I was seventeen in 1968, I was in very good shape, 175 pounds and a 32 inch waist. I was part of the "Baby Boom" generation. We had incredible music. We were the young generation that would bring peace and love to the world. Surely we would never grow old or fat. Well that is not the way it worked out. The music changed and so did we.

There had to be way to lose weight and keep it off. In June 1984 I went to the library to research the eating habits of cultures where obesity was rare. It only took a few hours to find a common denominator. Most of the countries with little or no obesity also had very low fat diets. Could it be that simple? It was worth a try; after all I had tried dumber things to loose weight. Because I did not know how much fat to remove from my diet, I decided to remove all measurable fat. I also reduced my portion sizes and I stopped eating in the evening.

I began seeing results within a few days. By the end of June I had lost 15 pounds, but I still had cravings for fat foods. I went to a BBQ on the fourth of July 1984. The smell of hamburgers cooked on an open fire filled the air. When one was offered to me, I took it without pausing. I took two bites and stopped. Part of me wanted to finish eating the burger and part of me said no.

It is funny how life works, when I took the hamburger I had no idea it was going to define who I was for the rest of my life. But there I stood. For the first time in years I was losing weight without dieting. At the same time; how bad could 1 hamburger be? As I stood there with a partially eaten burger in my hand, I realized the importance of the moment. It was time to grow up.

In a decided I was not going to let temptation rule my life. I threw rest of the burger into a garbage can. That was 24 years ago, it was the last time I ate any meat. That 4th of July was my defining moment. I looked my fat addiction in the face and I decided it was over! . After that I comfortably adapted to my new lifestyle. Since then I have not had any cravings for fat foods. In the next 11 months I lost more than 170 pounds.

One day a person asked me; "how did you lose all that weight"? With out thinking about it. I said "Nofat". That moment introduced a new word into our language. Now, a quarter century later I am still Nofat and 175 pounds, with a 32 inch waist. That is exactly where I was when I was 17 in 1968

After losing the weight I wanted to spread the word (this was long before the Internet). I hand typed scores of letters and sent them to everyone from nationally known food producers to the AMA. I took a job as the manager of the Ft. Walton Beach Racquet Ball Club (also known as Body Tech). While in that position I gave free No fat classes to packed rooms two times a week.

One evening a local Ft. Walton Beach Doctor came to one of the classes. Before the class started he introduced himself to me. He told me he had heard about the Nofat weight loss program I was promoting. He said he just wanted to sit and listen. To be honest I was intimidated, but I told him he was welcome to stay. At first I thought he was there to condemn the Nofat lifestyle (and maybe he was). He attended 3 or 4 classes, always sitting in the back of the room. He never spoke or asked questions. Then one night after a class he invited me to come to his office for a more in depth conversation. I went and we spoke for a couple hours. I also received a complementary physical, blood and urine test. Weeks later he came to the club, he said, "I want to tell you something". Without divulging any patient information he told about women he had known a few years earlier with a weight near 400 pounds. She died in her mid 30s. Then to my surprise he said, "I wish she could have talked to you".

In the mid 1980's I gave hundreds of free Nofat talks at the club and small gatherings. At each talk I gave out a 10 page hand typed mimeographed Nofat pamphlet. I continued to give the pamphlet away until the mid 1990s. In 1995 friends encouraged me to write my story in a book. That year I wrote " Nofat No Nonsense A Guide to Nofat Living" (ISBN 0-9646942-0-4). It was just a small self-published book. I was grateful when a book distributor placed it in some national food stores and airport bookshops. Major bookstores said the cover was too plain, although a couple Borders sold the book through their Manager's Choice program.

As a self-publisher I had to accept a back-charge for every book damaged on store shelves . A few thousand books were sold in stores, some were sold on Amazon.com with very good reader reviews and more were sold on Nofat.com. Individual Internet sales were sent to all 50 states and 16 countries. I am proud to say only 1 book was returned. When we ran out of books, I decided not to print anymore because food references are outdated if a food producer changes ingredients or discontinues a product

In 1985 a United States Air Force F-16 wing commander, based at Eglin AFB Florida came to me. He said he was going to be grounded unless he could safely lose 25 pounds in 4 months. I explained Nofat to him. He left with a Nofat pamphlet in his hand. He said he would show it to his flight physician.

A few weeks later the Major came back with a letter from the USAF Flight Surgeon Generals Office. The letter said, "Nofat passes the common sense test". The Major lost more than 25 pounds. The last time I saw him he was still flying." Nofat passes the common sense test". That said it all. I liked that letter so much; I kept it with my family photos and important papers for safekeeping. Unfortunately the photos and the letter were lost in Hurricane Andrew 1991.

Below are 5 questions I am most often asked.

1. Don't you need some fat to be healthy?

The fact is there is some fat in virtually all foods. Corn, Oranges, Bananas, Potatoes, Peas, Rice, Bran are all Nofat foods, but they all have some amount of naturally occurring oil and so does every other food and drink except water.

2. Where do you get your vitamins?

The same place you do now. There are no vitamins in fat or oil. Nofat foods are foods without fat not without vitamins

3. Why will I lose weight if I become Nofat?

On average there are twice as many calories in 1 ounce of foods with fat than in 1 ounce of Nofat foods. This means you can eat the same amount of Nofat food as you now eat of foods with fat, but you will only be eating about 1/2 the calories. That's right when you start your Nofat lifestyle you can cut your calories by about 1/2 and still eat the same quantify of food you now eat. However shortly after starting your nofat lifestyle, you will find yourself eating less and less until you only eat food for body fuel.

Why will you voluntarily reduce your food consumption? Fat is addictive to most people. When given a choice between fat foods and Nofat foods, most people will choose the fat foods over the Nofat foods. Even when someone selects a green salad they almost always add a fat filled dressing. This addiction to fat causes most people to eat more food per meal and eat more frequently than people on a Nofat lifestyle.

4. Do Nofat foods make you lose weight?

This was one of the common misconceptions of the late 1990s when there was a rush to produce Fat Free foods. People actually thought eating fat free foods would make them lose weight. Because people thought they could eat all the fat free foods they wanted, most people actually gained weight eating fat free foods. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight.

5. What Do You Eat?

In 1984 I decided to remove fat from my diet. In the beginning I had a difficult time finding what I now call Nofat foods. Since there was no such thing as Nofat or Fat free foods, I had to set my own guidelines. These guidelines have never changed.

Note: Most foods labeled Fat Free are not! Read the ingredients. The label may say Fat Free and then the first ingredient may be oil. Since there is no fat free oil, they are just simply lying. It happens all of the time. READ INGREDIENTS Not just labels and "nutritional facts. Fat Free is not Nofat. Truly Nofat foods must comply with the definition of Nofat listed below.

To find nofat foods read the indredients:

· No meat or animal byproducts including fish and chicken
· No oil, butter, fats, shortening or lard, including olive oil
· No whole milk, cream, or reduced fat milk (skim or powered milk are OK)
· No nuts, coconuts, avocados or any other plant or fruit that contains more than 1 gram of naturally occurring fat per ounce.
· No egg yolks
· No cheese made from real dairy products other than skim milk
· No Exceptions

After setting the guidelines above, I went to the store to see what foods I could eat. I started reading the ingredients. The first foods I found were all Green Vegetables, Carrots, Apples, Oranges, Grapes and Grapefruit, Potatoes, Corn, most Kellogg cereals, Quaker Oats Oatmeal, White and Brown Rice and some Yellow Rice, Soy Sauce, Noodles, Spaghetti, all Citrus Juice, Tomato Juice. Beer, Wine, and most Alcohol is nofat, so is Skim Milk, Coffee, Sugar, Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix (no butter of course) and Pancake Syrups. Over the years the list has grown to hundreds of *truly Nofat foods. Yes you did see sugar listed. Sugar is Nofat, but its use is up to you.

Another question I am asked is; do I occasionally eat a non-nofat food? The answer is absolutely no. Not even one bite since 1984.

Nofat is not a business . There is nothing for sale on this website. When we sold the book Nofat No Nonsense, we sold it only to cover the cost of publication and shipping. Nofat works and it works for everyone with the desire and will to change they way they view food. It is a major commitment, but the reward is a new chance at life.

Thank you for reading the nofat story. I hope you find some value it.

• Food is fuel. Food is not a reward for doing well or to comfort you when you are feeling down. Food is not something you eat because the clock says it is time to eat. Food is not something you eat just because it taste good. Food is not something you eat because everyone around you is eating.

Philip kelly Jackman

* Countries with the lowest obesity also had very low levels of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and other life threatening health problems we now know are related to high fat diets.

E-mail: support@Nofat.com