Weight Loss

No topic generates a larger variety of opposing opinions than weight loss. I

could devote chapters to it, but let me have a few points.

1. Fad diets seldom work. Weight loss can be achieved, but the price paid can

be nutrition, stamina, loss of valuable nutrients and electrolytes (those

minerals in the body that are necessary for bodily functions). Fad diets

almost always lead to cravings. Those cravings actually lead to weight gains,

rather than loss. Then, at so me point, the fad passes and life begins anew.

Weight invariably climb and the yo-yo effect that I know all-to- well

commences.

2. Sadly, successful weight loss still comes down to an equation. Take in fewer

calories and burn those calories in exercise and with the exception of rare

medical conditions you’ll lose weight. Roughly three thousand calories

equals one pound. To lose one pound, you must take in or burn three

thousand calories less than required for maintenance. My treadmill tells me

that when I walk thirty minutes at four miles per hour at a five degree incline

I have burned about three hundred calories. In ten days I will lose a pound.

To increase that I have to consume fewer calories or exercise even more.

3. Dieting, to be successful, must become part of life style. None of us want to

be starved. And let’s be honest. Food is not only necessary for survival; it is

an intricate part of our lives. Food and pleasure are intricately associated.

The most successful diet programs are those that modify intake moderately

and can be incorporated into a long term.

4. Diet pills, like fads, just do not work for long-term weight loss. I’ve learned

over the years that the diet pills (amphetamines) and hormonal treatments

work, temporarily. At best they are able to give a sense of confidence while a

new life style is instituted, but inevitably tolerance develops and they lose

their potency. Hormonal treatments continue to be popular, but are almost

always pared with an amphetamine, and diet/lifestyle changes.

Healthy lifestyles, exercise, diet for life, continue to succeed.

Remember, the plan is literally for life. Persevere, be patient, don’t get

discouraged at every minor indiscretion; we’re in the for the “long-haul.”

And, finally, be positive and be happy. An unhappy overweight person

will also be an unhappy thin person if no other life changes are made.

I’ll have more details in future postings.