Saturday, November 8, 2008

Strip That Fat Off for Good!



As 2008 comes to its end, the reality of another year’s failed resolutions stares me in the face. Or shall I say the double chin? The flabby arms? The cottage cheese thighs? It is true; I am being hard on myself ten months after vowing on January first that this year – this year – I am going to fit back in those jeans. This summer, I am going to soak up the sun at the beach and enjoy rays, as opposed to spending every second twisting and turning, tugging and pulling, trying to adjust that sarong and find an angle that allows me to feel more human and less like a whale washed up on the shore! Do I sound a bit obsessed? You could say that.

I have been on a diet all my life. Correction: I have been on a series of failed diets all my life. As a teenager, I chain smoked and refused to eat meat or dairy, convinced that those fatty animal products would blow me up like a balloon. In University, I lived on coffee, Diet Coke and rice crispy squares – my concern being much more focused on how I looked on Friday night, and much less on nutrition. As I matured into a fully fledged adult I became less vain, less materialistic, but you’ve got it: more fat! And now I count myself as one of the 98% of North American women (and 60% of North American men) who diet for at least part of every single year.

Deep down we all know that no matter how many new diet books we buy, no matter how many new diet pills we try, no matter how many meal replacement shakes we drink, we can’t get away from the cold, hard fact: if you want to lose weight and you want to keep it off, you have to:
A) Eat reasonable portions of the five food groups, and
B) Exercise.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s not fun either. I like McDonalds. Sorry, I do. I hate exercising. I want to believe that there is a pill I can take that will melt the fat off my bones with as little effort as possible on my part. I want to look like a super model, but don’t want to put in the 6 hours per day at the gym to make it happen.

I have tried it all: gym memberships, Atkins, The Zone, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers (in center), Weight Watchers Online, Herbal Magic, and Jenny Craig. Each of those diets worked for a while: until I stopped adhering to them, and then BAM! You guessed it: the weight piled back on. There is hope though, dear reader, and this brings me to the point of my article. I have recently found a program that I can stick to, because it is not gimmicky. The best I can describe it is an amalgamation of the convenient Weight Watchers Online (which provides recipes, meal planning, and “point” tracking) and Herbal Magic, which teaches you which combination of foods to eat and when, but without the costly (and junky) “herbal supplements”. The program is called Strip That Fat. It is an online nutritional program and for the first time in my life, I have found something that is teaching me, and encouraging me, to eat properly. So far, the physical results have been astounding, but more importantly, I feel this is a way of life for me now. I encourage anyone reading this blog post and hungry for an effective and convenient nutrition plan to check out Strip That Fat today!

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