You’re right. They define dieting as:

“The term dieting has been used to refer to a wide range of behaviors, but we use it solely to refer to the specific behavior of severely restricting one’s calorie intake to lose weight.”

I’m still reading the report. After the crap about Medicare rules it’s getting interesting. I’m not sure yet though what the studies they’re looking at actually had patients eat, though.

The question is, why do so many people have problems sustaining diets long-term? I personally don’t buy into the reflexive attribution to laziness, stupidity, or “ingrained food habits returning.” I mean those may play a role, but there also seem to be physical changes with weight loss that increase food cravings, so that’s probably part of the problem. The National Weight Loss Registry is building a database of people who’ve lost large amounts of weight and kept it off for a year or more, so they’re trying to figure out what works too.

You make a great point…we could achieve those things if we just took the small steps we need to take instead of looking for instant gratification.

Brian

Being thin fixes a few problems…like fitting into public bathroom stalls and being able to keep up with your kids. But I think when it comes to your deep down honest to goodness opinion of yourself, your slimness is only a tiny part of the equation.

Thanks for the thought-provoking-osity of that post. =)