Published on August 1, 2020
(c) V_Gri Fotosearch_k3363496
That’s an actual comment made to me by a client not too long ago. Now, your first reaction is probably that she was kidding, but I’m here to tell you that she, and millions of others who think that way, are only HALF kidding!
The quick fix. The magic bullet. The miracle pills. It’s the holy grail of dieters everywhere. They search and search and search. They get excited by medical research that boosts their hopes about something coming down the pike that will cure the overweight and obesity malady once and for all and without a lot of hard work. I recall reading 20 years ago a news article that suggested that in the next decade there will be a pill that can substitute for exercise in battling the decreasing loss of muscle mass that often comes with age . . . giving people hope that they’ll be able to just sit around and get skinny . . . and fit!
Folks, the diet industry knows that’s what you’re really wishing. They know how desperate you are for an easy solution. That’s why they capitalize on your endless hope by presenting their products as quick, easy and painless. Everywhere we look there’s a new product being touted as the next cure. There’s even the book series telling us that if we’d just Eat This and Not That, we’d lose weight. Fast. And of course, people buy all of it.
All of you have to do is take a short walk through the checkout line at the supermarket. Perfectly positioned where they know you stand, bored, looking for something to pass a few minutes, there they are: the tabloids, the women’s/men’s and fitness magazines. Have you ever looked at the headlines and compared them? I mean . . . they ALL say the same thing! They all use the key words that entice you into false expectations.
Magazine editors publish articles with these titles for one reason and one reason only: Because they sell magazines. You buy this stuff because you want it to be true.
Unfortunately, it’s not.
The quick fix is merely an illusion. And if you get tied up in the illusion, it distracts you from the real truth: that successful weight control requires a long-term commitment to healthy eating and regular exercise. It’s hard work. Nothing can change that fact. It’s very disappointing to realize that there’s no simple way out of your weight dilemma. If you give in to diet industry spin, you’ll get distracted from your efforts to make permanent changes in the way you eat and live.
Slimcerely yours℠,
