Chubby No More, Professional Copy

When are we going to admit that the weight loss approach used by most diet plans, dieters, and health care professionals SIMPLY IS NOT WORKING? The weight loss process has become distorted and dysfunctional. Individuals may take weight off initially, but those pounds are regained as the months go by.  Many times, the well intentioned people who implement various weight loss plans have an ineffective attitude towards the dieter.

The overweight individual is often treated like a naughty child.  Guilt, shame and scolding are several of the unhealthy methods used to motivate.  The dieter allows this treatment because he or she believes the fault lies within them. The integrity of the dieter is not preserved. Self esteem drops as a result of this treatment, and self confidence for successful weight loss disappears.

The emphasis must change if progress it to be made. Weight loss plans should teach the dieter to trust his or her food behaviors.  All blame and scolding must be removed. Instead of striving for “healthy food choices” and “ideal body weight”, individuals should be taught how to have a “healthy attitude” towards the food and weight issues. Instead of becoming MORE obsessed with weight and diets, the process of weight control should teach individuals how to think LESS about eating habits &/or weight.

It is possible that the very obsession which runs rampant in society today is making us sicker than any “unhealthy” food choice ever could. Let’s stop blaming the food for our eating behaviors.

The lesson to be learned in the process is this: As attention to diet and weight increases, so does the level of difficulty in weight loss maintenance.

The path to permanent weight loss must start with the inside machinery of the individual, i.e. the mind and emotions.  Complete and permanent weight control is then possible.

A comparison analogy is this: If your car doesn’t start, would you paint and polish the outside of the car to repair the engine? Of course not! Repair must start on the inside.

Success stories are told too soon. Within 2 years of weight loss, ~90% of those individuals who successfully lost weight will gain it back. The weight loss process has become a series of “starter” diets, each restrictive in some way. Success is claimed prematurely.  When the individual regains the weight, he or she is often told to go back and re-do what they did, or to try a better weight loss plan, see a psychiatrist, get a support group, etc.

These individuals deserve a better solution. Permanent weight loss results are possible for almost anyone who has made the effort and lost the weight.