Every day we see dozens of commercials for Nutrisystem, Jennie Craig, Weight Watchers, and other companies that guarantee extreme weight loss, and all one has to do is pay for the food they supply. No one has taken a close look at these weight loss systems until now.
Let us begin with the basics. How much does food for a single person per month cost? This number is approximately $400 per month or nearly $5,000 per year. Certainly, the next question is “do they work?” The answer is “yes, and no.” Factors involving health issues, metabolism rates, and exercise have an enormous effect on the results.
This columnist would like to interject some personal information here.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was the first male aerobics instructor in San Diego’s North County. For those who know little about the purpose and goal of aerobics, here is a little information.
A woman by the name of Jackie Sorensen developed an exercise system based on the studies of Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper. Originally designed to improve cardiovascular health, other benefits became evident immediately.
Among these discoveries was an overall physical improvement. This did not focus on weight loss, but on overall body strength and replacing fat with muscle.
He told all of his students that diets were a waste of time. If they worked at all, when the individual stopped dieting, they always reverted back to their past and began to gain weight. His belief was to engage in strenuous exercise for three days a week and play a sport or jog for another three days. As far as dieting, he offered a simple idea. Prepare a normal meal for your family. However, one is only allowed to consume what fits on a salad plate. No one should feel that they are starving themselves.
The overall truth about all of these systems which require purchasing food has some success. However, continued success would result in continuing the program for years.
Nearly all situations resulting in uncontrollable weight gain, which endangers one’s health and longevity, are the result of a lack of self-control, or situations from our emotional past. Introspection and if necessary, counseling is necessary to change habits, and changing habits is the ultimate solution.
The diet of millions of Americans relies on fast food or pre-prepared meals. Few families’ diets consist of freshly prepared meals for most of their food supply. It is impossible to control the health and fat content of food not prepared at home. This columnist love to cook and the excuse that Americans don’t have time to shop and cook meals for their families is based on bullshit. He was a single father of two children who owned his own business and cooked breakfast, prepared healthy lunches, and cooked dinner for the three of us at least five days a week.
The United States has become the most overweight nation in all of the developed nations, which makes us the most unhealthy nation in the free world. Diabetes and heart problems are far too common, and the majority of these problems are the result of poor dietary decisions, and just plain excessive consumption of “junk food.”
America is a country occupied by lazy people. This columnist watches them drive around endlessly until they find a parking space closer to the entrance of an establishment. People drive everywhere instead of walking a few blocks. For most, exercise is too much work, and joining a gym seldom returns after a few weeks.
We, as a nation, continue to look for fast and easy solutions to physical health and weight loss. This has become one of our country’s greatest problems.
Throwing away $5,000 a year for each person on a prescribed weight loss diet is not a permanent solution, and it consists of mostly pre-prepared “food.”
Op-ed by James Turnage
Sources:
Havard Health Publishing: When dieting doesn’t work; by Robert H. Shmerling, MD
Go Forward: Weight Loss Programs: Which Ones Work? By Dr. Carolyn Ward
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Chris Borresen’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Shawn Honnick’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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