The weight loss industry is worth millions of dollars a year and it infiltrates our lives through many avenues. For those who are sensitive about their body image this industry quickly becomes something which taps into their vulnerability - fueling ‘quick fix’ mentalities, often at a considerable financial cost.

There are new gyms, weight loss centres and weight loss programs popping up all the time. Health food stores, chemists and even supermarket shelves house a multitude of fat burning, energy enhancing supplements that are getting increasingly popular as the public starts to get more and more desperate for answers to their weight problem.

The majority of magazines have articles about losing weight and many are advertising products which provide weight-loss ‘better and quicker than ever’! New books released every week claiming to have discovered how to lose weight, ‘easier and faster than before’! Some have absurd theories, but still the books and magazines are sold, and the new diet is embraced with faith. Until, that is, the person realises it doesn’t work for them. They dump that diet then pounce on top of next new miracle discovery which is launched. And haven’t you noticed there is always a new one?

And so the cycle continues. It’s frustrating for me to watch people continually try and fail with different products and programs, often self diagnosing or devising their own program mixed, with the best parts of what they’ve read in a magazine or book and seen on Today Tonight. They spend a fortune on tablets, weight loss programs and different therapists for their endless search for the answer.

I realise many people can become quite desperate for answers, and I pose the question: Are we looking externally for answers when we probably know the answers already? When will we realise that most of the time our body is only a result of its situation and responding to what we are doing to it? If we are stressed, eating poorly and exercising incorrectly then our body is forced to be sluggish, gain weight, develop bad skin, and have digestive problems. Its problems will eventually extend to include muscle and joint problems and other symptoms of distress like raised blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Weight loss and health don’t need to cost a lot of money or consume our lives. It just takes commitment, organisation, and most importantly, a lifestyle approach. Many attempts often fail as people try to cut corners, often eating well and not exercising, or the reverse which is eating whatever they want and over exercising to try to compensate. Both these tactics often don’t have the desired effect and leave people feeling like a failure; disillusioned again.

So, I ask anyone who is struggling and chopping and changing with their approach to better health, STOP! Stop avoiding reality. There is no secret tablet or food which burns double calories when eaten with other foods. I promise you, everything falls into place if you follow the rules of health which leads to real weight loss:-

• Increase nutritional value in everything you eat
• Increase daily physical activity
• Decrease consumption of dead calories (packaged and processed foods)
• Manage stress levels effectively
• Increase water intake 
• Sleep and rest enough
• Increase your knowledge in health and fitness

If you follow these rules then I’m sure you will notice a vast change on many levels, not just in the shape of your body. 

© Kylie Pogson 2006

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