Think you need the latest diet book or a commercial weight loss program to lose weight? You might be surprised to learn that adopting a program or diet almost NEVER results in permanent weight loss.

When it comes to commercial programs and best-selling diet books, the success rate is practically nil. That's because dieting is aimed at taking your money, not solving your weight problem in a permanent fashion. It's a perfect revolving door. As the consumer loses weight, then regains it, they become a permanent diet consumer, spending money on a regular basis for no permanent result.

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center studies successful weight loss through their National Weight Control Registry. They define successful permanent weight loss as keeping the weight off for 5 years. Their data indicates only 1% of the people who lost significant weight (over 25 pounds) on commercial diets kept the weight off!

From another perspective, when they studied people who did solve their weight issues permanently, they found that only 3% started out losing weight on a diet. In fact, 97% of successful "losers" devised their own plan aimed at healthy eating and higher activity levels. They found what worked for them and what they could stick to for life. This makes more sense than struggling to follow an artificial, restrictive diet for a few days, then binging out of hunger, frustration and anger.

Further evidence that slowly changing to healthy, moderate eating habits can be the smartest and most productive strategy comes from a study by the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. They studied 24 women for a year. Twelve of the women were put on one of the most popular traditional commercial diets of 1200 calories per day. The other twelve were encouraged to eat 1800-2000 calories and concentrate on healthy foods and moderation. A year later, the healthy eaters had lost 22 pounds. The diet group had lost only 9 pounds. Why the great difference in weight loss? The highly restricted group had obviously fallen into the yo-yo syndrome of being "on the diet/off the diet" and had trouble sticking to the lower caloric quota.

Do these studies suggest you shouldn't even try to lost weight? NO! No one should agree to be overweight. It's vital to your health, happiness and quality of life. Being overweight targets you for many diseases and debilitating conditions. However, this evidence does support an approach to weight management that is different than the money-making diet industry propagates.

Here are some of the positive changes you can make that will have long-term effect on your weight:

1. assess your current lifestyle for its activity level and food use;
   
2.  identify your negative habits with food and, one-by-one, change them;
   
3. take personal responsibility for your weight – no matter what those blaring headlines may say, no person or product can lose weight for you;
   
4. set realistic goals and work towards those goals in a steady manner (this means thinking long term instead of going for immediate temporary results); and
   
5. learn to overcome roadblocks and obstacles along your path.

If these areas sound too big or confusing to tackle alone, get help. A weightloss coach or weight management consultant can help you through the maze and help you devise a healthier lifestyle that you can truly call your own. In fact, the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago recently conducted an 8-week study focusing on reinforcement factors. They divided the group of participants into a strict diet group and a group assigned to a weight loss coach. The coaches provided guidance and accountability to participants as they altered unhealthy eating habits.

The diet group gained weight during the 8-week study whereas the group working with a coach lost 3-6 pounds. The coached group also reported feeling reassured they would not revert to their bad habits again. They had made permanent changes, the kind that leads to permanent weight loss.

Retire the yo-yo! Losing weight is hard. Do it correctly and you'll only have to do it once!

The biggest roadblock to successful weight loss isn't the food you eat and it's not the exercise you do.

It's negative thinking.

Witness this scenario from one of my clients' weight loss journals (used with permission):

It's easy to see how this kind of downward spiral can take a person from eating a cheeseburger to being "an awful person" in record time. Here are some components of negative thinking:

1. Problems are seen as permanent,

3. You begin to feel like the problem is a symbol of your personal defectiveness.

I like to contrast the journal entry above with a story of my own. I stopped at a local cut-rate gas station about a year ago and filled up my gas tank. A while later, my car started sputtering and acting as if the engine was going to die. The car wouldn't accelerate and I felt as though I was put-puttering along while cars all around me sped by. I immediately connected the lack of performance with the new gas. It would run fine for a while, then start the hesitation routine again. I continued driving the car until it was about a quarter of a tank below full and refilled at another gas station. The problems lessened and again, I drove it until it was a quarter of a tank less than full and refilled again. The problems ceased.

The point here is that I certainly didn't get emotional about the bad gas (probably mixed with water) that I bought. I certainly didn't blame myself for it. I made a mental note never to buy from that particular gas station again, I did what I could to solve the problem and I moved on.

Food is fuel for your body. It's the gasoline of life. That is all it is.

Separating it from negative thinking and over-emotionalization is a huge step in changing your attitude about food. Destructive and negative thinking need to be recognized and eliminated, especially when it comes to the all-important process of fueling your body.

Where to start? You might start with "noticing." As you make decisions in your daily life about when, how and what to eat, practice noticing what goes through your head, what you say to yourself and where that leads your thoughts.

Once you have tuned in and can really hear the noise in your head, you can start to change it. But the first step is to listen to what you are saying to yourself.

As summer fades into fall, this is an ideal time to assess your weight loss picture. Now, be honest. Has warmer weather helped or hindered your efforts? This is different for every person. Some people, inspired by bathing suits and warm weather, exercise more and eat lighter in the summer months. Others, inspired by the same bathing suits and warm weather, do the opposite.

Well, the same things that can be a positive motivation can also depress the hell out of you. It's that simple. It's all about how you decide to view swimsuits (or anything else, for that matter). For some, wearing less clothing brings out fear or anger.

Another consideration during summer is the social scene in which you live. Some people exercise less and eat more due to outdoor parties, barbecues, weddings and family reunions. A third factor is the heat index in your area of the country.

No matter what season appeals to you, it's good to figure out when you most enjoy exercising and what season is best for you to make a real push towards you weight loss goals.

I like Fall. So I'm issuing a 5-pound challenge to all of you. It's not an amount that's terribly hard to lose in a month but you will need to concentrate and focus. Whether your efforts have lagged recently or you simply don't feel real focused, get back on track!

Here's how it works. Mark off a month or 30 days on your calendar. You can also copy a couple months off your wall calendar and paste them together so the four weeks shows up consecutively on one page.

What you are going to do is lose 5 pounds, an entirely safe amount, in that 30-day period. How are you going to do this? By focusing on what you need to do, each and every day, to make it happen.

For those of you who are saying "I need to lose 30 pounds, 5 is too small an amount," start with 5! Five is the perfect sub-goal for everyone. It's not terribly hard or daunting.

For those of you who are saying "That sounds like a lot!" It's about a pound a week. It can be accomplished by avoiding sauces, sodas, mayonnaise and salad dressings... or by cutting out desserts. Decide what high-fat item to which you are LEAST attached and take a vacation from it – and from the guilt you usually feel when you overindulge in it.

It'll show, believe me. You'll be proud of your accomplishment. And what perfect time to do it, before the holidays begin. In fact, from now until Halloween, there are no sweets-infected holidays at all!

I have a client who latched onto this idea with a vengeance when I once suggested it to her. She uses this strategy before she goes on vacation so she can enjoy a few treats while she's away without any stress about what she's going to face on the scale when she returns. You could use it the same way before the holidays if you are at a comfortable weight now but usually gain a few pounds during December.

What's the most important part of the 5-pound challenge? Five pounds can make you want more!

Take the challenge and let me know how you do!

In today's media dominated world, U.S. citizens have never been more exposed to the cultural ideal of an overly thin human being. And, as a society, our weight has never been higher.

The connection cannot be overlooked. While we are constantly barraged with anorexic models, super-thin actresses and all the unhealthy ways in which they got their bodies to resemble stick figures, we are inhaling the super-rich food and large portions that our highly industrialized, wealthy country can afford to manufacture and sell to the masses.

This schizophrenic reality has produced a dichotomy in the way we view and treat our bodies. I call it the Body Image Blues.

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may have a case of the body image blues.

Body image blues aren't confined to women. More and more cases of muscle dismorphia among men are being reported. This condition is similar to anorexia where extremes are pursued in the physique. Muscle dismorphia occurs when someone who is muscular discerns their muscle isn’t large enough and they overtrain their muscles, use extreme eating control methods, and even abuse controlled substances to achieve a bigger, more muscular look.

One of the most disturbing things about our distorted view of our bodies is that we transfer it to our children. It’s well known that women who constantly diet and have difficulty eating in a normal fashion transfer their panic to their daughters. (Fathers may also transfer this concern in different ways.)

With the media (and sometimes their parents) giving them the message that happiness equals thin, it's no wonder young girls are learning the destructive habit of dieting at very early ages.

In my practice of health and fitness coaching, I have found that many women lose weight only to rebound. This becomes a habit. Diet, regain weight, diet again. By now, we all know that, if we go on a restrictive diet, we will gain the weight back. This can become an addiction itself. Many people live by skating from diet to diet, constantly rearranging their food intake to keep off the pounds. Living this way is just as destructive as overeating because the same obsession is running your life.

In my own weight loss history, I lost weight many times, only to fall short of my "goal" on every occasion. It took a great deal of this experience before I was able to see that the "goal" was the problem. It was a number from my youth. And, somewhere deep inside, I'd still like to be that weight. But, I know from experience that I have sabotaged my own positive weight loss several times because I didn't achieve this ideal.

It's one of the things I fight every day. Even though I am hugely healthy, even though I do absolutely any physical activity I want, even though I buy clothes easily and feel comfortable in them, I still tend to judge myself because I am not the ideal in our society.

And, of course, wanting the ideal and not getting it is the first step towards regaining weight. So, I consider this fight very important. I am learning to appreciate my body as it is... and to accept it. And I try to have a sense of humor about it. After all, I tell myself, I'm almost 50, I might as well accept myself as I am. Isn't it about time?

Doesn't it make sense that we are all unique and all perfect in different ways? What is a healthy weight for me might not be a healthy weight for you. But there's only one person who can decide what weight is right for you -- and that is you.

In my work, I have found that the right weight is different for each and every person. But don't let the idea of perfection be your stumbling block.

Here's a practical exercise to help you get in touch with your own unique shape:

1. Write down all the things you like and dislike about your body. Make sure you include the likes! In fact, make the "like" list as long as the "dislike" list! Do you dislike your soft round hips but like your long neck?

2. Now, check over the list. Are there any "doings" on your list? What I mean by that is, what can your body do? If your list contains only "looks" items, start over! What does your body do for you and what would you like it to do? For instance, saying I'd like to weigh 125 is very different from saying "I'd like to run a marathon" or "I want to learn to skate" or "I want to keep up with my 3-year-old." If you don't have action items on your list, you're not really taking a full inventory. Does your body take care of a family, home and yard? Work a full-time job? Do volunteer work? What kind of energy does it have? What do you accomplish every day as a result of your body being the incredible and resilient energy source that it is?

3. Start to garner appreciation for your body. Appreciation is the first step towards truly respecting your body. And respect is the perfect place to start when it’s time to feed your body and nurture it.

After all, it is your most valuable resource.  I will repeat that.  It is your most valuable resource in life.  Give it the respect it deserves.

As a coach, I often run into the "can'ts", "shoulds" and "would have ifs" of life. We all have lots of excuses for why we don't accomplish what we set out to do. One valuable way of looking at deadends and lack of progress in your life is to look at it from the viewpoint opposite your usual stance.

For example, deep down, do you always see the holidays or winter as a time to gain weight? Look at it as a time to lose weight instead. Do your shopping online and spend the saved energy and time at the gym or skating rink. Does your job get extra busy at the end of the year? Take a step back from food as a stress reliever and watch the pounds melt away. Do your family and friends expect you at many events and parties during the holiday? Set some healthy boundaries and pick the things you really enjoy. Politely refuse the other invitations.

Are you frustrated in your attempt to find the perfect gift for everyone? Give up! Make it a year of bad gifts. Buy inexpensive, off-the-wall gifts and have fun wrapping them (but only if you enjoy wrapping!). I have a brother-in-law that always buys the wrong card for every occasion. He once bought a bar mitzvah card for his parents' anniversary. One sister got a "congratulations on your new baby boy" card for her birthday. It's actually become one of the things people look forward to most at family gatherings. We all ask ourselves, "what kind of terribly wrong card will he find this time?" Some of his choices have been hilarious. He's actually admitted he walks into the store, grabs the first card he comes across and buys it. After all, it's the thought that counts!

What are we getting at with this "opposite" thinking? A lot of our behavior is simply habit. It's like eating that 600 calorie fast food breakfast sandwich. Most days it doesn't even taste good, but we're used to it so we do it.

In other words, have you gotten into a rut of thinking one way about your job, your friends, your life? And that perspective may not be appropriate any more. It's like the parent who still treats her/his grown daughter like a little girl, thinking she can't make her own decisions.

It's like thinking "I'll never lose weight." If that's your mantra, deep in your unconscious mind, believe me, it will run your life and decide your fate.

Besides, it's good to shake things up once in a while. Instead of saying "I'll clean out that closet one of these days," tell yourself "I'll clean out that closet tonight" and then do it! If you hear yourself saying "I'm such a pack rat," make the conscious effort to say "I don't like clutter." Buy several large garbage cans and plant them around the house. Spend a week saying "I don't like clutter" and dumping things you haven't read, used or worn in a year into these cans.

Where is the best place to apply "opposite" thinking? Wherever you are most frustrated. If frustration has set in, it's a good sign you aren't getting results. It's definitely time to look at things from another perspective.