For publication January 26, 2006

Dieting can make you fat!
By Aram Ovsepian

"Diet" - perhaps it's the dirtiest word in the English language; certainly, it's the most feared! The mere mention of the word can make grown women cry and bring strong men to their knees. And yet, if you've ever tried one of the popular diets on today's pop culture menu - the Atkins's Diet, the South Beach Diet, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, the Grapefruit Diet, the low fat/high protein diet or the low protein/high fat diet or the all ice-cream-all-day diet (I'm sure it's out there), then you already know what I know - diets don't work!

Any diet program that you decide to follow, only until you reach your goal, is destined to fail. Any modification of your eating habits that you undertake, knowing from the start that it's only temporary, is a game. And any diet that totally eliminates one essential nutrient in favor of another, is playing devil's advocate with your health.

Actually, the only diet that is very predictable and will do exactly what its name implies is the "Yo-yo Diet." You're up, you're down; you're high, you're low; you're on, you're off; you're wound up tight, you're bottomed out and then it starts all over again.

Still not sure that diets don't work? And you don't quite see how diets can make you fat?

OK, remember how you felt on your last diet? Deprived. Depressed. Gradually growing more and more desperate. You watched every ounce and pound, counting the days til you could stop...and eat again. Finally, you lost the 8 pounds, or 10 pounds or 20. You were so filled with gratitude and pride. You were euphoric. Now this calls for a celebration! And what's a celebration without an extra large pizza with all the toppings? Or whatever your favorite equivalent. Just this once. Well, maybe we'll have a little pasta tomorrow night, too.

How long did it take for the euphoria to turn into anesthesia? You felt no pain as you packed the pounds back on, this time with a little extra and a vengeance. Now you could feel the pain, the self-pity and disillusionment as you loosened your belt and began looking around for your next diet. Enough already!

Perhaps it's time to look at the situation from another perspective, the whole picture. No one goes to bed one night and wakes up the next morning 10 pounds heavier. It's a long term process. It involves more sitting and less walking, more TV and less exercise, more pasta, pizza and processed or fast foods and less natural nutrition. So what can you do to reverse it? First, you can accept that a new "diet" won't fix it and then you can learn how a shift in your eating lifestyle will. "Eating lifestyle"...something that will be yours forever.

What would you say if I told you that there is a simple and natural way of eating designed specifically for you? Foods that are perfect for your body, your needs, your genetics, your total health. What if I say that you will never have to count calories again, that some of you might need more good fats to help heal your body, some will need more carbs, but that you all are to avoid the so-called "healthy foods" that are processed and labeled "no sugar," "low fat" or "light?" And what if I also say that you will have more energy, better health, increased mental clarity, less food cravings and attain your ideal weight in less time and with less stress than on any fad diet? Now that would be something, wouldn't it?

Well, I am saying it. And if you take a listen (or look) at my podcast/article "You Are What Your Grandmother Eats!" I'll tell you how it's done. And you'll never think of Grandma quite the same again.