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FAT DIET LIE NUMBER ELEVEN: Medicines or surgery can rid me of this fat for good and restore my health and youthful good looks.

In this eleventh part of our course we’ll take a closer look at events and developments in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

To many people, the rapid results from drugs or hormones might appear to offer some sort of miracle cure.

Steroids, of course, have been on the market (legal or otherwise) for a long time, while recent developments have displayed Human Growth Hormone (HGH) or testosterone peddled under the innocent-sounding banners, “anti-ageing drugs” or “hormone replacement therapy.”

There are strictly monitored clinical instances where such treatment may be in order, but the drugs are now being pushed more widely, and to reasonably healthy people who are bent on enhancing their appearance.

They may produce dramatic and immediate effects, but the use of weight loss drugs, steroids, thermogenics, thyroid drugs, growth hormones and other chemicals is no way to achieve long-term control of body fat.

All these concoctions fall into one of two (or both) categories:

(1) Multi-million dollar money-spinners
(2) Short-term tricks to change the effects without addressing the causes

Drugs and surgery for obesity form a case in point:
Pharmaceuticals can provide all the drugs we need to tackle obesity (Xenical, Phentermine, Meridia, Adipex, Bontril, Didrex, Tenuate). Gastric bypass is the surgical answer to tackling this same dilemma. But all of these are answers should be one’s last resort, used only in a crisis, and not for tackling a chronic problem. They’re not a substitute for a sensible diet and healthy exercise.

Neither drugs nor surgery can ever provide a long-term solution because the problem itself is one of cause and effect. A fat body is fat, or a slim body is slim, because of the lifestyle choice made by the body’s owner. Drugs or surgery can influence the effects of those lifestyle choices, but can never address the causes.

By the same token, and completely without the aid of any drugs or surgery, you have the ability to improve your body by losing body fat and improving your health way beyond the position you are in today.

It’s entirely in your own hands – they are your lifestyle choices.

There are no something-for-nothing answers and no quick-fix solutions, despite what you might fool yourself into believing in the short-term.

For long-term body fat loss, you have to identify the causes of the excess fat in the first place. Remove the factors causing the problem and you will begin to tackle the unwanted effects on a permanent basis.

Drugs or surgery are the answer of very last resort. They have no place in a dietary regimen for fat loss in which proper food and physical exercise are given due prominence.

FAT DIET LIE NUMBER TWELVE: Lose weight by working out a few minutes every day.

This final part of the course is a warning about trying to, or expecting to, get more for less – better results in a shorter period of time.

I’m not saying that you should not always be searching for the greatest good out of everything you do. That’s simply making the very best use of your time. On the other hand, the notion of trying to obtain more for less and believing there’s a magical short-cut or quick-fix is objectionable.

There’s a balance between getting enough physical exercise to reach a desired effect and simply overdoing it. We are often told not to train too much, or we will limit our power and muscle development.

It may well be that most people are overdoing the training, but, just as there’s a balance between just right and too much, there’s also a balance between just right and not enough.

There is an appealing less is more philosophy that naturally impacts lazy people. They are attracted to the notion that they could be spending too much time exercising each week, and that somewhere out there is a magic formula or secret program that will cut their training time in half, yet double the effectiveness.

Of course, no such magic bullet exists.

The only reason you might want to reduce your training time is to lower the risk of over-exercising. But the idea of building a body-builder’s physique in only a few minutes a day exercise is ludicrous.

Your body loves exercise! It was designed to be exercised, regularly and robustly.

But training to become healthier and working out to achieve maximum body fat loss are different kettles of fish. The latter requires more regular exercise for longer periods and with more intensity.

Health benefits can be obtained from even the mildest exercise, e.g., walking to and from work or doing household chores. The more you exercise, the greater the health benefits.

The so-called training effect (muscle growth and increase in strength) of exercise can be derived from as little as several half-hour exercises a week, if the sessions are properly planned and devised.

But to become slim, stay slim, and have all the muscle you want, you’ll need to put in the training hours and the work.

It all boils down to a basic truth: What you get out will always be in direct proportion to the effort you put in.
GOOD LUCK!

Martin Collins, fitness expert

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Please Note: The information presented throughout Lose100Pounds.org is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Please see your physician before starting any diet and/or exercise program.