Steve Miller's Slimming Secrets. Steve Miller
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if I allow you to make excuses, nothing will change in your life and you will not lose the weight that you want to. You will stay fat and miserable, with fragile self-esteem just as I had. I will be honest with you and offer you practical tools to lose the weight and also to keep that weight off, but do understand, from the word go, that I cannot do it for you. If I had a magical pill to make people lose weight, I would be a billionaire – but I don’t and so it’s important you realise that you, and only you, can do it. Take this book everywhere with you. Keep it somewhere safe, never lend it out, and treat it as your very own ‘weight loss bible’. It will be a friend to inspire, and it will speak directly to you, so that you have faith in yourself. If you’re ever feeling as though you are tempted to fail, grab hold of this book, read one of the secrets, and let it be your source of inspiration.
Remember, I’m on your side. Now let’s get to work. For more information on the services I offer, visit www.thestevemillerplan.com. Please note that I have changed the names of people in the book to ensure confidentiality is observed.
According to the NHS Information Centre, in 2009 almost a quarter of adults (22 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women aged 16 or over) in England were classified as obese. Furthermore, a greater proportion of men than women (44 per cent compared with 33 per cent) in England were classified as overweight. Yes, we are also the fattest nation in Europe and the number continues to rise. It’s no wonder that I now find myself being contacted by the Minister for Public Health for ideas on how to deactivate the obesity time bomb that’s about to explode. The government has pumped out a lot of health education campaigns recently, with many aimed at people eating sensibly and taking regular exercise.
Latest findings show that 25 per cent of boys aged between 2 and 19 are overweight or obese, which rises to a staggering 33 per cent for girls. Initiative after initiative continues to fail. That’s exactly why I continue to fight to encourage the ever-growing nation of obese inhabitants to take responsibility for their minds and bodies, and get on with weight loss themselves. You may have seen in the media that I hold some strong views on how we need to get a grip and lose the weight for ourselves. It would also seem that the majority agree with me, however, politicians seem unable to act on my advice for fear of losing votes. Sadly, political correctness is now so rife in the UK that it has contributed to making the nation even fatter.
DO IT FOR YOURSELF
It may not be a popular thing to say, but in my view, the British continue to fail in taking responsibility for their own weight. If there’s one thing we are really good at, then it has to be making excuses for being too fat. If you were to ask me is it the fault of the food manufacturers, the demands on our time or friends and family, for putting pressure on us, my answer would be a definite no. To say yes would achieve one thing – it would keep you fat, and that would not be fair on you. Of course, it would be more politically correct to campaign for food manufacturers to stop putting so much sugar and fats in the food they make, or encourage the government to pass legislation to ban fast food, chocolate bars, cakes and muffins, but that would bring about a nanny culture that would harm the economy and take away the pleasure factor for those people who can enjoy a treat. Pleasure, I hear you shout!
Well, this is where you may be surprised because I adore a bit of junk food every now and then. Most weeks I have a bottle of wine, a take-away, a cake and a chocolate bar! That’s because restrictive diets fail, and flexible ones do not. In fact, if I were told never to eat junk food again, I would probably decide to be fat. Come on, would you really want to live life without an ice cream, a chip butty or a cake? The good news is that living by my ABC, you will still be able to enjoy these treats, week after week. My 80–20 rule allows you to avoid rigidity, making eating a pleasure. I hope that brings a sigh of relief. Yes, 80 per cent of the time you will eat healthily, and 20 per cent of the time you will enjoy a bit of junk food as a treat – and quite right, too!
REFRAME YOUR THINKING
So, when was the last time you heard someone explain to you that weight loss is easy? Indeed, when was the last time an overweight friend explained that they were really looking forward to losing weight? At this point, you are probably thinking that I’ve gone completely cuckoo and lost the plot. Yes, I guess the answer to these questions is either never, or rarely. As a society we have built a culture around weight loss that pigeonholes it as something that’s a massive challenge and a chore. At best, it’s difficult and at worst, it’s a nightmare! I did the same for many years until I decided to look at how I was thinking about my own weight loss. The penny dropped when I recognised that I was preventing myself from losing the weight by the power of my own thought: I had seen weight loss as an immense battle for far too long. The first step was to reframe my thinking; to keep on telling myself every day that losing weight was hard, difficult, a pain and a struggle would do one thing – keep me fat.
NEW THOUGHTS, NEW BODY
From today, I want you to change the way you think about your weight-loss journey. Forget thinking weight loss is going to bring you pain, introduce difficulties and become an uphill struggle. Instead, see it as something that’s exciting, a pleasure, something that’s going to be like a trip you have always wanted to do, but never been able to afford. See your weight loss trip as a shared journey, as one you are taking with me. I’ll be your constant friend and support. We may have the odd time when you fall down along the way, but I’ll be there to pick you up because that’s what friends do and I know that we both want the same outcome for you.
Listen out to those around you who moan and groan about how difficult it is to lose weight, and who don’t feel guilty for sharing their cynical opinions with others. In fact, make it clear to them that you disagree and that for you, successful weight loss is as good as winning the lottery – well, almost! Of course, these people will think you’ve gone slightly bonkers and need to see a psychiatrist for sharing such sound advice. However, it will be you who best understands because you will experience at first hand that the UK has an ingrained culture, one that makes most people perceive the whole experience of weight loss as a big mountain to climb, and one that you’ll undoubtedly fall off and always find impossible to climb. For you, the first big step has been taken. You are now seeing weight loss as something that’s your passion, your pleasure and of course, your priority. So, I’ll help you get your crampons on, provide you with the ropes, show you how to use the ice axe and give you plenty of oxygen so that we can climb any weight-loss mountain together!
BUST THE EXCUSES
Excuses are often what keeps people fat. I know it isn’t always popular to say, but as human beings we are very good at conjuring them up and blaming others for the way we are. Now I want to encourage you to be completely honest with yourself and bury all the excuses you’ve used over the years for not losing the weight. I know myself because I used to use many excuses and I was great at blaming others for the size I’d become. No one was putting the food into my mouth except me and I was the one who suffered from can’t-be-bothered-itis! Fortunately, the day came when I realised I had to do it for myself. I thought through all the excuses I was making and decided to bury them for good. From now on, it was me, and me alone, who could – and would – do something about it. I want you to feel the same.
Typical excuses may include:
It’s harder as you get older.
It’s hard with children because I pick at their leftovers.
I don’t know why I’m so fat because I hardly eat anything.
It’s too expensive to eat healthily these days.
We’ve always been fat in our family so I guess there’s nothing I can do.
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