DR. PAUL'S DISCUSSION

More than 75% of Americans at any given time are trying to lose or maintain weight, and for good reason. We are the fattest nation in the world. Unfortunately, the more than $50 billion we spend each year on medical expenses to treat obesity-related diseases also proves this fact.  Although there are plenty of weight loss strategies, some that are based on scientific research, too many of them are just gimmicks. Nearly all of these weight loss strategies emphasize restricting your food intake and/or increasing the amount of exercise and physical activity you perform each day. This, of course, is where the biggest problem arises for most of us. We love to eat and hate to move!  As a result, we are often doomed for failure even before we start a weight loss program.  It’s frustrating and exhausting to have to live on a low calorie diet or exercise everyday for hours.

My solution to this problem is to never mention "weight loss" or "dieting" to my clients, athletes, and research study participants.  I am not concerned whether they lose any weight at all and I do not focus on “how many calories” they are eating or burning with exercise. I avoid a “calorie-counting” mentality and instead encourage “nourishment” through eating the right types of food and choosing the right types of exercise and activity. I am much more interested in helping people change their body composition by teaching them how to lose body (especially belly fat) and build lean muscle mass.  There is plenty of excellent scientific research showing that when you favorably change your body composition (without losing any weight) you also significantly enhance your health and physical performance.  By following a healthy lifestyle program, such as my DP4LIFE, that incorporates scientifically proven strategies that show you how to eat healthier, exercise properly and reduce stress you will NOT have to worry about losing any weight by starving yourself or exercising every day to exhaustion, but instead learn how to enjoy each day and live your life to the fullest!

Yours in Optimal Health and Performance,
Dr. Paul

Dr. Paul J. Arciero, FACSM
Chief Science Officer and Founder, DP4LIFE and Nourishing Science, LLC
www.drpaulsprotocol.com
Professor, Health and Exercise Sciences Department