Domin Munnely

I was delighted to click on to www.drbriffa.com and see that John had an article published in last weeks Saturday The Times newspaper.

I have been a big fan of his work for absolutely ages and I can still remember reading his articles in The Observer magazine (a Sunday paper) over ten years ago and thinking “wow, here is a doctor that encourages people to eat the exact way I would recommend”. He would also look at the diets of ‘famous’ people and comment on how absolutely terrible/great they were and make suggestions on alternative food choices when needed.

Here is an article he wrote for the paper back in 2004 – http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2004/oct/17/shopping.foodanddrink

Getting back to why you might have actually clicked on this article. Yes you want to lose the paunch and you might be looking to ditch the moobs also! Dr Briffa’s article is republished on his site and the link is here – The role of leptin in fat control.

Leptin and leptin resistance is something you are going to be sick of hearing about over the next year or two as increasing media attention is being paid to a hormone that governs metabolism and apetite control (fairly important stuff if you want to actually keep the dam weight off). If you want to read about it more then you should start with my article I wrote last year on it -

The fat loss link – leptin resistance.

Girls, adopting the Special K diet might not be the best way to help you get into that little red dress.

I must also add that weight loss or gain is a multifactorial process with no 100% certain element that will ensure you will drop fat and keep it off permanently. It’s not as simple as just counting calories, cutting out carbs, going low fat, taking more exercise, just become a vegetarian etc. The ever amazing Chris Kresser had the following to share on this complicated topic -

“My opinion is that the modern lifestyle (i.e. food and environmental toxins, stress, poor gut health, infections, micronutrient deficiencies, sleep deprivation, etc.) interfere with hypothalamic hormonal regulation, dopamine signaling, leptin and insulin sensitivity at the cellular level, glucose metabolism and a range of other mechanisms that lead to obesity”.

Quite a mouthfull ehh? However, what I do offer is an opportunity for you to understand that there are all these factors in play and you have to decide which is the most important one for you. For example, would I radically change the diet of someone that suffers from chronic stress, lack of sleep and is burnt out? NO! I would address the stress FIRST as changing their diet in any major way is like moving deck chairs on the Titanic i.e. it’s not going to make a flippin’ difference.

However, would I suggest changes to someone that is 1-2stone (6-12kg) overweight, feels tired, can’t fit into his/her clothes and has been exercising to some degree, eating plenty of fruit and veg but with no major fat loss progress? Absolutely, especially when 50% of their nutrition intake is coming from wheat based foods.

You can lose the paunch forever when you firstly address the most glaring errors of you way and then move into specifics from there.

All the best and remember to keep linking, sharing and commenting