The Diet Of A Lifetime
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A lot of people ask me should I go on a diet? It's a great question. I certainly can't argue with people when they attempt to lose weight. But I do have concerns about people dramatically altering the foods they eat for short term gains.
It is not the weight loss that bothers me. It is the fact that when they return to eating a poor diet they often gain more weight than they lost and they may replace lost muscle mass with body fat.
Now you see my dilemma. I know that if they lose weight they reduce their risks for all sorts of problems including high blood pressure and diabetes. I don't want to discourage that. So what do I say?
It is best to lose weight slowly and consistently. When you do this, it is much less likely that you will gain weight quickly. To those who say I only lost a pound in a week, my response is at least you didn't gain a pound. That may sound sarcastic but it's not.
The point I'm making is there is progress even when you don't lose weight. Diet is a lifetime process not something done in a week or month or six months. You won't find this in diet books but it's the truth.
Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor
