Fashion 2012

    This is becoming extremely annoying watching people write article after article about how complicated weight loss is, and what our next excuse is for being fat.   Some of the more recent, laughable pieces; Blame The Workplace For American Obesity, Obesity in America: Are Factory Farms, Big Pharma and Big Food to Blame?, Combating Obesity: How and How Come, Are Chefs To Blame For Obesity?, Why is our Food Making us Fat?, Obesity: Character Flaw, or Neurochemical Disease?, and finally; Why We Get Fat.

     I am ready to begin arguing that its articles such as these that are contributing to obesity by obscuring the readers' understanding of obesity, while offering them excuses for their girth, blaming genetics and diseases.  These articles forgive the overweight reader, suggesting that not being obese is very difficult and complicated.  The last thing people who are overweight need is for the issue of weight loss to be translated into Greek.  We need to educate people on the simple facts, which require no special diet book sold on Amazon for $18.75, with the option of the "Extreme Weight Loss Guide" for and additional $8.85 (plus separate shipping and handling). 
      Obesity is simple.  It is the result of consuming more calories than you've used.  Weight loss is simple.  Use more calories than you consume.  The average person only requires 1,500 to 2,500 calories per day.  For every extra pound of body fat you have, that means that you consumed 3,500 calories more than what your body requires in order to function.   You can easily lose 1 pound of body fat in just over 3 days, by simply creating a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day (there are many online tools that can be used to calculate your required caloric intake, so you know how many calories to be taking in in order to maintain the deficit). 
      For your 500 calorie per day deficit, you can either create the entire deficit by adding exercise, or by reducing calorie consumption.  The best way, is to do a combination; 250 less calories consumed, and 250 calories burned with exercise.  A twenty ounce soda contains around 250 calories, so simply replace your afternoon Coke with a Diet Coke, or better yet, water (also, you should get in the habit of always reading nutrition labels when they are available to you).  Spend 30 minutes on an Elliptical Trainer to burn the other 250 calories.  
       Do this correctly, and you will lose two pounds of body fat per week.  Actual weight may not decrease, as you may be building muscle.  A good way to monitor your results is to take measurements around your waist, arms, and thighs.  Be patient, and stick with it.  If this is not effective, I suggest you see your doctor (who will most likely say that there is nothing wrong with you, you are simply cheating on your diet) because you may have a medical condition. 
      Its just that simple.