MC Odd

I work in a book shop, so I get to witness first-hand all trends, fads and obsessions in the literary world. Aside from the usual Twilight and Stieg Larsson hype, there are a couple of weight loss books that are in huge demand at the moment: "The Dukan Diet" and "The Flat Belly Diet".
These have made me think, and I've realised that there's never more than a few months between diet book fads. Someone on The View or Oprah or some equally terrible daytime TV show pushes the flavour-of-the-month "new, amazing, revolutionary, easy" weight loss book that "really works!", and every blind sheep rushes out to their nearest bookseller so they can add it to their collection, not realising that the only thing that's going to lose weight is their wallet.



Now I'm not going to write here about the evils of media for making everyone want to be slimmer than a strand of DNA; that's another article (which I may yet write).
Today I'm giving everyone in search of a weight loss solution the benefit of the doubt, assuming they are in fact overweight, and looking at why these faddish "quick-fix" diet books are a waste of time, money, and space.

And its actually really simple: there's no such thing as an quick, easy way to lose weight without getting surgery. The body just doesn't work that way. Some people will have an easier time than others, or get results faster as a result of their body type, metabolism and such, but nobody gets to shed pounds for free.

Want to get slim? You have to work for it.
That brings us to the fatal flaw of these schemes: They're counter-intuitive. They promote laziness, taking the easy way out, which is exactly the quality that leads to fat gains.
We eat fast food because we're too lazy to cook. We drive to work, even though its only a kilometre away, because we're too lazy to walk.
Magic, revolutionary new diet plans prevent any proper, long term weight loss because they teach and encourage the exact quality that caused us to be fat in the first place.
I'm sure you've seen someone with this bumper sticker/keyring/whatever: "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity."
Same concept. Exactly.

Want even more solid proof that these concepts don't work? The fact that a new incredible, space age, world-change diet plan pops up every few months proves explicitly how well they don't work.
If there could possibly exist a book that does what they all claim to do, and helped you lose weight without any effort on your part, and keep it, and make you 15x sexier for the summer months ahead, then the market would be tapped. Nobody would bother writing another (unless they were looking for a creative way to set a pile of money on fire), because nobody would buy it, because everyone's already having so much success with the one-size-fits-all Super Duper Ezy-Diet 4000.
These books haven't worked for you so far; so why would the latest one be any different?


However, all is not lost! This doesn't mean you can't lose weight! Here is the proven method to drop pounds, and keep them off, and I'm sharing it with you, 100% free of charge.
But it's not easy. And it's not quick. It requires commitment and discipline, because only by developing these qualities will you actually have any real success with your weight loss goals.

1. Put down the fork.
Stop eating so much unhealthy food. It's no secret. Jonesing for a sweet snack? Eat an apple instead of a chocolate bar. Have smaller portions. Switch to wholewheat bread.
Do note, though, that "Lite/Low Fat" variations aren't going to help you a whole lot. They come with a whole host of other problems from being mutated into their low-fat form, and just like the books, they promote trying to lose weight without looking at why you're fat to begin with. Don't go "lite", just eat less of that food.

2. Pick up your feet. (And put them on a treadmill)
Exercise. Again, this is no big secret. Exercising consumes energy, and will tap into the bodies excess energy reserves (fat) when not enough energy can be absorbed from food. There are plenty of different ways to exercise; everyone can find something that are capable of and enjoy well enough to be able to stick to a routine for.

It's a fairly simple concept: when you expend more calories than you eat, you lose weight. So eat fewer calories, and spend more of them. It won't be easy; you have to adjust your lifestyle habits, create time to prepare meals and exercise, discipline yourself so that you don't slip back into old habits.
It also won't be quick (depending on how much you're aiming to shed), you won't suddenly be 10 kilograms lighter. I can't tell how long it will take; that depends on your body, how you eat, and how you exercise. I can tell you, though, that it will take longer than you want, and longer than you expect. You just have to stick at it.

When you lose weight this way, you'll keep it off, because you've trained yourself to be less lazy. Essentially, you've trained yourself to be slimmer.


So when the next diet book fad pops up, what are you going to do? Believe the TV people when they tell you this one is different and actually works, even though you know it won't, or take that $30 and put it toward a gym membership, bicycle or a new pair of running shoes?