Recently my mother and sister decided to join Weight Watchers. So far they're off to a good start - my sister has lost three and a half pounds, and my mother is on her heels with two and a half pounds of weight loss. Both mom and sis were part of my inspiration in writing this article, but so is the ever-prevalent mythos of weight loss in American society.
I, myself, have battled fork-to-mouth with fat on a number of occasions in my lifetime. I've tried it all: low-fat, low-carb, glycemic index, food combining, changing eating times, and eating smaller portions more frequently (i.e. smaller but more meals). If there is a technique for weight-loss out there, I've likely tried it.
I want to sing the praises of Weight Watchers. The point system that this program incorporates makes food choices flexible and concise, which is important in the real world. Speaking of the real world, that is praise number two: this particular weight-loss program teaches its followers how to live in the real world! That is amazing in and of itself because none of us live in a bubble, despite what we might think. This program is about balance and flexibility, and long-term results. I've met many people that lost weight on Weight Watchers and managed to keep the weight off over the long-haul. Why? Because they learned how to make wise food choices within the confines of reality!
Which leads to my huge disgust of fad diets! Fad diets do not teach you how to eat and make informed food choices, folks! Who among us can live off tacos for the rest of our lives? Or cut out carbohydrates forever? Or only eat 600 calories a day, washed down with three gallons of water? These are example scenarios twisted around real fad diets that I have studied. The point is clear: fad diets may lead to temporary weight loss, but what happens when you decide to skip the tacos and start eating real food again? Or when you collapse from exhaustion and/or starvation because the human body is not meant to solely consume 600 calories a day (male or female)? Eventually you will have to contend with the real world, and that means real world food choices!
In my experience, learning to like exercise was also crucial in fighting off the dreaded pounds. I've seen many nutritionists say that weight is sixty percent nutrition and forty percent exercise. So although what you eat accounts for a larger percentage of our weight, lack of exercise is also a significant contributor. For those of you that already enjoy exercise but continue to eat an entire bag of Doritos during Law and Order and then wonder why the scale refuses to budge: exercise will not correct a bad diet! Exercise has a multitude of benefits besides weight loss, including increased musculature, lowering of blood pressure, and increased metabolism even during periods of inactivity. My personal favorite (and for those of you that remember the movie Legally Blond as well as I do): exercise makes you happy!
Lastly, the word diet is evil. I remember seeing a poster in the office of my high school librarian that said "diet" is the word "die with the letter t." I agree! Diets restrict you to certain kinds of eating regimens and do not teach you the science behind nutrition and metabolism. One of the other components of Weight Watchers that I truly admire is the fact that most fruits and vegetables are "freebies" on the point system. The message is clear: healthy food choices like produce over Big Macs are one of the key components to weight loss. If you want to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime, it's time to learn how to make food choices and live in reality. My recommendation (and it worked for me, as I'm 70 pounds lighter than I used to be): learn about calories, fat, carbs, and proteins. And remember, diets may make the scale lighter for a week or two, but eventually you have to come back to Earth!
Now for some disclaiming! In the above paragraphs, I discussed my own opinions of weight-loss amid a twenty-first century American lifestyle. Opinions, however, are just that. Although I enjoy factual research, I am by no means a medical doctor. If you heed something I write with the expectation that I have firsthand medical knowledge, you do so at your own risk! I'm a fan of the human body and medical facts, but that does not make me an expert!
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