The 5 "Fat-Making" Lies That Keep So Many Dieters Stuck

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If you have been on more than one diet, you have probably noticed something odd. The rules keep changing, yet they all seem to end the same way. You lose a little, you feel hungry and fed up, and the weight comes back.

Tracey Trimmer, the author of The Trimmer Method, believes that is not a failure of willpower. She thinks it comes down to five pieces of diet advice that most of us have heard so many times we never question them. She calls them the 5 "Fat-Making" Lies.

Here they are, along with what she says about each one. As always, everybody is different, so if you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before you change the way you eat.

Lie 1: "You must eat fewer calories if you want to lose weight"

This is the rule almost every diet starts with, and it seems to make sense. Eat less, weigh less.

Tracey disagrees. She says restrictive diets that cut calories send your body into what she calls "panic mode". You may lose weight in the short term, but in her view much of that weight is water and muscle rather than fat. And because muscle is the tissue that helps you burn energy, losing it can make it easier to put weight back on once the diet ends.

Her alternative is the opposite of what you might expect: eat more, not less. The Trimmer Method talks about six meals a day, and the aim is to feel satisfied rather than hungry an hour after you eat.

Lie 2: "You must eat low-fat food to lose weight"

Walk down any supermarket aisle and you will see "low-fat" on labels everywhere. On paper, it sounds sensible.

Tracey's view is that it has done more harm than good. She says the human body needs fat, and that the right fats are part of losing weight and keeping it off. Her program includes recipes built around the fats she recommends, so you are not left guessing what to cook.

Lie 3: "You must eat a low-carb diet if you want to lose weight quickly"

Low-carb plans have been popular for years, and plenty of people have tried cutting out bread and potatoes completely.

Tracey says low-carb diets cannot help you lose weight over the long haul. She argues that you need carbohydrates for energy, and that going without them can leave you tired and miserable. In her words, "bread is actually your FRIEND".

The key, as she explains it, is knowing which carbs work best for your own body, and that is something her program helps you work out.

Lie 4: "If you really want to lose weight, you have to take fat-burning supplements"

This is the lie Tracey is most blunt about. She calls supplements and fat-burning substitutes "USELESS", and says they can do more harm than good. The diet industry makes a great deal of money from them, but in her view you do not need a single pill, powder or shake.

The Trimmer Method does not involve any supplements at all. Everything it asks of you happens in your own kitchen, with real food.

Lie 5: "You must eat diet foods if you are serious about losing weight"

Have you ever eaten something labelled "healthy" or "diet-friendly", and then found yourself craving more of it an hour later, even though you were not really hungry?

Tracey says that is no coincidence. She points to ingredients in many diet foods, such as high-fructose corn syrup, MSG and sugar alcohols, and says they can set off strong cravings, both physical and psychological. So the very foods sold to help you lose weight can keep you coming back for more.

Her answer is to stop buying special diet products and eat real food you enjoy, in proper portions.

Why these lies keep going

If these rules do not work, why do we keep hearing them? Tracey's answer is a little uncomfortable. A company that helps you lose weight for good loses a paying customer. It suits a lot of businesses to help you lose a little, then keep you coming back for more meal plans, more memberships and more products.

That is also why so many people end up blaming themselves. They are told that losing weight is simple, so when it does not last, they assume the problem must be them. Tracey's message is the opposite: you are not at fault.

A different way to think about food

The thread running through all five lies is the same. Diets built on restriction, special products and long lists of banned foods are hard to live with, and what is hard to live with rarely lasts.

The Trimmer Method takes the other road. No calorie counting. No forbidden foods. No extreme workouts. Real meals, carbs included, and attention to the emotional side of eating as well as the physical side. It comes in a version for women and a version for men, and includes three bonus reports on fasting, emotional eating and short workouts.

It costs $37 as a one-time payment and comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you can read it and try it without much risk. Results vary from person to person, and Tracey's own sixty-pound story is hers alone, but if these five rules have never worked for you, her ideas are worth hearing.

You can read the full section on the five lies in Tracey's letter, written for women or written for men.

Click here to watch Tracey's free presentation on the official site and see the rest of the method for yourself.