Why the funny name?
The story of the Tortoise and the Hare was, as you know, about a race. There are certainly a lot of “hare-brained” diets out there which invariably promise “quick and easy” weight loss, usually by means of starvation, deprivation and/or strenuous exercise. The problem with quick weight loss, however, is that it almost never lasts. That's because the "weight" being lost is primarily the loss of water and muscle, rather than the loss of stored body fat.
Unlike "hare-brained" quick weight loss diets, The Tortoise Diet takes the long-term and change-your-life approach to learning how to lose STORED BODY FAT, rather than simply losing water and muscle. The Tortoise Diet offers a very livable way to eat and exercise that gets results because it is based completely on the way the body utilizes energy.
Everything taught in the book is based on Patty Church's experience in learning the twenty-five essential habits that result in improved health and in the loss of stored body fat. A series of step-by-step assignments are presented to help anyone learn these same habits and achieve success.
Remember ... it was the Tortoise who ultimately won the race, leaving the Hare slumped in exhaustion by the side of the road. The Tortoise Diet is designed to help you be the winner of your weight loss "race."
Do I have to count calories?
Eating the correct amount of calories is critical to your long term weight loss success. Eat too many calories and you won't lose weight. Eat too few calories and you will lose too much muscle and in all likelihood hit a frustrating plateau. This invariably leads you to eventually giving up and regaining all the weight lost.The Tortoise Diet will teach you this delicate calorie balance which is unique to each person.
"It sounds like I have to count calories, right?" No! Patty Church has devised a really effective plan to allow you to get the exact number of calories you need without counting! Simply choose from hundreds of calorie-specific combinations of healthy foods included in the book that add up to the total calories you are allowed for the day. Once you find the foods you love to eat each day on a regular basis, you'll be guaranteed to be getting the correct amount of calories without even thinking about it!
Do I need to buy the book to follow the Tortoise Diet?
The book is essential to your success, and should be viewed as a kind of “textbook” to be referred to on a regular basis. The meal plans, Patty’s “real-life” solutions, the explanations and the step-by-step assignments the book contains are designed to help you learn to practice the new habits that are key to your success.
The Tortoise Diet Online Success Program is designed for those people who have read the book but would like the additional benefits our online program provides.
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Why does the Tortoise Diet promote keeping track of the amount of fat weight and the amount of lean weight that comprise a person’s total body weight?
The scale can sometimes tell tall tales! Rather than the loss of mere water or (even worse) the loss of lean muscle tissue, the goal of the Tortoise Diet is the loss of stored body fat. For this reason, it is critical to use additional methods to measure the true progress being made toward that goal.
Tracking the loss of fat weight, and recording each week’s numbers on a chart provides a great visual record, and is a continual source of encouragement and motivation. Additionally, tracking and charting the maintenance of lean weight ensures that fat loss can continue without encountering the weight-loss plateau that is so common with other diets.
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Why does the Tortoise Diet work so well?
The Tortoise Diet program is designed to cause the loss of stored body fat while maintaining lean weight and a strong metabolism. There is no one-size-fits-all diet program that can achieve these goals.
The Tortoise Diet provides a uniquely personalized plan for each individual, based on their own body’s specific energy requirements. Each individual performs calculations to determine their own personal target numbers for total body weight and body fat percentage, and the amount of lean weight and fat weight that total weight should be comprised of.
Each individual’s specific calorie needs are calculated and then adjusted, to provide the “just right” calorie deficit that will achieve fat loss, while preserving muscle and a strong metabolic rate.
Because the program is designed to be one that can truly be enjoyed for a lifetime, many healthy and calorie-appropriate choices are offered for meals and snacks. Each person is encouraged to select the foods they like the best, and design their own “Top 40” list of favorites.
The exercise plan is also designed to be enjoyable and quite livable, while effectively burning stored body fat. There is no need for starvation and deprivation to achieve weight loss success! The Tortoise Diet offers real-life solutions and helpful hints to effectively incorporate healthy habits into a livable, lifetime plan.
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What will I eat on The Tortoise Diet?
On The Tortoise Diet you'll be able to eat a wide variety of delicious food. Each person is encouraged to look at a list of healthy and nutritious foods and develop what we call a "Top 40" list. Your "Top 40" list will simply be a list of healthy foods that you love and could eat nearly every day for the rest of your life. Creating delicious meals and snacks around these enjoyable foods is one of the reasons the Tortoise Diet works so well. It's also the secret to making the Tortoise Diet into a new lifetime habit of healthy eating... a habit you will need to lose weight permanently!
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How long will it take before I see results using The Tortoise Diet?
The answer is: immediately! During the first three weeks of following The Tortoise Diet you will undoubtedly see a significant amount of initial weight loss on the scale. This rate of weight loss cannot be sustained, however, because it is partly from the loss of excess water. This is normal and happens whenever a person first starts to eat fewer calories. Because the Tortoise Diet promotes the loss of stored body fat while preserving calorie-burning muscle, continued "weight" loss on the scale should not be expected to continue at this same rate.
This is why one of the really valuable features of The Tortoise Diet Online Success Program is the access to your own full color graphs that track the amount of FAT being lost and the amount of MUSCLE that is being preserved over time. These charts reveal true progress towards your goal of achieving your target body fat percentage, along with fitting into that new and smaller pair of jeans!
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Will I have to cook separate meals for my family?
No. Everyone in the family can enjoy the meals, snacks and recipes you will be preparing as part of your Tortoise Diet plan. No special foods, no pills or potions are required! Quick and easy recipes are provided for meals made with REAL foods that you and your family love to eat. Each member of the family can easily select the portion size that meets their own unique calorie needs for weight loss.
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Do I have to exercise on The Tortoise Diet?
The Tortoise Diet requires two commitments from people that are absent in most of the quick weight loss diets. The first commitment is to lose weight while improving your health. There are many facets of the Tortoise Diet program that are designed to improve health, and exercise is certainly an important one. Exercise is equally important to achieve the second Tortoise Diet requirement, the commitment to, this time, lose weight permanently!
The Tortoise Diet exercise program is called "Walking & Weights." The "walking" part of the program is, as it sounds, a low-intensity fat-burning (LIFB) type of aerobic exercise. LIFB exercise leaves you feeling energized and strong afterward, not collapsed in a heap and so sore you can't move. Simply find an activity you enjoy, such as walking, swimming, dancing, or cycling and DO IT on a regular basis. This type of low intensity activity will do wonders for your health, and it will help you lose weight!
The second part of the Tortoise Diet "Walking & Weights" program is strength training with weights. Don't worry! You don't need to rush out and join a gym! Just get a few hand-held dumbbells and do an easy twenty-minute program in the privacy of your living room twice a week. A strength-training program is essential to help preserve calorie-burning muscle as you lose weight. This will go a long ways toward making weight loss PERMANENT!
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Can I still eat carbohydrates on The Tortoise Diet?
Yes, absolutely! Complex carbohydrates, eaten primarily in their whole-foods form with minimal packaging and processing, are FUEL that the body requires. Healthy foods containing these carbohydrates are definitely encouraged. White sugar, white flour, and highly processed carbohydrates should be avoided.
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How long will I need to be on the Tortoise Diet?
The unfortunate reality is that quick weight loss almost always means the loss of a lot of water and muscle, and a relatively small amount of fat. That's just the way our physiology works.
The Tortoise Diet, as the name implies, is not about losing “weight” as fast as you can! Instead, it emphasizes learning to practice twenty-five habits that will cause the loss of stored body fat while maintaining calorie-burning muscle. How long it takes each person to lose that body fat will depend, of course, on how much of it they have in storage!
The beauty of The Tortoise Diet, however, is that it is designed to work in concert with our bodies. Each person’s calorie plan is personalized to be right for THEIR OWN body, so there is no sense of torture and starvation. As you lose weight, you will be learning to eat and exercise in a manner that you will be able to effortlessly continue once you arrive at your target weight and body fat percentage. Rather than a temporary “diet,” The Tortoise Diet is a lifestyle that can be maintained indefinitely, and it teaches you the necessary skills to help you keep the weight off PERMANENTLY!
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Will I get nutritional help when planning my meals on The Tortoise Diet?
The Tortoise Diet contains a great deal of nutritional information regarding what each type of food does for the body and how much of the daily calorie intake should be comprised of fats, carbohydrates and protein. You don't have to think about all of this too much, though, because there are hundreds and hundreds of meals and snacks Patty has outlined that are all nutritionally balanced. You won't have to spend much time counting calories, either, because these meals are presented in calorie-specific amounts.
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Can I still drink a glass of wine with dinner?
Absolutely. No foods, or even drinks, are considered off-limits. The Tortoise Diet will teach you the skills you'll need to become an effective "Energy Manager." You will develop the ability to know how much you can eat and drink at a meal to be able to stay on track with your weight-loss goals. The effective Energy Manager has the ability to balance calorie intake (food) and energy outgo (activity) to maintain his or her own "just right" calorie deficit for fat loss and muscle preservation.
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Will I have to refrain from eating the foods I really like?
Absolutely not! Learning to eat healthy foods that you enjoy and could eat every day of your life is one of the keys to The Tortoise Diet. In fact, everyone is encouraged to develop their own "Top 40" list of favorite foods and to develop enjoyable meals and snacks from that list.
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Easy Recipes |
