Excerpts

WHY THE NEW LEAN FOR LIFE WILL WORK FOR YOU, AND HOW TO USE THIS BOOK How many times have you lost some weight while on a diet only to gain it all back later after you stopped the diet? Once? Twice? More times than you can count? You're not alone. Nearly half of all dieters quit within the first month. This dire statistic from a 2012 study reinforces the fact that starting a diet program is easy; staying with it is the hard part. Yet the only way a diet program is going to work for you is if you actually stick with it. Now what if a diet could anticipate what you are thinking as you progress from day to day? What if a program could actually address your feelings, frustrations and questions as you feel them, and also provide success strategies at the very moment you need them most so you can stay on your program and reach your goal weight? After more than 15 million visits with patients at the Lindora weight-loss clinics in Southern California, the Lean for Life program is able to do just that--using what we've learned from more than 750,000 people who have lost a combined 15 million pounds on our program in the past 40-plus years. We guide our patients on a day-by-day basis through four weeks of Rapid Weight Loss, easing them through the tough days and using the easier days to give them additional insights on what they need to know to succeed on the program to get lean and stay lean. In just four weeks, our patients enjoy more than rapid weight loss; they get a blueprint to a leaner body, reduced stress levels, more balanced blood sugar levels and a new way of thinking--all in a simple, accessible program. An internal data analysis of Lean for Life patients found that 79 percent kept weight off and 43 percent maintained medically significant weight loss for up to 15 years after completing their program. Compare this to the widely quoted statistic that 95 percent of dieters typically regain the weight they worked so hard to lose on conventional diets. On this program, people really do get Lean for Life. MORE THAN 750,000 SUCCESS STORIES . . . AND COUNTING! You could say that I (Cynthia) grew up in the "waist-management" business. My father, weight-loss pioneer Marshall Stamper, M.D., opened his first Lindora weight-loss clinic in 1971. Motivated by the loss of his mother, who had died of obesity-related complications, Dr. Stamper created a comprehensive, resultsoriented program that helped people lose weight rapidly and safely. At the foundation of the program were Dr. Stamper's Six Essentials, which taught people how to change their behavior and change their physiology, making it easier to maintain their new, healthier weight. Throughout this book, you'll discover more about the Six Essentials--which remain a cornerstone of the program--and how they can help you reach your weight-loss goals. Decades ago, Dr. Stamper was convinced that if people lost weight and learned healthier thinking habits, they could reverse or prevent certain ailments and health conditions. At the time, people called it "woo-woo science." Today, it's common knowledge that being overweight is a factor in type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more. Dr. Stamper and his program were light years ahead of their time. Back when I was a teenager, I was Dr. Stamper's guinea pig. In order to help me lose a few pounds, he put me on his revolutionary Rapid Weight Loss plan. It went far beyond ordinary meal plans and included a blueprint to "leanify" not just my body, but also my stress levels, my way of thinking and my daily habits. It helped me get lean and stay lean--not just for a few weeks or a couple of months as with most diets, but Lean for Life. Over the past 40-plus years, this same program helped people ranging from Hollywood stars wanting to drop those last 5 pounds to others struggling to lose more than 500 pounds. We've helped people not only whittle their waistline but also get off their blood pressure, cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and pain medications. We've helped lifetime yo-yo dieters get off the weight-loss roller coaster and maintain their new lean weight for years. We've seen people transform their bodies and their lives. You'll meet many of these "Lean for Lifers" within the pages of this book, including: ■ Traci, who lost more than 300 pounds and has kept it off for more than 10 years ■ Kimberly, who shrank from a size 18 to a sleek size 6 ■ Laura, who dropped 36 pounds and no longer has to take her cholesterol, blood pressure, or type 2 diabetes medicines ■ Javier, who went from a 52-inch waist to a 34-inch waist So far, we have more than 750,000 success stories, and there's no stopping! Each year, 35,000 real-life, everyday people like Traci, Kimberly, Laura and Javier visit our 40-plus clinics located throughout Southern California for in-person appointments with our staff of healthcare professionals, which includes M.D.s and registered nurses. Since I joined forces with Dr. Stamper (affectionately known as "Daddy") in 1988, I've been trying to make it easier than ever for people everywhere--not just those who live close enough to visit our clinics--to lose weight with our program. As a result, people can now log on to our personalized, interactive web-based program for daily support anywhere, anytime. People everywhere can also track the calories and nutrient content of our nutritional products on top-selling diet apps like Lose It! Thousands of people have gotten lean thanks to our books and products, which are sold in pharmacies and other stores nationwide. And millions of people have access to our program through their membership with some of the nation's largest health insurance providers. Finding new ways and new strategies to help as many people as possible become Lean for Life has been my number-one goal. That's why, in the mid-1990s, I distilled the basics of the Lean for Life program used in Lindora clinics in my first book, Lean for Life Phase One: Weight Loss. I wanted the book to be not only a daily support tool for our patients as they progressed through the program, but also a way to make the program available to the tens of thousands of people who couldn't visit our clinics in person and who wanted to lose weight at home . . . but didn't want to do it on their own. It worked, and more than a decade after its publication, that book was still ranked as one of the top-selling books on Amazon.com. Since the original book was published, however, a growing body of weight-loss science has emerged. This exciting new research provides insights into ways to enhance the Lean for Life program and proves why this program is so effective, validating the foundation of the program that has already helped so many people reach their weight goals. More than a decade of new science, new breakthroughs, new strategies and new techniques convinced me it was time to refine the program and update the book. That's where a box of cookies came into play. HOW A BOX OF COOKIES INSPIRED THE NEW LEAN FOR LIFE In 2012, one of our Lean for Life patients returned from a vacation in Paris with a gift for me--a box of gourmet dark chocolate European tea biscuits. She told me they were incredibly delicious, and she couldn't wait to share them with me. I immediately buzzed our operations team and asked them to join me in the conference room. When they arrived, we broke open the box, peeled away the wrappers, and started munching--assessing the flavors, the crunchiness of the delicate biscuits and the richness of the chocolate. There we were, a team of weight-loss professionals, nibbling on a box of cookies at 10:30 in the morning. Any passerby would have thought we were a bunch of frauds. You may be wondering, why on Earth would someone who had finally reached her ideal lean weight after failing on so many other diets bring me--the CEO of the nation's largest medically supervised weight-loss system--a box of cookies? And why would I encourage my staff to indulge in a mid-morning cookie-fest? It's not as crazy as it seems. This was no ordinary box of cookies. They were Europe's number-one brand of gourmet diet foods, and not only were they just as delicious as promised, but they were also formulated based on groundbreaking findings from the world of brain and satiety science, incorporating special nutrients known to enhance satiety and reduce hunger without sacrificing taste. Basically, they were engineered to accelerate weight loss while allowing you to eat the foods you've come to love. To say that I was intrigued is an understatement. After all, my mission is to find ways to make it easier for you to become Lean for Life. A SMARTER PLAN TO OUTSMART YOUR BIOLOGY With a little investigating, I soon learned who was behind those delicious European diet cookies. Réginald Allouche, M.D., is a diabetes and weight-loss specialist, one of the world's foremost nutrition experts and the founder of KOT, the top brand of gourmet diet foods in Europe. The KOT products--including crêpes, pizza, pancakes, cookies and even ice cream--are sold in 2,200 pharmacies throughout Europe and are used by more than 700,000 dieters there. I was thrilled when Dr. Allouche accepted my invitation to come to our Southern California headquarters to meet with me and Dr. Stamper, who remains my most trusted advisor. Charming and effervescent, Dr. Allouche entertained us as he detailed his groundbreaking scientific research. He gave us a fascinating explanation of the inner workings of the brain, body and gut and how they gang up in overweight people to make it almost impossible to lose weight. Then he shared how he has spent his career trying to reverse that and get the brain, body and gut to help you lose weight. I'll let Dr. Allouche take it from here. After hearing Dr. Allouche talk about how he worked with his patients, Dr. Stamper felt an instant rapport with the French weight-loss innovator. The two of them shared a similar approach to caring for patients. Rather than viewing their patients as statistics or "the gall bladder in room 4," they viewed each patient as an individual, whose brain, body, environment, emotions and thought patterns contributed to their weight problems. And they both understood that in order to help patients lose the weight, they had to treat all of those factors. The meeting was so successful that I eventually collaborated with Dr. Allouche in 2012 to incorporate his scientific findings about the brain, body and gut--as well as a touch of the French joie de vivre--into the Lean for Life program. The two of us spent months infusing the program with the latest science-based strategies to enhance its effectiveness and make it easier--and more délicieux--than ever to follow. And together, we rewrote the book that had already helped so many people achieve their weight-loss goals. The end result? The New Lean for Life! WHAT'S NEW IN THE NEW LEAN FOR LIFE? In this book, we've streamlined the Lean for Life program, incorporating Dr. Allouche's own groundbreaking research, as well as that of others. Did you know that--for your brain--weight loss and satiety go hand in hand? In The New Lean for Life you'll become an expert in satiety science and understand why deprivation dieting is doomed to fail, and why allowing you to eat the lip-smacking foods you would end up consuming anyway is essential for long-term weight loss. Our new program includes up-to-the-minute findings from the world of science that show how your brain, body and gut make you a slave to the habits that can supersize you. Then we give you a plan to trick your brain, body and gut into helping you change your habits and get lean instead. You'll get to know how your brain and body can actually "forget" how to eliminate the contents of your fat cells, which causes you to keep stockpiling more and more excess fat, and discover our plan to help your brain and body remember how to release the fat from your fat cells. And there's so much more. Here's what The New Lean for Life can do for you: ■ Help you shrink the size of your fat cells--twice as much as conventional diets! ■ Lose up to 20 pounds in 28 days. ■ Allow you to enjoy more "forbidden" foods like cookies and pancakes and still lose weight. ■ Reprogram your appetite so you won't feel hungry while losing weight. ■ Rewire your brain so you can change the mindless everyday habits that are holding you back from reaching your weight goals. ■ Heal your gut to calm cravings and improve satiety. ■ Show you how to use "thought control" to fight the negative thoughts that sabotage your success. ■ Curb cravings with our "Emergency Cravings Toolkit." ■ Rev up metabolism with our "90-Second Fat-Burning Booster" exercise plan. ■ Begin reversing fat-promoting health conditions, such as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation--in just 2 weeks! Of course, as with the original program, we'll continue to hold your hand through the process and help you manage daily obstacles so you can be successful--not just for a month but for life! Note: This is a powerful program. A ketogenic diet like Lean for Life is not recommended for type 1 insulin-dependent diabetics, pregnant or nursing mothers, or people with serious liver or kidney disease. Before starting this or any diet, it is recommended to seek advice from your personal healthcare provider. We encourage you to take the "A Message to Your Doctor" letter on page XX with you to your healthcare provider. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The New Lean for Life isn't a book you read; it is a book you do. It is intended to be a constant companion as you shrink your fat cells and shrink your body. Everything about the way this book is organized and presented is based on what we have found to be most helpful to our patients in their journey to rapid, lasting weight loss. For example, in our experience, new dieters often feel overwhelmed by the "commitment" of reading several chapters of science before getting to the action plan that will help them begin losing weight. We've observed that our clinic patients don't want all that scientific information about why they're overweight all at once. They want to get started right away with what to do to get lean. That's why this book takes a completely different approach from what you may be used to. We call it the "drip method," and it simply means that we'll dole out new ideas and information about the overall program and the science behind it in small, bite-sized chunks that are easily digestible. Think of it as brain food! Way more fun than Biology 101, chapter 1 features Dr. Allouche's look at how your brain, body and gut can conspire to transform what you eat into a "spare tire" or "muffin top." Forget about classroom science--Dr. Allouche will be providing you with "weird science," the kind you can actually put to use in the real world to help make you Lean for Life. Throughout the book, you'll find the latest science revealed in "The Inside Story from Dr. Allouche," where he explores what you can do to get your brain, body and gut working for you instead of against you. The "start now" advice comes immediately after that in chapter 2, where we'll provide an overview of the plan and specifics on what you'll be eating and doing to shrink your fat cells and "leanify" your body. Chapter 3 details our three-day "Prep" that primes your brain, body and gut for optimal results. In chapters 4 through 7, which focus on the four weeks of Rapid Weight Loss, we'll guide you day by day, offering simple success strategies to help you cope with the many stumbling blocks you may encounter along the way. Chapter 8 details a critical two-week transition period that resets your metabolism so you can eat more without gaining weight. And chapter 9 gives you all the tools you need to stay Lean for Life. Excerpted from The New Lean for Life: Outsmart Your Body to Shrink Fat Cells and Lose Weight for Good by Cynthia Stamper Graff, Réginald Allouche All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.