I would say that most ladies have their favorite magazine that they like to get comfy with and read once a month, right? How unusual is it for your favorite magazine to have a headline such as, "Lose 50 Pounds by Christmas," or "No Energy -- Burn Fat and Feel Energetic in 10 Days." These titles are grabbers. They are the reason we buy the magazine in the first place. Sure, we want to feel more energetic, right? These terrific articles are exactly what we need, and then we will be happy, thin and have enough energy to swing our children on the beach and frolic until the wee hours of the morning, right? Well, let's see.
I am the first to admit that I read the same magazine every month. Without really telling you which one, maybe you can guess by my description. The cover is always the same -- a really, really perky and happy person, with the caption over the picture stating, "Burn Fat Now!! Lose that Weight Today." I buy this magazine every month and the format is the same: The first 10 pages or so (not including advertising) are comprised of beauty and health tips. The middle section is comprised of that very special diet you read about on the cover, but what do you see after this? Another 10 pages devoted to the "Magic of Chocolate Cooking," or perhaps, "Comfort Foods for People Who Need Comforting" -- these pages are screaming NOTHING BUT PURE CARBS, FAT and SUGAR!! It is at this point, after you've decided you want to follow their plan, you begin to feel hopeless. These magazines, though high in entertainment value, are not necessarily geared for for nutritional guidance.
When you finally arrive at the diet section, sandwiched in between articles with headlines like, "You Can Have Courtney Cox's Hair" and "It's Raining Chocolate," you arrive at the miracle diet section that you bought this magazine for in the first place. You open the page and there is a woman now half her original size with a great big smile. You figure, this should be easy. Obviously this lady did it, so can I, right? So you tell yourself: I can lose this weight, one, two, three, but NO!! There is this incredibly complicated, "Know your BAT" or "Know your Body Type (Mesomorph, Endomorph, etc.)." And then, and only then, can you follow our easy plan. To me, it becomes much more of a science project than basic weight management and diet. What is this magazine REALLY telling us?
Though I know writers mean well, they make the diets so complicated, it is nearly impossible for you to figure them out. And, if that isn't enough, some of the suggested meals are outrageously difficult to construct. I live in Northern New York -- do you know what a hot commodity fresh fruits and vegetables are between October and May? Are you in the habit of eating three ounces of yellow fin tuna, seared with green peppers for lunch? These are actual diet plans I've considered following. I am so unimpressed by the pictures of the "suggested lunches," that I vow never to complain about my "Fat Free and Fancy" hot lunches that I microwave each workday!!
These articles may also suggest that you take a variety of supplements: CoQ-12, enzymes, Tonalin, Pyruvate, etc. How do I know, because I have DONE this!!! Yes, I admit it! I am looking for the cure in the capsule, too. I am sure most of these herbals are safe. Do they take into consideration each reader's general health, regular medications or other basic factors?
I can tell you that the principles will always be the same. Cut calories, increase activity and watch the weight come off. There is no magic potion or secret ingredient to your weight loss. The principles that worked in thousands of doctor's offices and clinics can't be wrong. There does not seem to be some magical shortcut, and I have nearly died trying to find it myself. What I have found is that as long as I keep my aerobic activity up, I seem to be able to eat what I want without gaining weight. These diets in the magazines say this, but in a roundabout way. After all, would a title like, "Cut Calories and Increase Activity To Lose Weight," sell many magazines? Probably not.
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