Writing the blog about Kristie Alley got me thinking more about the diet industry. I did a little quick web research and found out that the diet industry really is worth over $40 billion dollars. Why is it that we are willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to pay someone for something we really can do ourselves? Even when I weighed 300 pounds, I knew what to do. Why did I keep rejoining diet programs?
For me, the marketing was extremely effective. Whether it was television, radio or magazine ads, they always made it sound appealing. These days, the marketing is even more pointed, with the big companies using famous people like Kristie Alley, Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond to sell their products. If those celebrities can lose weight while the whole world is watching, surely I can lose weight on the same program in my own little town! That’s what I would have thought if I had seen those types of ads. They ads are effective, as according the web, Jenny Craig and NutriSystem have been the big winners in all of this.
Whose the big loser? The average people who regain their weight after quitting expensive diet programs. There was a recent study that showed virtually all weight loss plans that cut the calorie intake of its participants will result in weight loss. The problem comes in maintaining the loss after you reach your goal. As Kristie Alley has so publicly demonstrated, you can’t go back to butter just because you look fabulous!
According to the web, the average cost of Weight Watchers for a year is about $500 dollars, Jenny Craig runs $100 a week, and NutriSystem ranges from $250 to $400 a month. The last two plans provide you with a lot of the food you eat, but you still need to supplement with fruits and vegetables. Like any diet, you can lose weight in the short run by eating prepackaged foods and counting points, but unfortunately it’s easy to regain the weight. And then, to add insult to injury, you’ve also spent a ton of money!
There is no easy way to lose weight. It always takes commitment, perserverance and patience. I’ve been where you are. I weighed so much I was afraid I was going to become housebound. I couldn’t fit in airplane seats, nor ride amusement park rides. I had tried expensive diet plans, but they never got to the heart of my problem. I would encourage you to try a reasonable plan of diet, exercise and portion control. When I teach my weight loss class we spend a lot of time talking about the “whys” of overeating, and try to discover strategies to overcome bad habits. Over and over I hear women tell me that taking the time to not just focus on the foods, but on the “whys” of overeating helped them turn the corner. Diane