184.0 5%, Only 5%?

I was watching the Today Show this morning and was delighted to see the segment about dieting with Dr. Nancy Snyderman. She and the nutritionist talked about the fact that only about 5%, yes 5%, of the people who lose weight are able to maintain their weight loss. The most important part of their message was that you have to make the commitment to lose weight because it matters to you rather than any other reason, and that it has to become a lifestyle rather than a short term diet. I smiled when Dr. Snyderman said she thinks the word diet is a 4 letter word.

After watching this, I immediately sat down at my computer and wrote a comment to Dr. Snyderman basically saying that I agreed with what she had said but that she didn't go far enough. Until you understand why you are using food to the extent you are so that you gain weight, you can't possibly take it off and keep it off long term. It's everything I have been blogging about during these past 10 months. And, it's what Geneen Roth speaks to in her book "Women, Food, and God". Permanent weight loss is not a matter of simply eating less and counting calories and exercising. If that were true, there would be a lot higher percentage of success stories out there of people losing and maintaining their weight loss. Let's hear it for self examination and understanding, healing that inner pain, and moving into the healthy person we are each meant to be.