Our national obsession: The weight-loss merry-go-round.

One out of every two people in the United States is overweight. Despite 20 years of increasingly sophisticated diets, the average person is now five pounds heavier. One of the largest chair manufacturers in the country claims to have widened its standard seats by two inches to accommodate the expanding American derriere!

We spend billions of dollars every year to lose weight and look better. Obviously, we are failing. We diet to lose weight. Then we gain it back with a little extra. Then we diet again. Round and around we go. The bottom line--it’s a weight–loss merry-go-round that’s just no fun.

Our culture sends mixed messages: “Eat fat – stay thin.”

America’s most popular magazines and TV networks flaunt beautiful, slender people in full-color ads promoting rich, fattening foods. Grocery stores offer 25,000 slickly packaged, calorie-dense products along with magazines touting the latest quickie diet

Modern food technology has turned inexpensive, low-calorie, high-volume foods into expensive, high-calorie, low volume “caloric bombs.” It’s now possible to eat a whole meal’s worth of calories with only a few bites. No wonder people feel hungry and dissatisfied – and overeat!

Eating can be enjoyable, healthy and help prevent disease for a longer life.

You can enjoy healthy eating – and share it with those you love most.

You’ve got a head start. It’s called “motivation!”

Most Americans want to eat right and be healthy. But we get buried under layers of discouragement, bulges of overindulgence, and mountains of misconceptions.

By finding a dietary lifestyle that maintains health, increases energy, lowers the risk of disease, reduces food bills, and allows people to eat as much as they want and still lose weight, we can achieve the “American Dream” – modified to reflect reality

Losing weight: In theory it’s simple!

Overweight occurs when food calories eaten exceed the calories used by the body of physical activity and maintaining bodily functions. These leftover calories are stored as fat. We pay for every 3,500 extra calories we accumulate with one pound of fat deposited on our hips, thighs, or wherever our excess weight naturally lands.

By just adding one extra pat of butter (100 calories) to our daily diet, we add up to 10 pounds of extra body fat in one year! On the other hand, omitting dessert (500 fewer calories) for seven days will remove one pound of body fat.

The real secret to keeping weight off.

Most people can lose weight. But few of us can keep it off. That’s because the secret to weight control is establishing a whole new lifestyle when it comes to food. It’s a whole-life commitment. “Till death do us part.” But like marriage, a commitment to healthy eating and lifestyle can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life!

Food lovers – get ready to feast!

If you love food but want to lose weight, good. You can eat more and still become slimmer and more fit.

• Eat more fresh and steamed vegetables. But go easy on the sauces and salad dressings. They can add fat and make a healthy meal a dietary disaster!

• Enjoy whole grains found in cooked cereals, brown rice, whole-grain breads, and pasta. Eat up. They’re low in calories and high in dietary fiber, which is important for health.

• Don’t be misled. Tubers and legumes like potatoes, yams, squash, all kinds of beans, lentils and peas are great for nutrition and your diet.

• Focus on fresh, whole fruits. They’re packed with essential vitamins and fiber. Some say they are the “perfect food.”

You can eat as much of these foods as you like because the way they come naturally is filling, nutritious, inexpensive, and low in calories. Eat your fill! Enjoy!

Eat less of what harms you.

Beware of processed foods. If it’s not the way nature made it, it’s probably not as good for you.

• Limit your intake of refined, processed, and concentrated foods. They are high in calories, cost more, and are low in nutrients and fiber.

• Cut down on nuts, meats, and rich dairy products. While these foods are nutritious, they have little fiber and bulk and are high in fat and calories. Meats and cheeses are 60-80% fat. No wonder they make you fat!

• Don’t skip breakfast. Make lunch your biggest meal. And try not to eat dinner too late. Avoid snacking throughout the day.

Get real. Get healthy. Get slimmer.

It’s time to put an end to those unbalanced, semi-starvation diets that leave you frustrated, discouraged, and heavier than you were when you started. Begin a lifestyle that will transform your habits toward and produce a lifetime of better health. By avoiding popular trends and choosing the right kind of foods, you can eat more and still lose one to two pounds a week. That’s a real dream for responsible Americans and for people everywhere.

Your best guide to eating right is eating foods the way God created them – not the way man has processed them!

Modern food technology: We’ve created a “food Monster.”

In the guise of progress, modern “processing” methods strip seven pounds of sugar beets of their bulk fiber and nutrients to produce one pound of “pure sugar.” And because we’ve developed such a love for them, sugar and refined sweeteners now account for 21% of daily calories eaten.

Because of its bulk, it is almost impossible to get too many calories from eating corn. But technology converts 14 ears of corn into one tablespoon of corn oil and represents 110 calories and can be consumed in one gulp!

Grains, robbed of fiber and nutrients, can be turned into alcohol, accounting for another 9% of empty calories many adults consume every day. Add it all up – more than 50% of the typical American diet consists of processed and concentrated calories, devoid of vital nutrients and valuable fiber – a sure-fire formula for weight gain.

You CAN overcome unhealthy eating!

FIVE TIPS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK . . .

• Drink plenty of water – 6-8 glasses every day. Try herb teas, mineral water or just plain water. Restrict sodas for special occasions.

• Walk briskly every day. Keep at it until you can do 30-60 minutes without fatigue or shortness of breath.

• Beware of weak moments. If one cookie leads to a dozen, don’t eat the first one. Don’t buy problem foods. If they aren’t around, you won’t be tempted. If you feel bored, frustrated or lonely, go for a walk, drink a glass of water, call a supportive friend, or “feast” on natural foods like grapes, juicy melons or crunchy carrot sticks. Sugarless chewing gum helps.

• Connect with your spiritual resources. Remember that you are a child of God. He doesn’t make losers. You were created for health and prosperity. Capitalize on your spiritual heritage.

• Listen to your body. Eat at regular times when you’re hungry. But stop as soon as that hunger subsides. Don’t eat until you’re stuffed. Give your digestive system a rest. It’s good to fast 3-4 hours between meals.

There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor.
Ecclesiastics 2:24, NKJV