Learning to live your way thin

[Guest guest]

Learning to live your way thin

January 01,2006

BY The Free Press

Americans are desperate to find a way to lose weight. Whether it is

because the doctor says so or because of the desire to improve

personal appearance, Americans will spend billions this year on

pills, diets, food supplements, videos and even fat camps.

Some have found success, but many, perhaps most, have found

frustration and failure as their weight goes up and down, or they

simply lose no weight at all.

According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, 30

percent of United States adults 20 years of age and older - more

than 60 million people - are obese.

And it's a number that is growing every year, despite the fact that

more than $30 billion a year is spent fighting it.

Being overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, results from " an imbalance involving

excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity. "

In other words, as experts have told us for years, we need to eat

less and exercise more. But we apparently always have hoped there

would be more to it than that. And so the marketplace has filled

with products designed to shortcut weight-loss.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken hundreds of products and

companies to court in the last several decades trying to protect

Americans from outlandish and sometimes dangerous claims.

A " Super-Formula pill, " for instance, claimed several years ago that

it would block fat absorption, curb appetite and speed metabolism,

blasting " up to 49 pounds off you in only 29 days! " The FTC froze

the company's assets, and they quickly were out of business. But

where one claim disappears another appears.

" There is no quick-fix when it comes to losing weight permanently, "

says Stavros Mastrogiannis, a certified lifestyle and weight

management consultant.

" There is more misinformation in the weight-loss field than any

other, " he claims. The outlandish claims for quick weight-loss will

not work, or at least will not last, according to Stavros.

" If we want to win the war against over-weight, obesity and all the

diseases that come with it, we need to tackle the problem from the

root, which is our lifestyle habits. "

Stavros, a 12-year veteran in the weight-loss field, studied most of

the dieting advice, research and products offered over the years and

applied what he learned to his clients.

" As my approach evolved, " he says, " more and more of my clients

began to see results. " His conclusion was that losing weight

requires a permanent change in lifestyle.

You must incorporate into your lifestyle four major ingredients.

They include some form of resistance training, some form of

aerobics, proper nutrition and, most importantly, consistency.

Stravros has compiled what he has learned about changing lifestyles

in his book, " Live Your Way Thin. " In it, he gives readers the tools

needed for making permanent changes in their day-to-day lifestyle.

His approach is the only one on the market that includes all the

four ingredients necessary for successful and permanent weight-loss.

For more information about Mastrogiannis and his book, visit jayw@

event-management.com.