The Truth about Diets

Americans are obsessed with weight. In the racks near the checkout at supermarket, virtually every every women's magazine has at least one headline article (usually accompanied by bad photos) about how Oprah and Kirsty were recently spotted looking bloated. One of the popular reality shows is called "The Biggest Loser". Each week fans watch their favorite contestant compete to see who can lose the most poundage.

Editors love articles on dieting and weight loss methods because they sell magazines. New fad diet books are regularly listed on the top ten lists, so clearly people are buying and reading these books. Yet, more people are weighing in over the obese range than ever before. Young and old flock to gyms, ride bikes, run and walk. Many people even excercise at home on stairwalkers, bowflexes, abs hardeners, you name it. These methods work for a lot of people who have one very important thing in common that fat people do not have: discipline.

Health professionals seem to think that fat people - especially women - don't understand why they are overweight. However, I don't believe that there is a single fat person out there who does not understand the simple mechanics of calories.

People may not be conscious of  the exact caloric count of everything they put in their mouths but please, every fat person knows that they are consuming more calories than they are burning. In other words we know why - we just don't know how to stop eating too much. Something in our brains says, "Feed me!" and blocks the logical part of the mind that understands consequences.  Thin people are somehow able to stop eating when they have had enough. Fat people do not know what enough means.

Recent research on weight loss methods shows that Fad diets actually work for some people. The explanation for those success stories is simple: Regardless of the diet method, people who stuck with a given regimen paid more attention to the content of their food. They tended to eat less calories. Many of these diet programs require the dieters to do regular exercise as part of the program.  Exercise makes muscles more efficient and promotes a feeling of well being.  The better you feel the more likely you are to move around; active people burn more calories. The message is: It doesn't really matter what diet you pick. If you watch what you eat and exercise regularly, you can stop being overweight.

So these gimmicks can work - as long as you have the discipline to follow the program.

The most effective diets work when the dieter religiously follows a combined program of eating less and exercising more. Every time someone tells me that they lost 20 lbs on the great new diet that they are on, I smile and wish them luck.  The unfortunate truth is that about 98% of people who lose weight on a "miracle" diet will gain the weight back within a few months after they stop the program.

Most people gain back the weight as soon as they stop doing the diet - and almost everyone stops at some point. The frustrating thing is that they usually gain back all the weight they lost, plus a few extra pounds. I have read about nutritionists who are trying to get people to gain weight who have put thin patients on a diet, because of this diet backlash phenomenon.

Clearly the problem for those of us in the XL+ range is the lack of discipline. Somebody needs to invent a discipline pill and presto we can be as slim as the skinnies. Or, we could just drink less beer and walk more...never mind... it was just a thought. I take it back.