| Look around and you will see that you are | | | | to be healthy.WELL, I CAN'T JUST SPEND MY DAY |
| surrounded by weight loss "secrets", diet | | | | EXERCISING FROM DAWN TO DUSK!That was the |
| pills that imply they can do it all for you, | | | | other side of the equation, wasn't it? Well, |
| drinks that will "help" you lose weight, | | | | you're absolutely correct, and I would begin |
| doctors with "secret weight loss formulas", | | | | to worry about you if you did. You don't |
| fad diets that promise all kinds of wonderful | | | | have to go to that extreme. There is a |
| weight loss effects...you can't help but | | | | solution.WHAT? YOU'LL SIGN ON AS MY PERSONAL |
| wonder who's telling you the truth. Then | | | | TRAINER?Nope! I'm too lazy for that, but YOU |
| there's the biggest question of all. Is there | | | | can sign on as your personal trainer. That |
| such a thing as a weight loss | | | | is, you can do a little experimentation, find |
| secret?Something is only a "secret" as long | | | | some activities you like and begin doing one |
| as no one knows about it. The "truth" about | | | | or more of them on a regular basis...three or |
| weight loss has been known for a long time, | | | | four times a week, let's say. You could |
| so it's not really a secret.If you take a | | | | garden, ride a bike, play with the kids or |
| look at the label of most diet pills, drinks, | | | | grandkids, take a walk, do some yoga, lift |
| meal substitutes, diet books, and other | | | | weights...the list goes on. You don't have |
| weight loss problem, you will begin to notice | | | | to do all of them every day, and if you find |
| that they often have one thing in common. | | | | one you really like, you can do it several |
| Again and again, they have statements that | | | | times a week if you want. One thing to |
| say something to the effect of "...when used | | | | remember, of course, is that you should ease |
| with exercise and proper nutrition."The | | | | into any program and only increase it once |
| secret is, that most, if not all of these | | | | you are sure that you are fine at the level |
| diet products at best only ASSIST in what | | | | you are at...and then, increase it gradually. |
| nature can do almost perfectly well without | | | | I've seen some champion bodybuilders who |
| their help!The basic biology and physics of | | | | started out lifting just the barbell with no |
| weight gain and weight loss has been known | | | | weights on it at all, and I know of runners |
| for years! Even if your math wasn't too good | | | | who started out by walking to the mailbox and |
| in school, this equation is easy. Take in | | | | back. In the army, I used to run six miles |
| more calories than you burn...you gain | | | | or more, but when I started running, I barely |
| weight. Burn more calories than you take | | | | got a block down the road before I had to |
| in...you lose weight. The problem, and it's | | | | drop back to walking.Start making some small |
| not a secret, is that we are human!SO WHAT'S | | | | changes to your diet as well. I am using the |
| WRONG WITH BEING HUMAN, BUD!There is nothing | | | | word "diet" in this case to mean the things |
| wrong with BEING human. In fact, sometimes I | | | | you eat, not some particular diet. Start |
| even talk to one. I have a couple of human | | | | popping a multivitamin every day. You may |
| friends, one lives next door (I think), and I | | | | find that helps make you feel a tiny bit more |
| would even let my daughter marry one. The | | | | energetic. Cut out sugar. As much as I |
| problem is that each human is, as Sister Mary | | | | don't like artificial sweeteners, they are |
| Fides used to drum into our teenage human | | | | probably going to be better for you than |
| skulls, unique. This means that if I show | | | | sugar. If, like me, you worry about the |
| you the perfect weight loss program and it | | | | effects of artificial sweeteners, try stevia. |
| works like a charm for you, your next door | | | | My wife and I have been using it for some |
| neighbor might have a problem making that | | | | time. It took a little getting used to, but |
| exact program work for her or him.WHY WOULD A | | | | I have noticed a definite decrease in |
| WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM WORK FOR ONE PERSON AND | | | | heartburn and carb cravings.Educate yourself |
| NOT ANOTHER?As Shakespeare has Cassius say in | | | | about nutrition and exercise. You don't have |
| Julius Caesar, "The fault, dear Brutus, is | | | | to take a college course. If you are reading |
| not in our stars, but in ourselves...!"Now, I | | | | this online, you can go to or mayoclinic.com/ |
| am NOT saying that it is YOUR FAULT, per se, | | | | and get a lot of great health, fitness, and |
| but the difficulty of making one magic thing, | | | | weight loss information.Read food labels, and |
| even the perfect weight loss program, lies in | | | | start thinking about what you are putting in |
| the very uniqueness that makes us so | | | | your mouth. Most of us can look at some |
| human.One person inherits some genes that | | | | foods and realize that they might not be good |
| tend to make them fatter than others. | | | | for us, at least not in large quantities, so |
| Another person would have been a lot smaller, | | | | cut you portion sizes. Don't know what a |
| but they were raised in a home where a type | | | | portion size is? Look on the label!Stay away |
| of cooking or lifestyle was common that | | | | from prepackaged foods, junk food, fast food, |
| encouraged them to grow fatter. Someone else | | | | or learn enough about them to make |
| experiences some severe emotional ups and | | | | intelligent choices.SET SOME GOALSThis is |
| downs that contribute to bad eating habits | | | | where I'm supposed to tell you to decide to |
| that cause them to gain weight. Nature | | | | lose X number of pounds in Y number of days, |
| designed some chemical changes in our bodies | | | | right? Wrong. This is where I tell you to |
| to meet certain needs, and we changed OUR | | | | start setting some performance goals about |
| natural surroundings so that these changes | | | | how you are going to try to live. I say |
| now work against us rather than serving us. | | | | "try" because you WILL slip from time to |
| And if any one of those isn't enough, most | | | | time, and there will be times you will just |
| people who are overweight actually have more | | | | have to make do in a situation and eat that |
| than one of these things going on, and some | | | | Big Mac, darn it! Go ahead, make the |
| of them actually increase the affect of other | | | | sacrifice and eat it, but then get back on |
| contributing factors!We have other | | | | the wagon. Don't worry about a Big Mac or a |
| differences that make it difficult to create | | | | single bowl of ice cream or even a binge |
| a one-size-fits-all weight loss program. | | | | after you catch him/her cheating on you. The |
| Your brother-in-law loves to work out with | | | | occasional dietary sin will not send you |
| weights, but that bores you to tears. Your | | | | plunging back into fat hell...unless you let |
| neighbor has a Bowflex and you think it is | | | | it.ON THAT NOTE....Grow up, take charge, and |
| great, but you travel a lot and can't figure | | | | quit looking around for someone or something |
| out how to take a Bowflex with you! Your | | | | to blame. Oh, maybe there are a lot of |
| cousin lost a lot of weight on a certain | | | | reasons why you got fat, and maybe they are |
| diet, but your metabolism is different, and | | | | reasons that you had no control over, but the |
| you didn't really lose any weight when you | | | | point is that losing weight is going to |
| tried it. In fact, you tried diet after diet | | | | happen today and tomorrow, and it is going to |
| and actually GAINED weight! By the way, it | | | | depend on the future choices you make, not on |
| is fairly common to gain weight when you try | | | | what the past has done to you. My father, |
| a lot of different diets. It's slightly | | | | who was a good man otherwise, was an |
| complicated to go into here, but often when | | | | alcoholic. I cannot let that change who I am |
| you go on a diet and then come back off of | | | | going to be today or tomorrow, unless I use |
| it, your body has learned to get by on fewer | | | | it as an incentive to be better because of |
| calories. Once you go back to eating like | | | | it.The author is retired from the Army after |
| you used to, it now has extra calories to | | | | 21 years of service, has worked as an |
| store as fat. Remember our equations up | | | | accountant, optical lab manager, restaurant |
| above?There are also many people who want the | | | | manager, and instructor. He has been a member |
| "lose 30 pounds in 30 days" promise to be | | | | of Mensa for several years, and has written |
| true. They have been so upset over their | | | | and published poetry, essays, and articles on |
| weight for so long that they want to believe | | | | various subjects for the last 40 years. He |
| that almost any claim is true, no matter how | | | | developed an interest in health and fitness |
| silly it seems, or how dangerous to their | | | | in the '70s after reading numerous books, |
| health it actually is!CAN'T I JUST CUT WAY | | | | including Dr. Kenneth Cooper's "Aerobics". |
| BACK ON CALORIES?Probably, you (and I) could | | | | This has led him to continue his personal |
| stand to cut some of the calories out of our | | | | research into health and fitness for over 30 |
| daily diet. However, there is a point at | | | | years, and to pursue course work on the |
| which the body resets some internal bells and | | | | subjects of health and fitness, including |
| whistles, and we may actually begin to gain | | | | yoga, which he practices regularly. Learn |
| weight. Also, cutting out food means cutting | | | | more about vitamins and weight loss. |
| out the nutritional elements our body needs | | | | |