Fat Fallacy, aka The Path

The Fat Fallacy was originally released as a book by the same name by Will Clower. Will Clower achieved his PhD in Neuroscience, followed by more study at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences in Lyon, France. Dr. Clower developed the premise for The Fat Fallacy while living with his family and studying in France for several years. At first aghast at the high fat foods they were served, he gradually began to question the “accepted” rules of weight loss and healthy eating when he realized that France was full of slender people – and he and his family actually lost weight while living there.

When he really dug into the statistics (he is a PhD, after all!), he was shocked to find that people living in European countries like France have a longer lifespan and a lower incidence of disease than Americans, despite the fact that they eat completely counter to everything we’re told about eating healthy and losing weight.

The Fat Fallacy is Born

If there’s one weight loss program that comes closest to the promise of being “a way of life”, The Fat Fallacy would probably be it.

The plan recommends eating like the Europeans, and in particular the French. And notice I said “the way they eat”, and not “what they eat”. This is because The Fat Fallacy believes that the secret to eating healthy for a lifetime lies as much in the intangibles as in the calorie counts and fat grams.

The bottom line? People in Europe eat slower, and they eat smaller portions. Meals are a celebration in countries like Italy, Spain, Greece and France, and the people there are known to linger for hours over a good meal and a bottle of wine. These countries are not at war with food or their bodies. They acknowledge food as a pleasurable part of life, and they take the time to enjoy their meals, no matter how simple. They eat on decent dishes and sit down at the table instead of standing over the sink eating off a paper towel (not that you’ve ever done that!).

The idea is that there are psychological components to eating and satisfaction that go well beyond feeling “full”, and that these components do more for our feelings of satiation than eating a plateful of food. Put simply? If you eat slowly and savor your food, the appetite center in your brain shuts off, telling your body that it’s had a complete and enjoyable meal, even if it wasn’t enormous!

An equally big part of the plan is the recommended food, which goes way beyond the stuff we’re usually told we can eat “on a diet”. This includes whole fat yogurt and whole fat milk and cheeses. In fact, the only things discouraged on The Fat Fallacy program are “faux foods” - foods so far away from their natural state that the ingredient list sounds like a science experiment.

Other than that, there are no restrictions and no hefty fitness recommendations other than to try and move every day, even if it’s just walking more like the Europeans do!

The Fat Fallacy to The Path

The Fat Fallacy website has recently been changed to be called “The Path”. This appears to be a move to develop a curriculum that provides a detailed “ramp up” to the principles outlined in The Fat Fallacy. Six-week courses are conducted across the US, and you can find a location near you by filling out the online form.

The website seems like it’s still under construction, as some of the links aren’t yet live, but there’s still a basic breakdown of the plan, message boards, Success Stories, and opportunities to purchase The Fat Fallacy and Dr. Clower’s newest book, The French Don’t Diet.

The prescription is pretty simple – eat real food. Eat less of it. Eat slowly so you can enjoy it. Move a little.

And sit back and enjoy!

For more information visit www.fatfallacy.com or www.pathonline.net