Dr. Nancy Snyderman debunks ‘Diet Myths’

What we need is a new and smart strategy for successful weight loss. Statistics show that forty-five million Americans are dieting at any moment in time, and we’re spending more than $30 billion a year on weight loss. Yet obesity is rarely treated successfully. We have a serious problem: We are the only animals on the planet that will eat ourselves into an early grave. Two centuries ago, people died of starvation. That trend is changing. Ours will be the first generation to die from food excess. It’s insane! Since the early 1980s, Americans increasingly have grown larger. We are ten pounds heavier, on average, than we were fifteen years ago and eat 15 percent more calories today than in 1984. Adult obesity has doubled since 1980, increasing in every region of the country, in both males and females and across all age, race, and socioeconomic groups. As we grow bigger, so have our risk factors for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, elevated cholesterol levels, kidney failure, and certain cancers. We’re at a tipping point in this country, where obesity has started to cost us our longevity.

Proper weight is not just a matter of looking good; it is about health. Being healthy is knowing you can count on your body. Being healthy is about enjoying a well-rounded life: pursuing physical activities you love, enjoying a balanced diet that makes room for all foods in moderation, and tuning in to your emotional and spiritual health. One answer to our national paunch is to stop obsessing about what we eat and start sorting out the sound advice from the babble. In spite of all the conflicting information, the tried-and-true still holds: Load up on real foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; practice portion control; and exercise regularly. It couldn’t be simpler. And because it’s so simple, people find it really boring. But these actions are the only safe and stable ways to lose weight. Try not to react to every new nutritional study that comes down the pike, either, since much of this information will be replaced by a new panacea next month. And start savoring your food, whether it’s a steaming bowl of oatmeal or a piece of double-fudge cake you share with your friends at a great restaurant.

Video   Snyderman debunks common diet myths May 5: NBC’s chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman explains the truths behind some of the myths about dieting that could be preventing you from losing weight. Today show

Food is good for you, and it’s good for your soul. Enjoy it! I feel that beyond being a myth buster, this book should also act as a pal. I can help you most effectively if I give you enough truthful information to guide you out of the confusing diet maze. Then you can say, “Enough is enough. Tomorrow I’m starting on a new course that is best for me.” So treat this book as a resource, a constant companion, and a lifetime guide for taking weight off and keeping it off.

Many of us have been fed (excuse the pun) bad information about diet, nutrition, and weight loss. Bad information means bad choices, and bad choices mean bad results — or no results. You can’t get in shape and stay healthy unless you know the truth. This book will bring you face-to-face with the truth about dieting and weight loss, and armed with that truth, you’ll learn how to:

Check out information before you act on it. For example, if you were told that eating fifteen grapefruits each day would help you burn fat, would you go to the nearest supermarket and stock up? Or would you check it out first?

Make informed decisions using sound, straightforward information. Question whether a popular diet will really work for you.

Learn to make a friend of food and exercise. This will allow you to safely sprinkle the not-so healthy stuff through your diet and not feel deprived.

Understand that being overweight isn’t always the result of overeating and underexercising. There’s a lot more to fatness than lack of willpower. For many of you, being overweight is not your fault. Yet there are still many factors that are within your power to change.

How you eat can lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.

Discover little-known yet powerful facts and motivating ideas that can keep you trim and energetic.

Make important permanent changes — the kind you can live with for the rest of your life — in your eating habits.

Escape the forbidden-food mentality, allow yourself some leeway, and learn to enjoy food again with my Treat Yourself Diet — and lose weight in the process. Whether your weight-loss goal is 5 pounds, 50 pounds, or more, you can achieve it in some of the most enjoyable ways possible — by eating the foods you love in satisfying moderation. It’s not about becoming supermodel thin or adhering to someone else’s ideal, either — it’s about being healthy and feeling great. And it’s never too late to begin the journey. I am living proof that decades-old diet patterns can, with intervention and commitment, be changed. I am at peace with food. And I want you to be at peace, too.

Excerpted from "Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat" by Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Copyright (c) 2009, reprinted with permission from Random House.

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