Category: weight loss myths

Do You Still Believe in Weight Loss Scams?

Last week here in Chicago, King of the scammers Kevin Trudeau was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, Trudeau stood before the judge and insisted “If I ever write a book again, if I ever do another infomercial again, I promise no embellishment, no puffery, …

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Do You Avoid Working Out Because of Exercise Anxiety?

Stepper

For those of us who have dealt with serious obesity, the thought of trying to exercise can be intimidating. I avoided physical activity in general for a long, long time. I had a sense of anxiety about working out even before Biggest Loser started making people believe that you were a failure unless you pushed …

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Eating in Moderation Doesn’t Work for Everybody

I went to see this year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, “12 Years a Slave.” I knew it would be an intense film but I was not prepared for how upset I’d be when it was over! I think I was caught up in the drama and then it all hit me at the end. …

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Food Insecurity and Obesity: The Paradox that Affects More Than Just the Poor

Food Insecurity and obesity

Why is there a correlation between food insecurity and obesity? It appears to be a paradox; is it really? I was directed today to an insightful infographic posted on the blog of Registered Dietitian Brooke Schantz. At the bottom of this post, I’ve placed the “Nourish to Flourish” infographic from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. …

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What Do Weight Loss Motivation & Inspiration Really Do for Us?

A meme I saw on Facebook depicted two people sitting in a train car. One stared blankly out the window at the rocky side of a mountain; the other smiled out at a bright, sunny landscape. It read “Every day we have a choice.” The power of positive thinking. Being optimistic. Do we really always …

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New Year’s Resolutions for Taking Control of Your Weight

It’s the first week of 2014 and New Year’s resolutions are in full swing! I saw a news report that going on a diet is not the top resolution that it used to be. Probably many people have realized how many years they started out with every intention and met with failure. Instead of resolutions, …

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Is It Support? Or Fat Shaming?

I hate this weight loss book so much I won’t even tell you what its title is. I’m capable of relating only briefly what makes this book so abysmal. It is an example of what I see as a particularly insidious form of fat shaming—that which originates from what is presented as “support.” Let’s start …

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Dealing with Food Brain & Food Cravings: Holiday Edition

Shoma Morita

My food brain is so sneaky. It knows Thanksgiving is approaching and it’s conjuring up all kinds of thoughts about food cravings! What creeps into my mind the most recently are thoughts of going off on a binge because Thanksgiving is going to be a lost cause, a super indulgent day. I am easily suppressing …

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Criticism of Weight Loss Surgery is Vicious Fat Shaming

weight loss surgery

Why should anyone care if someone else has weight loss surgery? It would not seem to be loaded with the controversial moral implications that complicate other healthcare issues like abortion, birth control, or euthanasia. There aren’t any religious admonitions against losing weight. So why all the scathing blog posts, militant opposition, and vitriolic criticism? “It’s …

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Accepting the Reality of Change and Weight Management

I was at a party this weekend and hanging out in a sitting room with a few other guests when a woman began talking about a book she claimed changed her life. She said because of this book she hadn’t been sick in years. The author, a medical doctor, claims that we can experience physical …

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