PART I

Weighing In, Eating Right, and Taking It All Off

1

Weigh Yourself Daily

Common Opinion: You can throw away your scales and track your weight-loss and fitness program by how well your clothes fit.

Medical Opinion: Your weight will vary a few pounds from day to day, and at different times during the same day. What you ate yesterday will not add extra pounds to your figure the following morning. However, what you eat will eventually show up there in real numbers.

Obesity kills. It also undermines your quality of life. Hypertension, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, gout, blindness, birth defects, trauma, gallbladder problems, bone and joint degeneration, and aches and pains are all attributed to obesity.

Charles Hennekens, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston, points out that Americans are the fattest people on earth (except for the residents of a few Pacific islands). In fact, the United States is the heaviest society in the history of the world. The fattest age groups are men ages 50 to 69, and women ages 50 to 59. They are twice as likely to be obese as people in their 20s. Obesity among all males increased 72 percent from 1978 to 1995, with a 79 percent increase among males 50 to 69 years old. Among women the increase was 58 percent overall and 21 percent for those 50 to 69 years old.

Simple Change: You shouldn't overlook the use of a scale as a positive motivational tool in your health-and-fitness regime and as a daily reminder that you need to achieve an ideal weight.

P.S.: I was never extremely obese. Yet slowly, over the years, I gained forty pounds. That fact as well as a serious illness prompted me to develop a healthier lifestyle. I have changed several aspects of my daily routine, most notably one related to weight loss. Like so many of my patients, in the past I had tried multiple "diets." All were unsuccessful in keeping the weight off.

Why? By definition, a diet is bound to fail. A diet is something you stick with for a given length of time. It has a beginning and an end. The truth is, there is no end to achieving and maintaining your optimum weight.

I changed my eating habits stressing only one principle: "total calories in, total calories out." I lost forty pounds and five inches from my waist. This took approximately eight months. That was two years ago. I weigh myself every morning. I eat only when I'm hungry. I eat low-fat foods. Occasionally I do have a piece of pizza, but only one.

When my patients suggest that they are too old to change their habits, I simply relate my story and remind them that I am fifty-nine years old.

2

Be Hungry at Least Once Every Day

Common Opinion: You need to eat three balanced meals each day.

Medical Opinion: Your ideal weight is achieved and maintained by "total calories in, total calories out." There is nothing magical about eating at 7:00 A.M., noon, and 7:00 P.M. If you aren't hungry, don't eat. How many times do you go out to lunch with friends or colleagues just because you are asked? Do you reward yourselves with food for all your hard work every morning? Many people fall into an eating routine but are seldom hungry!

We often eat for the wrong reasons. We're bored. We're watching television. We're depressed. We're killing time. We need stimulation. Food is a pastime for many people.

If you are overweight, you need to burn more calories than you take into your body. Every day. Period. You can do this by eating sensible portions of low-fat, high-protein, high-fiber foods and by performing an adequate amount of activity.

Simple Change: Think before you eat. Make certain you are really hungry. If you aren't hungry, don't eat!

3

Look at Yourself Nude in a Full-Length Mirror

Common Opinion: Looking at yourself in a mirror is to be avoided at all costs when you're trying to lose weight.

Medical Opinion: There's nothing like body image to spur you toward healthy eating habits. Recently, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine stated that "the vast amount of money spent on diet clubs, special foods, and over-the-counter remedies, estimated to be on the order of $30 million to $50 million yearly, is wasted." Incentive, motivation, and feedback are strategies that weight loss centers use to divest you of your hard-earned money. Most centers also rely on medications as part of their total weight-loss plans.

Simple Change: Stand stark naked before a full-length mirror. Look at your entire body. With middle age comes the likelihood of increased fat around the middle. "Love handles," "spare tire," and "beer belly" are just a few of the unpleasant names we have assigned to this condition. If you don't like what you see, change it. Play mental games with yourself. Imagine your hips less full, a tummy that doesn't protrude, firmer upper arms, only one chin. Now keep that image with you as you go about your day. Try it. It works.

4

Start Your Day with a Bowl of Bran Cereal

Common Opinion: Eating a high-fiber diet means starting every morning with a glass of bad-tasting liquid...