Not All Spiders are Black Widows....

.....in the same way that not all diets are the good for you.

They're not??! Nope. Not even close. 

Today, I did a quick little Google search for the word "diet plans" and there were at least 10 pages of different diets available. Every star and starlet on the planet has one. Talk show hosts have them. Major hospitals and clinics have them.  Diets are a business..and business is boomin'.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Americans spend $40 million a year on diets. That's about the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Costa Rica. For you less up-to-date folks..that means all market value of all the goods and services that Costa Rica has in a year.  Say What?! Yup.  Which is translating in some super rich folks out there..

The media tells us that we have to be thin. (You don't see many chunky stars.)  The fashion industry tells us we have to be thin. (Even the plus size models are not really plus size.)  So we buy the lie.. and at $40 mil a year we must be buying it many times over...

"Be like Shari, she lost 57 lbs on our new revolutionary diet!" ...and we see Shari. Doesn't she look happy? I wanna be happy. She didn't have to think about what she ate. It came in little packages. She just popped it in the micro and viola, she lost weight! .... So you buy the meal plans...and they work. You lose 50lbs.. You are happy for a month or so.. but.. slowly... "OH MY GOSH!".. what did that scale say.. You gained 12 lbs? That can't be right?! Shari said I'd lose 57 lbs!!! ... and then you gain 14 lbs more...because honey, you didn't learn anything. You never learned how to adjust anything. You never learned how to be healthy. 

As Americans we are just little lemmings all running toward the "Weight Loss Cliff".. together. 

Let me enlighten you. Totally free of charge. We are overweight because we eat too much. We eat too often. We eat all the wrong things. Food tastes good, so we eat it. We take in more calories than we can burn off, so we gain weight. There ya go. Oh.. and here's the big secret: Eat less and exercise more for a healthier life ...and all without the $199.95 exclusive information fee! 

Stop trying to buy willpower, folks. Stop trying to buy pre-made little diet snacks and lunches. Stop giving in to these huge businesses who prey on those of us with low self-esteem and low self-image. Accept yourself the way you are. Get healthy from there. Start with your mind, wayyyy before you even try to pick up a barbell or the next best diet plan. Learn to love you. Your body is only your shell. You are you. Not just your body.