... Then Just Stay Fat. (2 page)

What doesn't work is when we adopt some TEMPORARY habits, lose some weight and then pick our previous habits back up.
 
Surprise, surprise.
 
The weight always returns.
 
Live one way, lose weight.
 
Live ano
ther way, gain weight.
 
Hhhmmm
…
how curious.

What also doesn't work is lying to yourself about what you ate and then falling into a crying heap on the scale, playing the victim.
 
Poor you.
 
Never mind you ate three biscuits with butter before your dinner even hit the table at Billy Bob's Feed Trough last night
—
it was only a salad.
 
Never mind you gobbled down five handfuls of M&Ms off the receptionist's desk between trips to the break room for a soda
—
it was diet!
 
Never mind you drove through Coffee Planet on the way to work and downed a 32 oz. Italian-named mocha-
choca
-
ya-ya
worth a day's calories in some starving nations
—
you skipped the whip
ped
cream and said "no thanks" to the Chihuahua-sized muffin.

I'm telling you, diets work.
 
And they really work if you manage to PERMANENTLY adopt the new habits.
 
I realize this viewpoint isn't popular.
 
Ahhh
, throw rotten tomatoes at me.
 
Whip
up some scathing comments
. While you're arguing with me about it, I'll be watching my calories.

There Are No Magic Beans

Since the dawn of time (or at least the beginning of having enough food to get fat), we've wanted a quick way to lose weight.
 
Desperate for something easy, we'll even suppress our usual skepticism.

Think about it.
 
If you read about magic beans that grow into money trees, would you buy them?
 
No, because you know how to acquire money and foliage
ain't
it.
 
What about a commercial for a car that runs on tap water?
 
You wouldn't run out to buy one. You’d think, "
I
f it's so great, why aren't they all over the place?"

Yet, dangle the phrase "weight loss" and watch us throw our hard-earned dollars at just about anything.
 
Sure, those commercials, books and advertisements can be quite convincing, but I assure you, with little effort, access to the Internet and about 30 minutes of your time, you can debunk
most of them.

I'll give you an example.

Hormone solutions (injections and homeopathic drops) are hugely popular and are touted in clinics, day spas, etc.
 
Advertisements are everywhere
—
radio, print ads, Craig’s List, the Internet... you name it.
 
Tales of 20, 30, 50 pounds lost abound.
 
You can't help but be intrigued
, r
ight?

Do some quick research.
 
I prefer credible websites like the National Institutes of Health's PubMed Central (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/), the Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov), the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov), etc.
 
When reviewing the efficacy of diet aids, you want peer-reviewed research.
 
If you don't feel up to slogging through scientific jargon, stick with reputable sites like WebMD or the Mayo Clinic.
 
Whichever site you use, pay close attention to who owns the site, is extolling the product’s benefits and stands to gain a profit.
 
Any conflict of i
nterest should signal trouble.

Briefly researching the popular weight-loss hormone will likely find you scratching your head.
 
You see, none of the current science supports any claim that it helps people lose weight.
 
Some studies found hormone solutions no better than placebo.
 
That's not to say people aren't losing weight on these popular programs, but it's the “very low-calorie diets” that are doing it, not the hormone.
 
You'd be better off saving hundreds of dollars following a low-calorie diet for FREE.

Another hugely important question for assessing weight loss support (whether a service or product) is:
 
Can I maintain this change for the rest of my life?
 
If the answer is “no,” then chances are you will regain the lost weight.
 
Your previous lifest
yle will re-emerge.

T
he only way to lose weight is a daily, caloric deficit.
 
Period.
 
The most common recommendation is to cut 250-1,000 calories per day (depending on lifestyle, age, gender, etc.).
 
That deficit will result in 0.5 to 2 pounds lost per week over time.
 

Do your
research,
listen to your skeptical voice and save your money.
 
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

References:

Lijesen
, G.K
. ,
I
Theeuwen
, G. Van Der
Wal
, and W.J.
Assendelft
. United States.
National Library of Medicine.
Effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the
Simeons
therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis
.
.
Bethesda: British Pharmacological Society, 1995.
Web.
<
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1365103/?tool=pmcentrez
>.

Young, R.L., R.J. Fuchs, and M.J.
Woltjen
.
United States.
National Library of Medicine.
Chorionic gonadotropin in weight control.
A double-blind crossover study
.
.
Bethesda
: ,
1976.
Web.
<
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/792477
>.

Smith, Kevin, and C. Laird Birmingham.
United States.
National Library of Medicine.
Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity
. Bethesda
: ,
1983.
Web.

Greenway, Frank, and Bray George.
United States.
National Library of Medicine.
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the Treatment of Obesity
. Bethesda
: ,
1977.
Web.

Sixty-six percent of us are overweight or obese.
 
Chances are
,
that means you.
 
Don't think it just means avoiding a swimsuit.
 
It eventually means insulin injections, blood pressure and cholesterol meds, joint problems, reduced mobility leading to more weight gain, scooter chairs,
eventual
dependence on others and, for some, an early
death.
 
Read all of that again.

Apathy abounds.
 
Take a hard look around.
 
You'll see posture so poor you'd swear everyone had osteoporosis.
 
You'll hear the sound of dragging flip-flops.
 
You'll see gaping, slack-jawed mouths and hear gum smacking.
 
And you can't miss bare-midriff bellies spilling over tops of tight pants.
 
When did it become fashionable for people to go out in public wearing pajamas and hou
se shoes, for crying out loud?

Denial has run amuck.
 
I can quote statistics on current health trends, ask about physical activity and eating habits, and people will say they feel fine.
 
They think none of this applies to them because the
person next to them is fatter.

Don't look at other people
—
look at yourself!
 
And stop
denying and plain old
lying.
 

Everyone wants a healthier life or a smaller body or the ability to get around
without wheezing
.
 
Yet, when I lay out a plan for what it takes to make permanent changes,
out come
the excuses
—
 
no time and no money.
 
I propose cutting back on TV or going to bed a bit earlier so they can get up earlier
—
nope, can't do those.
 
I stare at their $500 purse and $300 cell phone, and ask about discretionary spending – no, no, on a tight budget already.
 
I point out that restaurant lunches can add up to more than $50 per week
—
no way, ca
n't give them up... very busy.

And around we go.

Imagine a friend of yours wanting white teeth but refusing to brush every day.
 
You'd explain that brushing is the bare minimum needed and that less will result in no teeth at all.
 
He still doesn't want to brush.
 
No amount of convincing on your part changes
it.
 
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

Health professionals face these challenges EVERY DAY.
 
People either
don't
care, don't think they have a problem, or prefer to sit back and wish for healthier bodies without lifting a finger.
 
Where's the self-respect and appreciation for the life that's been given?
 
Remember, 66 percent of us are overweight or obese
—
a symptom of not caring a
nd a lot of excuses.

I'm not advocating obsession or self-flagellation.
 
But I am for honesty.
 
We all need to quit lying to ourselves and take charge.
 
Just because you can push the gas pedal in your car and sit upright while you watch television doesn't me
an you are relatively healthy.

Next time you think you can't afford to get healthy say OUT LOUD, "My cell phone, eating out every day, premium coffee, full cable package, designer purse and luxury car are more important than my health."
 
When you tell yourself you don't have time to get healthy, say, "TV shows, running to the mall, talking on the phone about trivial stuff, updating social-networking sites and getting my nails done are m
ore important than my health."

When you are facing insulin injections, 10 pills a day to manage your blood pressure and cholesterol, and Lord only knows what els
e, I hope feeling smaller than
your
fat
friend,
owning a
desi
gner purse, and the memory of last night’s
TV
show bring you great comfort.

References:

United States.
Centers for Disease Control.
Adult Obesity Facts Obesity is common, serious and costly
. Atlanta: Centers for disease control, 2012.
Web.
<
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html/
>.

I’
m in a love/hate relationship.
Not
with a guy, but with numbers.
They are unequivocal, reporting bac
k without emotion or judgment. I love that they don’t lie
—
and I hate it.

For most of us, a number that harangues us d
aily is our weight – whether we get on a scale or not.
And I don’t know about you, but many is a time I wished that dang
ed
scale would toss me a fib.

We’ve all tried to wrigg
le out of facing some numbers.
The Grand
Poobah
is the Body Mass Index (BMI) score, particularly wh
en it tells us we are “obese.”
We’ve laid c
laim to big bones, large frames
or
a general, anatomical density.
We’ve always been a “big guy,” called ourselves “curvy,” or trotted out our level of fitness as testament to the supposedly useless scores.