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Weight Loss Information from experts |
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Americas Secret Addiction
America is a nation of self-disclosers, amiably acceptant of our weaknesses. Celebrities, family members, coworkers and friends think nothing of admitting their compulsions and dependencies on alcohol, street drugs, prescription medications. We enter rehab programs, clean up, dry out, and go on with our lives: beating our problem or entering a long series of relapses and treatment episodes. Except, perhaps, for politicians or ministers, there is little social stigma attached to such mistakes unless there are criminal overtones that may lead to incarceration. Television and films have educated us on the dangers and side effects of dependence upon alcohol, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, designer drugs, steroids, pain pills, cannabis and opium. We had to coin the term chemical dependency (CD) to completely cover the broad and ever-growing field. We approach individuals ensnared in their abuse as victims of a disease, to be educated and helped as long as they have a willingness to change and are prepared for the painful journey that owning responsibility for one's own self-destructive behavior demands. But the most widespread, self-destructive, dangerous addiction afflicting America is never discussed: FOOD. The treatment of overeating is extensive: diet clinics, fitness programs, fat farms, plastic surgery. We collectively spend billions of dollars on weight loss aids and fitness equipment. We decry the epidemic of obesity that is overtaking our population to an enormous (literally) degree. We investigate metabolism and hormonal effects. We debate the comparative merits and flaws of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and roughage. We develop new vitamin and mineral formulae. Diet books, support groups, internet clubs, and television shows trumpet tips, techniques, special aids and hundreds of weight control regimes that promise inevitable weight loss with the right combination of "tasty" and "delicious" foods, guaranteed to ensure that our comfort levels remain high and our self-discipline minimally challenged. We fail to confront the irrefutable fact that obesity is caused by food addiction. Excuses and metabolic rationales aside (No, Virginia, no one ever walked out of a Nazi concentration camp or a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp fat -macabre but true) our out-of-control overweight is a direct result of our obsession with, and dependency on, too much food. You may disagree. After all, the other CD addictions are for substances we can totally banish from our lives whereas we have to eat to live. Consider the problem from a slightly different perspective. In the United States, an "all or nothing" society, the goal of the typical CD treatment program is total abstention. The alcoholic is taught that one sip of liquor is never acceptable and constitutes a full relapse from which recovery must start over. In Europe, and many other parts of the world, moderation is considered more realistic than abstention. The goal is to lower the level of usage to the point where it has no deleterious effects on the user's life and the problems - work, relationships, mood, productivity -are resolved. Such a model can more easily be applied to food. Our bodies require a certain level of sustenance to thrive. It is when the intake becomes excessive that problems arise: appearance, the inability to be active, fatigue, depressed mood, and strains on the internal organs. If we can temper that level of intake, we can avert the consequences that follow overindulgence in anything. Such is indeed the focus of many weight control programs. However, they are missing one vital ingredient: acceptance of personal responsibility. At a 12-Step meeting, members repetitively admit to the group: "My name is B and I'm an alcoholic." Imagine, if you will, the different atmosphere that would be engendered if a member were to state: "My name is B. I drink a lot because I inherited the genes from my drunken parents and I can't drink, like all my friends can, without overdoing it. It's so unfair that everyone else can enjoy a drink and I can't." Such a statement sounds ridiculous coming from an admitted problem drinker yet that is exactly what we allow from our problem eaters. It is far more likely that we will tell a close friend: "M, I think you have a problem with alcohol and I want you to get help," than we will tell an equally close friend: "G, I think you have a problem with too much eating and I want you to get help." We remain silent about overweight because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. We use euphemisms like "heavy" and "queen-sized" to avoid the word "fat." When a very overweight friend asks plaintively, "Don't you think this dress makes me look slimmer?" we quietly agree, refusing to give the honest answer that nothing in the world will make her look slimmer except losing 60 pounds of avoirdupois! One lesson learned over decades of CD research and treatment is that the problem must be acknowledged before it can be addressed and beaten. CD clients are notorious for making excuses, playing mind games with those around them, and shirking self-responsibility whenever they can. If we can bring ourselves to acknowledge that we are addicted to food, it allows for eventual movement into a process of change, bypassing the excuses and rationalizations at which overeaters excel -- to an extent that their CD counterparts would admire. Confrontation of the problem requires that we drop the fa�ade of politeness and euphemistic phrasing. As a society, we need to look at others and ourselves and call it as we see it. If I'm fat, I'm fat, and it's my responsibility to not only admit that honestly, but to also admit to myself and the world that it is my fault: I am the one who made myself fat. No one else forced food into my mouth. Like the recovering alcoholic at the bar, I can always say no or drink a plain club soda. Like the recovering cocaine addict who learns to stay away from certain street corners or drug houses, I can stay away from bakeries, fast food outlets, and pizza parlors. Weight control can be simple - eat only what you need to survive - but never easy. The fallacy of many diets is that we can lose weight without suffering. Stopping or minimizing CD abuse is always painful and a craving for chocolate, ice cream, or the urge for sugar (no one seems to crave vegetables) can be as overwhelming to the dieter as the addict's emotional need for his drug of choice. Naming our national weight problem for what it really is, a plain old addiction to food, releases us to start the process of rehab and recovery that has been so completely developed in the CD field. Honesty, and the willingness to work through pain to reach our goal, allows us to not only accept our responsibility for our problem but also to relish the triumph of our eventual success. Virginia Bola is a licensed psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic. She specializes in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. The author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a free ezine, The Worker's Edge, she recently completed a psychologically-based weight control book: Diet with an Attitude:A Weight Loss Workbook. She can be reached at http://www.DietWithAnAttitude.com
MORE RESOURCES: Eli Lilly will soon release key data on its weight loss pill. Here's why it could be a game-changer CNBC After Ozempic Left Her “Bedridden,” Amy Schumer Opened Up About Using A New Weight Loss Drug BuzzFeed Weight loss drug Mounjaro in India: Who needs it, who doesn’t and why it is not for short-term use The Indian Express How time-restricted eating affects weight loss Medical Xpress Weight loss coach says 24-hour water fast can help 'melt stubborn fat': But does it actually work and is it safe? Hindustan Times Are weight-loss medications and surgery right for teens? Boston Children's Discoveries Collective Health and Noom Partner to Offer Comprehensive Weight Management Solution and Integrated GLP-1 Program Business Wire Jason Kelce reveals his 'stupid' weight loss challenge to ‘maintain sanity’ post NFL retirement The Economic Times What Happens When You Combine Turmeric and Honey for Weight Loss Verywell Health Long-Term Data on ESG Show Durable Weight Loss at 10 Years Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News Older Americans want Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs, but cost is a sticking point Medical Economics A new benefit approach to diabetes and weight loss — without a reliance on meds Employee Benefit News What is SADI? The new weight loss surgery Remi Bader had that removes 80% of the stomach The Independent Mitolyn Reviews (DOCTOR INVESTIGATES) Can It Really Boost Energy, Burn Fat & Support Mitochondria Naturally? Yahoo Finance Importance of nutrition while taking weight loss drugs Your News Now Essay | A Year After I Stopped Taking a Weight-Loss Drug, I’ve Lost 20 More Pounds The Wall Street Journal Enjoying junk food could help you shed fat, scientists say in weight loss breakthrough BBC Science Focus Weight-Loss Drug Use Has Risen Sharply Among Children and Adults with Type 1 Diabetes Mega Doctor News Novo Nordisk's next-gen obesity drug CagriSema had investors excited. Now they're not so sure - CNBC Pensions risk: the downside of weight-loss drugs Financial Times Importance of nutrition while taking weight loss drugs WJXT News4JAX Meghan Trainor critics spark Ozempic claims with singer's dramatic weight loss transformation Fox News Novo Nordisk pens $2B deal for triple G agonist tied to 15% weight loss at 12 weeks - Fierce Biotech Fasting during Ramadan was harder this year for this Philly woman – but that's a byproduct of her weight-loss success PhillyVoice.com Mitolyn: Best Supplement for Weight Loss? Mitolyn Redefines the Mitochondrial Approach GlobeNewswire SHIFTING THE SCALE: Weight loss surgery patients take classes to prepare for the changes they’ll face KTIV Siouxland's News Channel WEDS PT 2: Bobby’s Weight Loss Hack + Having A Baby At 42 + Why Bobby Felt Dayton's New Country 103.9 Novo Nordisk earmarks $2bn for Chinese “triple G” weight loss shot Pharmaceutical Technology Remi Bader Reveals She Underwent 'Brutal' Surgery While Addressing Weight Loss for First Time TooFab Fitness trainer shares 4 ways to 'shed fat in 8 weeks' - 'it's key for your weight loss success' GB News Meghan Trainor shocks fans with dramatic weight loss transformation, sparking Ozempic rumors New York Post Timeframe of 8-hour restricted eating irrelevant to weight loss National Institute on Aging Why 1000-lb Sisters' Tammy Slaton Has "Even More Insecurities" After Major Weight Loss - E! Online E! NEWS 'Ozempic-like' weight loss drug Mounjaro creates buzz amid India launch: Price per month, availability, pros and cons Hindustan Times Wealth and health: NC treasurer talks new pension strategy, weight-loss drug coverage and more WRAL News Meghan Trainor shocks fans with dramatic weight loss in new photos: ‘Where did all the bass go?’ Page Six These Supplements Promise To Lower Blood Sugar And Help You Lose Weight—But Do They Work? Women's Health From having butter coffee to green juice; Debinna Bonnerjee shares her weight loss and diet tips The Times of India |
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