Mr & Mrs Struggler Frustrated and unhappy about their weight, they are quick to try the latest fad diet or weight loss product, irrespective of how gimmicky it may be. They start off well but soon discover that their new weight loss solution is too impractical to sustain, too difficult to maintain or simply does not work. Strength: they are pro-active and keen to improve their health and appearance. Weakness: they waste time, money and effort by repeating the same mistakes. Style: high on effort, low on strategy.
Mr & Mrs Extreme Highly disciplined, they naturally like strenuous physical activity and enjoy looking good. They are willing to sacrifice a substantial amount of time and energy on exercise and will easily forego many culinary delights that most others regard as essential staple treats. Strength: they look and feel great. Weakness: they can become a bit too self-obsessed. Style: high on effort and strategy.
Mr & Mrs Slob Undisciplined for many reasons, they procrastinate and postpone their weight loss obligation by using a wide variety of excuses. As a result, they never get started. Strength: they are content and happy to accept themselves as they are. Weakness: they neglect their health and develop many degenerative diseases that shorten their life expectancy and reduce the quality of their lives. Style: low on effort and strategy.
Mr & Mrs Realistic Their expectations are realistic and they have accepted that there is no quick fix or magic wand solution. They understand the reality and boundaries of their numerous daily obligations, time restraints and lifestyle preferences.  They have learnt that deprivation is not a sustainable solution and prefer a middle-of-the- road approach. Past experience and insight have convinced them that strategy delivers better results than effort. They apply their time and effort wisely in order to achieve maximum weight loss benefit, relying on a combination of different weight loss solutions simultaneously. This allows them greater flexibility and freedom. They employ a range of compensatory mechanisms for damage control purposes for those times when they do step outside the boundaries of their meal-plan, thus preventing them from unravelling all their hard work over a weekend or holiday period. Strength: because of their broader knowledge basis they have the ability to plan better. This enables them to sustain their approach over the long term without feeling deprived or frustrated.   Weakness: this approach will not deliver the same results as the more extreme weight loss programmes which require significantly more exercise as well as severe dietary restrictions. Style: average on effort, high on strategy.

Why do so many try so desperately and so few succeed?
Most people want to lose weight with a “diet”, or meal-plan, to use a better word. Ever wondered why your doctor doesn’t just give you one when the topic of your weight comes up during a consultation? It’s because your doctor knows that things are not quite that simple. If they were, the world’s weight epidemic would be getting smaller, not bigger as it is.

Giving a patient a sheet with some dietary restrictions is not a complete weight-loss solution. Without a patient self-education programme in place during which he/she is taught to gain insight and become motivated and focused, a diet is a temporary measure with a high failure rate. In fact, research all over the world now reveals that a lot of conventional wisdom regarding diets and exercise actually make it more difficult for you to lose weight.

This is exactly where we started our research in 2002. For the purposes of our study, we deliberately chose overweight individuals who had failed to lose weight on other programmes. This offered us the opportunity to investigate the many and complex reasons why so many join the battle, but lose the war!

Calling these reasons “stumbling blocks”, we set ourselves the task of firstly identifying them all and then developing a specific remedial solution for each one, thereby making weight-loss far easier. Our research led to the development of the LightHouse weight loss system.

Some, for example, gain weight because they eat too much. This could just be due to bad habits, yet often stems from emotional stumbling blocks like food addiction, binge eating disorders, ADHD, depression, anxiety etc. Most of these conditions go undiagnosed and make appetite control extremely difficult. In addition, many physical stumbling blocks like hunger, fatigue and low blood sugar make it almost impossible to stick to a diet. During the research and development phase of the LightHouse weight loss system, however, clients with slow metabolic rates posed a far greater challenge for us than those who consumed too much energy. We found that especially once insulin resistance had set in; it proved a major medical stumbling block that made it very difficult for our patients to lose weight, unless correctly treated.

You can use both effort and strategy to lose weight. Whilst more effort is important, at the Medical Nutritional Institute we believe that better strategy will serve you best.

[Read more about the LightHouse weight-loss system]

[Read more about the Insulin Resistance]

[Read more about Meal-plans]