DEAR JIM: At 75 I finally decided to stop being stubborn and follow your advice after all these years and try to lose weight by exercising more and watching my diet. Unfortunately, I think I may be sabotaging my efforts because I have a bad habit of eating too much chocolate. I just can't seem to get enough of it. I don't "pig out" and eat it all at one time, but I snack on it all day long. What can I say? It makes me feel better - until I look in the mirror and see that I haven't lost any weight yet. Any suggestions? SWEET TOOTH IN SAVANNAH
DEAR SWEET TOOTH: Don't beat yourself up over this. At least you made the decision to finally do something your weight. As for the chocolate, there may be some things that you didn't know about chocolate that will help you to lose those extra pounds even by indulging once in a while.
According to University of California researchers, there is now documented evidence that the tendency to overeat sweets such as chocolate is a natural physiological response to chronic stress. Dr. Abby Aronowitz has taken things one step further by endorsing chocolate - and other "healthy junk foods" - in her revolutionary book Your Final Diet (www.yourfinaldiet.com/).
Aronowitz, holds two masters degrees and a Ph.D from Columbia University. She has been a consultant to Weight Watchers International, Inc., and is a member of the American Psychological Association and Mensa. She believes that managing sugar, carbs, and fat instead of bingeing or depriving is a more effective way to lose weight. "A well-adjusted secure feeling will replace the highs and lows of failed diets," says Aronowitz from her home in Woodbury, New York.
"Sugar and fat relieve chronic stress on a biological level," says Aronowitz, "and chocolate cake and ice cream, for example, simply shut down the stress system, bringing relief and relaxation. Therefore, we must learn how to manage the foods we crave instead of overindulging or depriving ourselves."
"We need to address what to consume, as well as how to cope with emotional eating. It is also important to begin changing the cultural thin ideal, which creates a sense of personal inferiority, upon which the billion dollar diet industry thrives."
Aronowitz has added the component of natural eating in her book suggesting that people incorporate some natural foods into a personalized food plan by consuming fewer artificial ingredients. She even has a chapter in her book criticizing "Dr. Phil" for his traditional - and boring - approach to dieting by simply eliminating certain food groups. "This is a carbon copy of any traditional diet which works temporarily to lose pounds," says Aronowitz. "After a period of time, people sabotage their own progress since it is impossible to tolerate such intense denial. Experts agree that weight control has to be a way of life, but all he offers is a diet and a lesson in Cognitive Behaviorial Psychology 101."
Your Final Diet definitely goes against the grain of traditional weight loss programs with the following suggestions:
* Manage sugar, carb, and fats instead of bingeing or depriving.
* Personalize your food plans.
* Reinvent sexuality: "thin" does not equal sexy!
* Become a good role model for children with food and body image.
* Overcome pressure to be unrealistically thin.
So, if you are really serious about losing weight there may finally be an alternative to conventional, old-fashioned dieting. "Just imagine life without obsessions about fat and body image," says Aronowitz. "Let's finally become our personal best.and stay there!" Good advice.
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