Obesity – Why Quick Fixes Don’t Work

“More die in the United States of too much food than of too little.” -
-John Kenneth Galbraith, the Affluent Society.

The problem of obesity and overweight has created a significant clamor not only among health professionals in the United States but also among the individuals who are directly concerned with it.

As recent studies show, this problem have been common both in adults and the children. In 2005, with a collaboration of a group of scientists, partly supported by the National Institute on Aging (a component of the National Institutes of Health), a report was released that over the next few decades rising obesity could decline the life expectancy of the average American citizen by 5 years. This is also further justified by succeeding studies on the negative effect of obesity on the life expectancy of the stakeholders.



On the other hand, obese women, like men, have increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, general ill health and premature painful death. Obese and overweight people suffer more hypertension, joint disease, and kidney disease.
So what’s next? Losing weight through diets? While some succeed in shedding a few pounds, very few manage to keep it off. And most often quick fixes does not work. Why is it?

Basically a lot of people look for effortless weight-loss methods. So they fall for false claims like ‘Don’t burn or sweat, lose 10 pounds’ or ‘Enjoy parties and still stay fit’. A lot of money is invested in powders, gadgets, and programs that promise a ‘new you’. But at the end of it all, you realize there is ‘no gain without pain’. Even if you have lost a few pounds, you may gain all of it and more.

I will try to let you in on the secrets that you also can use to lose weight successfully and keep it off. But first you must understand these basic principles that underpin any successful weight-loss program.

1. Know why you want to lose weight and be passionate about your goal.
2. See your goal being achieved as a result of weight loss and not other things.
3. Understand why having a firm REASON to lose weight and keeping it off is CRITICAL.
4. Do it for yourself.
5. Have a supportive environment.
6. Understand the food code – I make it easy to understand and work with a balanced food code.
The more natural the food the better – why?
The lower the GI the better.
The lower the GI load the better.
7. Set time aside to lose weight and stick to the plan.
8. Learn to manage and control the demons within you! Stop binge eating!
9. Write all that you eat religiously – so you know how much you are eating.
10. Write down all the activities that you do – so you can tell how much energy you are spending.
11. Get as many aides as you can afford to help you along the way- hypnosis, exercise music, yoga, diet sheets, recipes etc.
12. Know why regular meals (within the bounds of your daily energy needs) works in your favour.
13. Eat slowly – at every meal. I explain why this is very important.
14. Practice this equation: The energy you spend MUST be more than the energy you take in.
15. Resetting your weight set point is a journey not a sprint!

Being able to consider these principles will help you set the foundations of your goal, that is to lose weight and maintain good health. See the next articles and learn the principles one by one.