Diet Hype: Looking For the Next Fad

by Lashell Hoover | More from this Blogger

27 Jan 2007 11:20 PM

When you need to lose weight, it's easy to fall prey to passing trends. The lure of quick weight loss is everywhere, promising a healthy, beautiful body with minimal effort. It's sad to say, but there is a lot of money to be made peddling potions, pills, bangles, and devices to overweight people. Just the other day, I was scanning a mail order catalog. I came across an ad for a weight loss ring and this is how it's supposed to work. Depending upon which finger the ring is worn, the pressure causes weight loss in a specific part of the body. (If I thought this would work, I would buy it tomorrow.) Further down the page, there was an ad for weight loss cream. When using this product, you place the cream on the fatty area, wrap it with plastic for a specified length of time, and inches are supposed to melt off the body. Why do we fall for this stuff? Right now, I have five bottles of weight loss pills, three still unopened, which are collecting dust. I can't make myself throw them out because all I see is money, I couldn't afford to spend, going in the trash.

In between, scanning catalogs, I was reading, 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. The author, Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., does a great job of exploring certain habits which might prevent a person from losing weight, like: emotional eating, putting other people's needs first, making excuses, and trying the quick fix. One of her suggestions, for losing weight, is to eat sensibly. There are examples of healthful, well-balanced meals, descriptions of what portions should resemble, and a section on caloric intake.

After the first chapter, I found myself flipping pages. I, simply, couldn't get interested in it. It's basically a handbook that shows you possible situations that might be causing your diet pitfalls and how to overcome them. Other than having a catchy title, where were the gimmicks, the promise of rapid weight loss, or the celebrity endorsements? Dare I say it? I missed the hype. It's the hype that gets my attention. I've been conditioned to expect a promise of instant gratification or, at the very least, minimal effort to see results. But, you won't find that in this book; instead you'll get nuggets of common sense.

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Learn more about Lashell Hoover

Lashell Hoover lives in Maryland with her husband, three children, and beloved pets. A former SAHM, she is currently a full-time university student. She enjoys writing, reading, music, art, and life.

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Andrea Hermitt (5664) 30 Jan 2007 08:08 PM

Womans Magazines are notorious for promoting a new fad diet every week.... other times the have some common sense tips I had forgotten!

Lashell Hoover (470) 01 Feb 2007 06:22 PM

I'm a magazine junkie. I lost track of how many subscriptions I have. I get Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Ladie's Home Journal...you know, I'm really going to have to count my subscriptions (lol) And, I agree with you. They always have the fads right on the front cover, in bold type. I wish I could find more magazines like Figure.

Squareface (35) 06 Feb 2007 08:55 AM

I am currently trying to understand more about the latest Hibernation Diet which advocates eating honey before bedtime to lose weight. So far, it sounds like an incredibly easy method to shed kilos. I have made written a summary of what I have learnt so far in my honey website: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet.html

Lashell Hoover (470) 07 Feb 2007 06:05 AM

Thanks so much for sharing. This is one I haven't heard about. I'll have to check it out.