and we ended up talking about why people overeat and everything! I’m going to be doing some regular phone ins with their listeners and helping one of the presenters personally.
5) I’m working with some case studies where we have taken some ‘before’ pictures and I’m helping them slim down for the ‘after’ pictures. One woman lost 20 lbs in between getting a copy of the book and the photo shoot! She did 10 days of Phase 1 and is just thrilled with the result. Another one wants to lose about 8 stone before her sister’s wedding in December. Finally – the assistant editor of a very high profile women’s monthly magazine lost 8lbs in 5 days on Phase 1 – the first weight she had lost in 10 years! I am working with a couple of men too, in case you’re wondering!
That’s it for this month – we’re into the season of salads, BBQ meat & fish and berries, so no excuse for checking out the menus at Pizza Hut or KFC!
All the best – Zoë x
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This month I wanted to share with you some of the diet news stories that have been in the press since the last update and also to share some personal news about what I’m up to...
April press stories:
1) There was much excitement in the UK with the launch of some clinical over-the-counter diet pills. The first one, Alli, has been available over-the-counter in North America for some time and on prescription in the UK.
a) Alli, made by GlaxoSmithKline, works on the principles of digestion: carbs start being digested in the mouth, protein in the stomach and fat digestion doesn’t start until the fat reaches the colon part of the body. Alli works on the basis of trying to get the fat through the colon and into the toilet as quickly as possible, so that the fat can’t be absorbed. You can probably work out the key downside already: Some people reportedly don’t even make it to the toilet before the tablet works! GSK must be aware of this as the leaflet advises wearing dark trousers and carrying a spare change of clothes. Nice! The tragedy is that people are so desperate to lose weight that they would even consider taking this. The only way to lose weight is to work with your body – never as violently against it as this entails!
b) Appesat is a seaweed extract, which expands in the stomach and is meant to curb appetite. I’m rather sceptical about this one also. For one, we generally manage to finish almost every meal before any food reaches the stomach and starts registering fullness. More importantly, people who find themselves eating things that they don’t want to, despite wanting so badly to be slim, are addicted to food. Food addicts have no concept of feeling full. We (I was a food addict once) eat way beyond any feeling of fullness and we have a physical ‘need’ for a particular food – driven by Candida, Food Intolerance and Hypoglycaemia. In my experience appetite has very little to do with any of this!
2) A study in Britain, the US and Norway has been done into possible genetic reasons for anorexia. The study of 200 sufferers, aged between 12 and 25, found that 70% showed signs of damage to certain brain cells. This seemed quite exciting until the study acknowledged that perhaps only 1 in every few hundred females may be born with this condition and there are likely to be at least 1 in a hundred sufferers of the condition. My experience and research has led me to believe that anorexia is primarily a psychological disorder, with a need for control and low self esteem at the heart of the condition. More interestingly – most anorexics go on to develop some kind of binge eating and it was this observation, (that trying to eat less leads to overeating), which was behind many of the breakthroughs that led to The Harcombe Diet.
3) The UK is behind the US again – this time in putting calories on menus of fast food restaurants. A compulsory scheme was introduced in New York in 2008. A voluntary scheme has just been introduced in the UK – Pizza Hut and KFC are amongst those who have signed up. The menus in these establishments will now tell us that an individual pizza has 880 calories and 3 pieces of KFC with fries will deliver 867. What the menus should say is – don’t worry about the calories in these – it is the fact that they are full of hydrogenated fat, sugar and processed nasties that should make you run out of here and into the nearest Italian restaurant where you can have a healthy plate of fish and salad!
What I’m up to:
1) I’ve started working with a publicist in London called EdenCancan and they are just wonderful. We have been in “Closer”, “Psychologies”, “Bella”, “FHM”, “Take 5” and “Women’s Fitness” already. We have more articles for Women’s Fitness lined up, along with an article going to print for “Cosmopolitan” and a major feature planned for “She” magazine.
2) Following a number of requests, we’ve set up a member’s blog for club members (http://membersblog.theharcombediet.com/) where you can see back issues of the monthly newsletters and add your own comments and questions about the diet and answer each others.
3) We’re doing Diet tips of the week and issuing them to all magazine and newspaper editors and TV/Radio stations. The first 5 have been put on the members blog - “ How to avoid the afternoon slump”; “When fruit is not good for you”; “How to enjoy a healthy Easter Egg”, “How to carb load for the marathon” and “Why diet is much more important than exercise in losing weight.” Several more are ready to go and these are generating publication and radio interest each time they go out.
4) We’re having a wonderful time with Beacon Radio in the Midlands. Fresh & Jo are the breakfast presenters and they invited me on to talk about the marathon and we ended up talking about why people overeat and everything! I’m going to be doing some regular phone ins with their listeners and helping one of the presenters personally.
5) I’m working with some case studies where we have taken some ‘before’ pictures and I’m helping them slim down for the ‘after’ pictures. One woman lost 20 lbs in between getting a copy of the book and the photo shoot! She did 10 days of Phase 1 and is just thrilled with the result. Another one wants to lose about 8 stone before her sister’s wedding in December. Finally – the assistant editor of a very high profile women’s monthly magazine lost 8lbs in 5 days on Phase 1 – the first weight she had lost in 10 years! I am working with a couple of men too, in case you’re wondering!
That’s it for this month – we’re into the season of salads, BBQ meat & fish and berries, so no excuse for checking out the menus at Pizza Hut or KFC!
All the best – Zoë x
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Diet Tips - Can you lose weight whilst pregnant?
Can you eat healthily and lose weight whilst pregnant? The simple answer is – yes! Nutritionist and diet guru Zoë Harcombe explains how:
1. Don’t eat less; eat better. Eat only real food – meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, salads, vegetables, fruits and whole grains (e.g. brown rice, porridge oats) – nothing processed (obviously follow all the extra pregnancy advice about avoiding pate, raw eggs and soft cheese etc). You and baby-to-be will be much better off without trans fats and sugars and you will find real food naturally fills you up, without blood sugar highs and lows and the cravings that go with this roller coaster. Try to limit even the good carbs you eat – insulin resistance develops in all pregnant women (and leads to diabetes in 2-4% of cases) and only carbs cause insulin to be needed/released.
2. Eat regularly. Go for three substantial meals a day, based around meat, fish, eggs and dairy and with large portions of salads & vegetables (limit, or avoid, potatoes, as these are high carb). If you must snack, go for lower sugar fruits, like apples or pears. A key goal during pregnancy should be to keep your blood sugar nice and stable and keep any sweet cravings at bay.
3. Don’t eat more than you need either. Many women wrongly believe that they need to eat for two - a woman actually needs no more energy (calories) in the first trimester and barely 300 calories a day more than normal in the final stage of pregnancy. That's not much more than one Mars Bar. The average baby only weighs about 7-8 lbs at birth, and the fluids around it add up to not much more than a stone, so there is no need to put on more than a couple of stone during pregnancy.
1. Don’t eat less; eat better. Eat only real food – meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, salads, vegetables, fruits and whole grains (e.g. brown rice, porridge oats) – nothing processed (obviously follow all the extra pregnancy advice about avoiding pate, raw eggs and soft cheese etc). You and baby-to-be will be much better off without trans fats and sugars and you will find real food naturally fills you up, without blood sugar highs and lows and the cravings that go with this roller coaster. Try to limit even the good carbs you eat – insulin resistance develops in all pregnant women (and leads to diabetes in 2-4% of cases) and only carbs cause insulin to be needed/released.
2. Eat regularly. Go for three substantial meals a day, based around meat, fish, eggs and dairy and with large portions of salads & vegetables (limit, or avoid, potatoes, as these are high carb). If you must snack, go for lower sugar fruits, like apples or pears. A key goal during pregnancy should be to keep your blood sugar nice and stable and keep any sweet cravings at bay.
3. Don’t eat more than you need either. Many women wrongly believe that they need to eat for two - a woman actually needs no more energy (calories) in the first trimester and barely 300 calories a day more than normal in the final stage of pregnancy. That's not much more than one Mars Bar. The average baby only weighs about 7-8 lbs at birth, and the fluids around it add up to not much more than a stone, so there is no need to put on more than a couple of stone during pregnancy.
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