Weightloss. It’s what’s on most adults’ minds right now, and if not now, then later. And for those people who never have to worry about their weight…we all hate you! 😉 We live in the age of fad diets like “The Zone” and “Atkins”. We live in the nation of pills for everything with drugs like hoodia, ephedra, cortisol, caffeine pills and appetite suppressants. But no matter what your medication or diet of choice is… it will never take your mind off your weight loss concerns.

America. We are the fattest nation in the world! We are the nation of quick fix, fast food, and most importantly, fast food. For those of you who have watched “Super Size Me”, you saw a man in full physical health start eating a diet of only McDonalds for a month. By the end of the month he was fatter, looked physically gross and sick, gasped as he climbed 6 steps and the doctors begged him to stop. Did this test stop the fast food obsession in the United States? Nope! We are still the nation with sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and disabled people because they are too overweight to function normally in society.

But wait! Pharmaceutical companies have given us solutions! In fact, a co-worker told me as if she had bad news: “Well, my doctor had to recommend Lipitor again.” And then two minutes later, “Shall we go to Burger King for lunch?!” This aggravates me a lot. All I want to say to these people is: “This is not like cancer. You were not affected by these diseases through no fault of your own. It is your horrible, horrible diet… JUST STOP IT!”

However, I must say that it is not entirely the fault of these people. We’re conditioned from childhood, with happy meal toys and restaurant jungle gyms, that fast food is fun. As we grow we learn that it is easy and socially acceptable. In our fast-paced society of moms too tired to cook for their family, teens too busy with school and college activities too bogged down with work (and parties) to learn to cook… where? Do you think the concept of “fast food” arose?

On the other side of the scale (no pun intended), we have the weight loss industry. One of the most profitable industries in the United States. We are constantly bombarded with the latest pills, supplements, diets, programs, gyms, trainers, and exercise equipment that leave our heads spinning! Now when you think about it the cynical and suspicious way I do… the fast food industry is making us fat, then the weight loss industry steps in to save the day… coincidence?… Conspiracy?… We’ll save it for another article. What is more important is that we are all being manipulated by these industries because we are lost! We don’t trust ourselves to know how to lose weight because we are the ones who allow ourselves to put it in the first place. So we read all the books, we go to all the websites, we look at all the infomercials trying to see who has “it.” Who’s right, who’s got the secret, who’s the weight loss god that’s going to fix us forever and as fast as possible. We’re looking at all these other people when all we really have to do is listen to ourselves, our bodies, and just plain logic.

Think back to elementary school. We learned in gym class that we need to exercise and that it can be fun and make us feel good. We learned about the food pyramid which, although recently updated, still tells us that we need a balanced diet. I specifically remember in eighth grade biology class, learning about fats (lipids), carbohydrates (starches and sugars), and proteins (large chains of amino acids). We learned that each of these substances has a certain number of calories and that your body uses these calories for energy to keep your body working. We’re burning a couple hundred calories sitting in a chair for an hour. This is all the basics that most people have already been taught… DID WE ALL FORGET THIS!? Or do we all want the miracle “cure” to gain weight?

In the ’90s it was all about “fat free” and “reduced fat.” We all think, “hey, if what I’m eating doesn’t have fat in it, I can’t get fat eating it!” WRONG! All they did was increase the carb count, and in some cases, the calorie count as well. But we didn’t want to see that. In the new millennium we copy the super skinny famous actors (who, by the way, are not just getting skinny for vanity, but to keep their jobs). And the no-carb and low-carb revolution began! We all stopped eating starches, lost a ton of water weight in the first two weeks because we didn’t have carbs in our systems to hold it any longer…leaving us constipated and in tears at the sight of the basket of bread on the restaurant table. because “we couldn’t have any.” Don’t get me wrong, I agree that sugar (as in candy) and other simple sugars should not be a regular part of your diet and my dentist would agree too. However, denying yourself an entire food group for God knows how long is just plain stupid!

So what does that leave us? Everything we learned when we were young! It all comes down to the number of calories you take in should be very close to the number your body naturally burns on its own every day. If you want to burn a little more and lose some weight… eat a balanced diet and get some exercise. And this doesn’t mean you should start getting up at 6 am to run 5 miles, or sign up for a gym and go 4 times a week for 2 hours straight. Because I know from experience that if you do that, you’ll burn out and never want to exercise again! Exercise just means increasing your activity level from the level your body is used to on a normal day. Don’t have much free time? Therefore, please park your car further from the store entrance in the parking lot than you normally would. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, even if it’s only for one flight. Walk your dog around the block and back instead of just letting him out the back door (trust me, it doesn’t take as long as you think and your pup will love you for it).

Be smart. Be logical. Don’t rationalize eating McDonald’s for lunch every day just because you ran a mile that morning. (You’ll be playing with your heart in more ways than one.) And I’m sorry, there’s just no miracle that will make you lose 20 pounds. In 2 days. Grab him! Realize that it took you a while to put your weight on…it’s going to take a while to take it off…as it should. As impatient as we are, our bodies still need time to adjust to any changes in activity, stress, and weight. And unless you’re a successful model or actor (which I doubt you are if you’re reading this), you don’t get paid for how good you look on camera. So put down that copy of People magazine, stop telling yourself you need to look like this, and give yourself a fucking break! Give your body a break. And most importantly, give your mind a break because this is not brain surgery. Everything we need to know about weight loss, we learned in elementary school.