Weight Loss Introduction

Glad you stopped by. Now tell us, have you ever been on a diet? If so, raise your hand.

How many of you are yo-yo dieters? You know, hopping from one diet to the next, searching for that one miracle diet that will shed weight off you like snow melting off a roof? Can you remember how many diets you have tried? Try writing them down before continuing reading.

Why do you suppose that losing weight and keeping it off is so difficult for so many people? It sounds easy enough, and heaven knows there are enough diet guidebooks out there to lead the weight loss parade. Did you know that in just the United States alone, people spent over 40 BILLION dollars on diet programs, diet pills, diet books and surgeries to lose weight in 2006?

According to Forbes Magazine, Americans rank 29th in life expectancy worldwide, Japan comes in first. Researchers have found that the traditional Asian eats a wholesome diet and enjoys an active lifestyle. They eat very little red meat and instead their meals consist of green vegetables and fish or chicken.

One fourth of Americans are overweight, the majority of obesity is now occurring in children. According to the American Obesity Association-

"Today's youth are considered the most inactive generation in history caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities."

Obesity in both children and adults leads to complicated health issues such as: heart disease, diabetes, asthma and joint problems. They also suffer from psychological problems by being tormented by their peers for their obesity.

The media pelts us daily with advertisements recommending that we "Take a pill to lose weight." Companies promise that if we pop their diet pill or drink their diet shake that "Pounds will melt right off!" The only pound I ever saw "melt" was a pound of butter that had fallen out of the grocery sack and lay underneath the seat of my car for a few days. There are even claims that you can loose weight while you sleep! Are they kidding? Some of us have lost our self-control, or we are eating the same way we did as kids. We’d like to think that diet salvation lies in a tiny blue/green or orange pill that we just take once a day, then wake up a size smaller.

The truth is, you have been conditioned to eat all the wrong things, unless you are in tip-top athletic shape, what you know about proper nutrition for your body could fit in a teacup. Instead of walking, you plop on the couch. Rather than play a team sport, you opt for the video game controller. You probably don't plan meal but go for the simpler fixes, casseroles in a box, frozen foods, take-out pizza.

It's time to claim your life back. To take control of how you look, you need to start changing how you think and analyze how you view food. It’s time to start changing your lifestyle and throw the word diet out of your dictionary of life!