Frequently Asked Questions

The diet book, Why do you overeat? When all you want is to be slim, has 80 Frequently Asked Questions with straight talking answers on just about everything to do with diet basics, food cravings and overeating. You can subscribe to a FREE series of FAQs from the book and get a free extract. Here are some examples of the type of questions that are tackled

Q) How is this diet plan different from others?
Q) What can I eat?
Q) What about The Atkins Diet?
Q) So why do I overeat when all I want is to be slim?
Q) Why have I failed so many times before?
Q) Why will I succeed this time?
Q) How much weight will I lose?
Q) What medical bits do I need to know?
Q) Why have I had these cravings?
Q) Will the cravings go away?
Q) When will the cravings go away?
Q) Why does everyone tell me to count calories?
Q) Why can’t I still count calories?
Q) Won’t I put on weight if I don’t count calories?
Q) What will I be able to eat?
Q) How healthy is this eating plan?
Q) How will I feel?
Q) How much effort will this be?
Q) What will be the benefits?
Q) What about exercise?
Q) What about alcohol?
Q) Whom do you recommend as a nutritionalist?

Q) How is this diet plan different from others? top

A) This is the biggest breakthrough in dieting for years, if not decades.
Any diet will work, IN THE SHORT TERM, if people stick to it but the real question is - why can't we stick to a diet? This is the first book to explain, physically and emotionally, why we overeat, when all we want is to be slim. It is the first diet book to do the following:
- To explain why we can't stick to diets and how we can in the future.
- To explain how calorie counting leads directly and indirectly to overeating.
- To identify and explain 3 medical conditions that cause overeating, what they are, how people get them and therefore how they can get rid of them and stop overeating. (The majority of people in the US and the UK suffer at least one of these conditions).
- To define and meet the 5 characteristics of a workable diet.
- To genuinely give people the tools to take control of their eating and weight forever.

It meets all the criteria for a successful eating plan:
- It works in the short, medium and long term.
- It is practical and can be followed by anyone whatever their lifestyle.
- It can be followed long term.
- It is healthy and
- It is enjoyable.
You can’t live on cakes and chocolate all day long and be the weight you want to be. You are overweight because of food cravings so you have to overcome these. What this eating plan will do is to overcome the cravings so you will no longer think that life is incomplete without sweet things and refined carbohydrates. You will then be able to enjoy the wide variety of healthy foods that you can eat on a long term basis.
This eating plan is also the first to directly understand cravings – why you get them, what causes them, what impact calorie controlled diets have on them and how to get rid of them. It is also the first book to directly link three well documented medical conditions with food cravings and to complete the jigsaw of factors in modern day life which explain why obesity is at epidemic levels.

Q) What can I eat? top

A) You can eat the three core food groups – carbohydrate, fat and protein – which we all need for optimal health. You can eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetarian protein, fruits, vegetables, rice, pasta, bread, butter, dairy products. Quantities are not limited. You will not go hungry. You will be nourishing your body with wonderfully healthy foods. The book explains exactly how you can eat all of this and reach your natural weight quickly, safely and effectively.

Q) What about The Atkins Diet? top

A) What about the atkins diet? It works! Millions of people in the Western world have lost weight on the Atkins diet and I take my hat off to them because they have way more will power than me (but possibly worse breath!) I, personally, would not want to go a day without cereal, milky cappuccinos, dark chocolate or nature’s finest treasure – fruit.The Atkins diet works, but you just don’t have to go that far. It cannot be healthy to cut out fruit & grains altogether and to limit salads & vegetables, when these foods provide us with so many nutrients. You can eat a much wider variety of foods than is allowed on the Atkins Diet and still lose weight quickly and, arguably, much more safely.

Q) So why do I overeat when all I want is to be slim? top

A) Every page of the book contributes to answering this question in a powerful and compelling way. The book will explain exactly why you overeat when all you want is to be slim. The bottom line is that you overeat, when all you want is to be slim because, at the exact moment that you eat, you actually want that food more than you want to be slim. This moment lasts seconds but it has a devastating impact attempts to lose weight. This book will tell you exactly why you have this compulsion, what caused it and how you can overcome it for ever.

You don’t need massive willpower, you don’t need hypnosis nor Neuro-linguistic-programming (NLP). All you need is to understand WHY you have food cravings. With this knowledge, you will overcome your cravings forever.

Q) Why have I failed so many times before? top

A) Because of the cravings – you know how strong they have been. They have been incredible forces to get in the way of the thing that you most want – to be slim. Remember the trips to the all night grocery store or the petrol/gas station. Remember driving out of your way to get a particular food or drink. You have been an addict, who has been told to eat everything in moderation – about as sensible as telling an alcoholic to have one drink and no more.

Q) Why will I succeed this time? top

A) Because you will have the power of knowledge. You will know why you have failed before – because of the cravings. You will know what you have been craving and why. You will know that the cravings have come from calorie counting, and three very common medical conditions. You will know how to make the cravings disappear and how to make sure they never return.

Q) How much weight will I lose? top

A) This will be different for every person. Gender plays a part – men tend to lose more weight on diets than women. The more you have to lose the more you will lose. The more of the three conditions you have been suffering from, the more you will lose. Two of the conditions in particular are known to play havoc with water retention so, after just five days on the kick start eating plan, you could lose half a stone or even more. The key thing is that you will tend towards your natural weight quickly and safely. You will eat healthy whole foods that nourish you and you will not be hungry. Some of my case studies have had stones to lose and they have lost stones and kept them off.

Q) What medical bits do I need to know? top

A) Chapter 2 in the book keeps the medical bits to the minimum. The key thing to take away from this book is that it is insulin, not calories, that makes you fat. Insulin is a hormone that is released by the pancreas (an organ in your body) when you eat something that raises your blood glucose level (any carbohydrate). The pancreas releases insulin to get your blood glucose level back to ‘normal’. If it didn’t do this you would be diabetic.
When we eat carbohydrates our body decides how much of the energy taken in is needed immediately and how much should be stored for future requirements. As our blood glucose level rises, insulin is released from the pancreas and this insulin converts some of the glucose to glycogen. Glycogen is our energy store room. If all the glycogen storage areas are full insulin will convert the excess to fatty tissue. This is why insulin has been called the fattening hormone.

Q) Why have I had these cravings? top

A) If you have been calorie counting you have probably just been hungry. Because of your body’s incredible survival instinct, it has been trying to get you to eat (anything) just to maintain the fuel levels that it needs to survive. The activity of calorie counting alone has led to cravings.
On top of this, calorie counting has depleted your nutrients and weakened your immune system. This, with or without other factors such as taking the birth control pill, or antibiotics or having had extreme stress, can lead to any, or all, of the three medical conditions. You only need one of these conditions and you will have cravings as strong as any faced by a drug addict.

Q) Will the cravings go away? top

A) Yes! Everything is within your power. First you need to stop calorie counting. This may require a change in your mind set but you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Then all of the medical conditions can be controlled in the short and long term. The other thing to remember is, if you don’t start to control these conditions they will only get worse. So the sooner you tackle this, the better. There are lots of motivational tips throughout the book that will make you determined to take control of your eating for once and for all. One of the best tips for motivation is that unless you plan to live your entire life overweight and exhausted you are going to have to crack this some time. Why not start now?

Q) When will the cravings go away? top

A) The good news is that you can significantly reduce food cravings quite quickly. In just five days on a new eating plan you can do the following:
- You can stop counting calories and thereby stop your body demanding fuel.
- You can have a major impact on all three medical conditions and dramatically reduce the cravings for specific foods.
- You can stabilise your blood glucose level in fewer than five days – even a day’s healthy eating can start the stabilisation of your blood glucose level.
The first five days will be tough but you really can achieve a dramatic reduction in cravings in this short time period. Without the cravings trying to ruin your good intentions your will power is free to take you to the success you have always dreamed of.

Q) Why does everyone tell me to count calories? top

A) Why do people smoke when it is a well known fact that smoking kills one in two people who use the product, over time, exactly as it is intended to be used by the manufacturers? I struggle to answer this one as it just doesn’t make sense. I think just as it has taken us years to realise that smoking is probably the worst thing we can do for our health, so it will take us years to get rid of the calorie myth.
The calorie myth was first proposed in 1930 and it has received little challenge since. Even the proposers of the theory were alarmed at how literally their research was adopted and applied back in the 1930’s. They followed up their initial research with words of caution but the bandwagon was already rolling by this time. The calorie theory has been proven not to work in practice as the fewer calories we have been eating as nations, the fatter we have got. One of the most important things to take out of this book is a changed way of thinking. If you read this book and still think counting calories is the answer I have failed and you will continue to fail. You must throw out this myth and see how counting calories leads to food cravings, lower metabolism and increased weight rather than reduced weight.
People tell you to count calories because they think that if your body takes in less fuel than it needs you will lose weight. You now know that if you take in less fuel than your body needs the first thing that your body will do is to crave food to get you to eat more. The next thing that your body will do is to become weaker, less healthy and less able to resist the three medical conditions featured in the book and then your cravings will be amplified further still. You also know that if you count calories you will simply slow down your metabolism making weight loss harder still.

Q) Why can’t I still count calories? top

A) Because if you continue to count calories you will continue to try to restrict them. If you start to find yourself eating 2000 calories a day, or more, you will consciously, or subconsciously, try to cut back. The hardest thing that you will do, in following the eating advice in this book, is to give up your ‘prop’ of counting calories. You key goal now is to stop cravings, not to count calories. If you try to eat fewer calories than your body needs you will crave food and it is the food cravings that are making you overweight. After reading this book, if you still think calories make you fat then eat no carbohydrate whatsoever for a few days. Eat as much fat/protein as you can manage and see how much weight you lose. I expect it will be pounds. Then ask yourself how you can eat so many calories and still lose weight – because calories are fuel for your body not bad things that make you fat.

Q) Won’t I put on weight if I don’t count calories? top

A) No! You will put on weight if you continue to crave food like an addict and give into those cravings. Your number one objective now has to be to stop cravings, not to count calories. Put all your effort into stopping the cravings by getting the three medical conditions under control and by not counting calories, which makes you crave anything. You are going to stop eating the foods that have been making you fat so you will not put on weight. You will be nourishing your body and giving it what it needs, which is going to help it find its natural and healthy weight.

Q) What will I be able to eat? top

A) In Phase 1 – for just five days – you can eat meat, fish, eggs, tofu, quorn, Natural Live Yoghurt, any salad, any vegetables (except potatoes and mushrooms) and some brown rice. All quantities are unlimited. This is just 5 days long and is a fantastic detox as well as nourishing eating plan.
In Phase 2 – for as long as you need to reach your natural weight – there are just three simple rules. You won’t have to count anything or limit quantities in any way. You will be able to eat fruit, vegetables, salad, brown rice, brown pasta, meat, fish, cheese, milk, yoghurt, vegetarian protein products, baked potatoes and all foods that we know to be healthy and nutritious. There will be some key tricks about how you eat all these foods, however, as it is what and how you eat food, not how much, that is the key to losing weight.
In Phase 3 – which you can stay on for life – the idea is to keep to the rules of Phase 2 for most of the time (always choose brown, instead of white, rice for example) but you can then eat what you want almost when you want provided you 1) don’t cheat too much, 2) don’t cheat too often and 3) be alert and stay in control. I have been in Phase 3 for years and I eat chocolate almost daily, ice cream whenever I fancy some and I eat out 1-2 a week and will eat anything I want then too.
In no Phase is food limited – you will not go hungry and you will not therefore slow down your metabolism making it harder and harder to lose weight in the long run.

Q) How healthy is this eating plan? top

A) This eating plan essentially tells you not to eat refined carbohydrates. These are foods with a lot of the nutrients and goodness removed so we are actually much better off and much healthier for not eating these. This eating plan lets you eat all natural foods which are full of nutrients like fruit, vegetables, salad, meat, fish, dairy products, whole grains. It is very healthy indeed. I can’t think of a doctor in the world who would not endorse this eating plan.

Q) How will I feel? top

A) In Phase 1 you could feel quite unwell – like having a mild flu. You may have headaches from food addiction withdrawal. You may feel lethargic and you may have little interest in the foods that are allowed, as what you really want are the others foods – the ones that you crave. You are likely to have unbelievable cravings but just take each day at a time, each hour at a time if necessary, and the cravings absolutely will subside. By the end of Phase 1 (for some people after just 2-3 days) you could start feeling fantastic – more mentally alert and clear headed than you have done for ages. You should notice your skin has a lovely natural colour, not the red, blotchy colour you get when you keep eating foods to which you are intolerant. Your eyes will sparkle and you will sleep better than you have done for ages (not a carbohydrate induced stupor from which you wake feeling sluggish).
In Phase 2 you should feel great. The cravings will be barely noticeable. You may still want your previous favourites but you won’t have an overwhelming craving for them as you have had in the past. You really will be able to take them or leave them. Don’t be fooled too early into thinking you can eat them again and not have the cravings return. You need to get to your natural weight, and realise how wonderful life is when you are slim and energetic and free from food addiction, before you can make an informed choice about whether or not to have the ‘forbidden’ foods again.
In Phase 3 you should feel free! The key thing about Phase 3 is that you have the freedom to eat what you want almost when you want and you will have the tools to stay in control. You will find that you get to the point where you are making sober and informed choices. When you are genuinely not craving refined carbohydrates you will find it easy to reject them in favour of foods that fill you up and make you feel good. For the first time in your life, you will control your eating, your eating won’t control you.
For some direct quotes on how people who have followed this plan have felt please visit the testimonials page

Q) How much effort will this be? top

A) How does the well known saying go? – you don’t get something for nothing. If you really want to be slim, more than you want to eat, you now have the knowledge and tools to achieve this. You know you just have to stop the cravings and then your eating can be back in your control. Phase 1 will be an effort but it is just five days long. How long is that? Nothing in terms of the rest of your life. Put all your remaining willpower into those five days and your cravings will be manageable by the end of Phase 1.
Phase 2 should be not much effort at all. It will almost seem unfair that you are not hungry, that you are eating healthy foods, feeling full of life and energy and still losing weight.
Phase 3 is as much or as little effort as you make it. If you don’t cheat too much or too often you will find your cravings easy to manage and you will love the freedom of being able to cheat and have others wonder how you stay so slim.
What you will find is that if you cheat too much, or too often, the cravings will return and then you will have to go back to where you are now to fight the food addiction and cravings that return. You will then need to return to Phase 1 or Phase 2 to get back in control.

Q) What will be the benefits? top

A) Almost too many to list:
- Feeling wonderful that you are nourishing and nurturing your body rather than stuffing and starving it,
- Feeling high energy and a real zest for life,
- Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight,
- Having sparkling eyes, clear skin, sleeping well and feeling good,
- Having a strengthened immune system enabling you to resist infections, colds and flu that others are susceptible to,
- Feeling you control food rather than that food controls you,
- No longer feeling afraid of food, no longer avoiding social events because you are concerned about food or your weight.

Q) What about exercise? top

A) You do not have to exercise with this eating plan at all. All diets which are based on the calorie theory tell you to exercise because they want you to increase your body’s need for fuel at the same time as cutting down the fuel you eat. This is like not putting enough petrol in your car and then flogging it even harder to get more out of it – sheer madness. The calorie theory doesn’t hold true. You do not need to create a calorie deficit therefore so you do not need to exercise.
Having said this, exercise is good for you full stop! Think of it as part of your overall plan to be healthy and fit and to lead an active and energetic life. Exercise because it will tone your body, make you feel better, help you meet other people, give your heart and lungs a work out. The only bad reason for exercising is to increase your need for calories.

Q) What about alcohol? top

A) You can’t drink alcohol in Phase 1. If the thought of giving up alcohol for five days fills you with horror you have a drink problem! (The book helps you understand how your drink problem is related to your food addiction and could transform your relationship with both.) It may well be that this is one of the products you crave and, as alcohol is made up of sugar, yeast, wheat, hops and many other substances that are commonly not tolerated, you may be craving alcohol for good reason. You may find that your craving for alcohol is also driving your cravings for sweets, bread, pasta, pizza and so on.
In Phase 2 you can drink an occasional glass of (ideally red) wine with your main meal but beer and spirits must still be avoided. Don’t have wine every day and avoid it more often than not in Phase 2 – save your cheating for Phase 3.
In Phase 3 you may decide to use your cheating entirely for alcohol but watch carefully for any sign that you are craving alcohol. Test yourself against the four characteristics of food addiction – if you find that you are having the substance every day, need more of it to have the same effect, feel good when you have it and bad when you don’t – you are hooked again.

Q) Whom do you recommend as a nutritionalist? top

A) I have been most fortunate to work with two outstanding nutritionists - Suzannah Olivier and Barbara Wardas. I understand that Suzannah has not taken new clients for some time but Barbara runs the Penarth natural Health Services Clinic and can be contacted on +44 (0)29 2070 1370.

The book ‘Why do you overeat? When all you want is to be slim’ tackles 80 FAQ’s in straight talking ways like we’ve shared with you here as well as showing you how to Stop cravings! Stop overeating! Lose weight – quickly, easily and healthily & keep it off. You can get your own copy of the book by clicking here.

Don’t wait any longer, BUY IT NOW ‘Why do you overeat? – When all you want is to be slim’.

Some other frequently asked questions that the book answers are listed below. Subscribe today to receive a FREE fact sheet that answers many of these questions. The book has 80 Frequently Asked Questions with straight talking answers. More questions are asked, and answered, throughout the entire book in a really simple and concise way. If you would like to know the answers to any, or all, of these BUY THE BOOK now.

Here are some more FAQs that are answered in the book,

Why do you overeat? – When all you want is to be slim.
Why has your diet failed so many times before?
Why will this diet help you succeed this time?
You will lose weight and how much?
How is this diet plan different from others?

Why do you have food cravings?
Will the food cravings go away?
How do you stop ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days?
How do you stop being a food addict?

Why doesn’t calorie counting work?
Won’t you put on weight if you stop calorie counting?

Why is fat OK to eat?

What should you eat?
How much should you eat?
What can you eat for breakfast?
What can you eat main meals?

What can you eat for snacks?
What can you drink?

How do you start this diet plan?
When do you move on to different phases of the diet plan?
How long do you have to stay on the diet plan?
What do you do if you eat something that is not good for you?
How healthy is this diet plan?

Why don’t fad diets work?
The Atkins diet works for me….
What about the cabbage soup diet? Liquid diets? etc

Why are more women than men overweight?
Why are more Americans than French overweight?
What is a natural weight?
What about alcohol?
What about vegetarianism?
What about exercise?