... Then Just Stay Fat.

Contents

What the hell kind of title is that?
             
4

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
             
6

Diet isn’t a Four-Letter Word
             
8

There Are No Magic Beans
             
8

Time to Face the Truth
             
10

Numbers Don’t Lie
             
11

Don’t Get Fat in the First Place
             
13

On Starvation Mode
             
14

Geez Louise…
             
16

Dear Medical Media
             
18

Celebrity Fatness
             
19

Yoga Shorts
             
20

This Is Gonna Give ME a Heart Attack
             
21

Lies, Damned Lies, and Weight Loss Sound Bites
             
23

We Need a Simple Message
             
24

Mirror Mirror on the Wall
             
26

We Like It Complicated
             
28

About Metabolisms
             
29

It’s All Relative
             
30

Healthy Eating?
             
30

Gluttony Gene
             
31

Yo-Yo Dieting
             
33

Suck It Up
             
35

Commitment
             
37

Whatever Happened to No?
             
38

The Deconditioned Paradox
             
39

Get Comfortable with Discomfort
             
40

Yep, Weight Loss is Hard
             
42

Oh Yeah?  Well Now What?
             
46

Don’t Be Hatin’
             
48

I Can Save You Time and Money
             
49

Waste Some Food
             
50

Learn from My Observations
             
51

The Power of the Right Attitude
             
52

Be Supportive, Damn It!
             
53

Kung Fu Master
             
53

The Big Duh
             
55

The Big Secret
             
57

Beyond the Big Secret
             
59

The Four Ps of Weight Loss
             
62

Perception
             
62

Plan
             
64

Persistence
             
66

Patience
             
68

Final Thoughts
             
71

Helpful Resources
             
74

US National Library of Medicine (National Institutes of Health) – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
             
75

Federal Trade Commission – http://ftc.gov
             
75

U.S. Food and Drug Administration – http://fda.gov
             
75

National Association of Attorneys General – http://naag.org
             
75

Exercise Prescription – http://exrx.net
             
75

dotFIT Online Fitness and Weight Loss Programs – http://.dotfit.com
             
75

What the hell kind of title is that?

I’ve been heavy and I’ve been not so heavy (I avoid saying, “skinny,” because I’ve never felt skinny a day in my life). The word DIET has been part of my vocabulary since I was at least 9. I spent years upset, depressed, frustrated and plain confused. There were times I lost weight (and felt over the moon) and then gained a ton of it (and felt like crap). I read books, listened to tapes, joined programs – power walking, low-carb, eat your “large meal” within one hour (it was supposed to sneak the food past your insulin response; you’d be surprised how much you can cram down quickly if you plan for it), drink more water (I sloshed), explored my emotions and captured my feelings when I ate or didn’t eat (was “hungry” an emotion?), asked countless skinny girls exploratory questions... you get the picture.

Being “skinny” felt as vague and convoluted as how to get to the moon.
Theoretically I knew it was possible to pull it off; it just seemed overwhelming and daunting. All I could manage was awe for those who had managed it, and forever chastised myself for not being among them.

Looking back, I can see I was fumbling toward the answer – and fumbling is an understatement. But fumble I did and I eventually “figured it all out.” I itched to share my newfound knowledge, absolutely convinced “the truth” would set us all free. I changed careers and built a studio gym – ready to herald my knowledge and spread “the word.”

Sometimes, the recipients took the information and ran with it – a huge success. Most times I found myself pulling teeth (and my own hair) trying to get an overweight person to “get it.” I’ve heard every excuse there is for the scale not moving:


       
I’m too busy


       
I’ve been out of town


       
TV was good last night


       
I had to go out to dinner a lot this week


       
I’ve been sick


       
the conference lunch had bad food choices


       
my job is stressful


       
I’m
PMSing


       
I’ve been busy


       
I’m backed up (and I don’t mean scheduling)


       
they made me a cake


       
I’m too busy


       
I need wine


       
I’m genetically fat


       
my family is sick


       
I’m allergic to South African bee pollen


       
my car is at the shop


       
my dog is sick


       
these are new shoes


       
my metabolism thinks I’m starving


       
my child failed a test


       
Dunkin' Donuts had a sale


       
I usually weigh-in in the morning


       
the soft serve yogurt with Oreo toppings was for calcium


       
I’m too busy


       
my cat is sick


       
beer helps me relax


       
my tree fell over


       
I forgot to wash my workout clothes


       
I’m tired


       
these are different clothes


       
my pinky nail fell off


       
my fridge died; I had to eat it all


       
the moon is out of phase with Jupiter


       
I’m too busy

And to that I eventually said, “…then just stay fat.”

A book was born.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

We need to stop lying
to ourselves and quit
swallowing
all of
the media headlines. Diets aren’t bad,
and
we aren’t starving or ruining our metabolisms
. C
hances are you won’t lose weight fast
. S
top wasting time looking for a silver bullet. It’s not there.

Diet isn’t a Four-Letter Word

The word "diet" has taken a beating. We've come to equate it with punishment, denial, maybe a little shame and, of course, failure. The poor word is now branded. We treat it as evil incarnate. All the talking heads continually repeat “diets don't work.” And our brains hear "don't deny myself
—
eat what I want."

First of all, the word “diet” means the stuff you eat. We all are on a diet of some sort. Or maybe you have abstained from all nutrition, but I
doubt
it.

Second of all, I've got news for you.
D
iets, meaning calorie restriction, DO work. Yes, I said it.
 
Diets work.
 
If you restrict what you eat below what you need each day to run your body, the scale will move. If it doesn't, you need to hurry yourself over to a research lab and let them write you up in a medical journal, because you have figured out how to create energy from nothing.