Facts and Figures

Here are some facts and figures to ponder:

So long as you take in less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. 100% of diets that follow this formula work. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.

100% of all people who go on diets experience success to some extent and for some period of time . . . . . . however, 95% of all people who go on diets gain back whatever weight they lost plus more. (Now just take a moment to think about that - how many billions of dollars spent, how many dreams trashed, how may spirits broken, how many serious health problems returned, how many feelings of helplessness and failure and disappointment does this represent?)

100% of the people who gain back the weight they lost can point to at least one contributory factor that was out of their personal control which lead to their failure.

For people who undergo the most drastic surgical stomach by-pass procedure, the average weight loss is about 70% of what they need to lose (this means that if they need to lose 200 pounds the average person loses 130 pounds and remains 70 pounds overweight); and approximately 30% of patients figure out a way (drinking milk shakes and eating calorie dense foods) to "bypass" the by-pass, and even with a stomach the size of a peanut, gain back the weight lost.

100% of all people who are overweight KNOW they are overweight.

100% of all people who are overweight are inundated by thousands of messages in the mass media to feel bad about themselves.

100% of all people who are overweight think that their lives would improve if they lost weight.

100% of all people who are overweight have tried to lose weight.

100% of all people who are overweight find it harder as they get older to lose weight.

100% of people who are overweight think they would be more lovable if they lost weight.

100% of people who are overweight have experienced embarrassment or shame surrounding their weight.

100% of people will have different sets of contributing factors to how successful or how unsuccessful a program will work for them. These include genetics, background, health, access to food, income, age, race, activity, ability, disability, circumstances, support, education, intelligence, integrity, character, spirituality, motivation, commitment, willpower, tenaciousness, anger, love, hunger, sleep patterns, world events, ability to rationalize, ability to make excuses, ability to blame others, ability to cook, social commitments, relative belief in the potential for success in the program they have begun, relative belief in the advice and skill of medical professionals, competence of assistance, competence of support materials, the success or failure of friends and celebrities who have tried the same program, the tendency to binge, the tendency to quit, the tendency to win, the tendency to follow directions, the tendency to be depressed, the tendency to be hyper, the ability to stick to a routine, agility, skill in sports, access to recreation, latitude, longitude, political influences, optimism, pessimism, cynacism, need for immediate gratification, ability to delay gratification, altitude, attitude, responsibilities, talents, emergencies, sensory input, occupation, employment, retirement, addictions, expectations, dreams, desires, goals, willingness, marital status, birth order, country of origin, karma, past life experiences, sabotage, metabolism, nutritional balance, distance from home to a McDonalds, distance from work to a McDonalds, the number of fast-food places enroute from home to work, whether there's a Starbuck's within easy access to work, whether the person in the office next door keeps M & Ms in a jar on her desk, whether you have kids who go trick or treating, family holiday traditions concerning food, allergies, sexual activity or inactivity, sensitivity to heat, sensitivity to cold, humidity, sensitivity to chlorine, flatulence, regularity, irritability, irrationality, mental illness, living over a delicatessen, living over a bakery, living next to an Italian restaurant, exposure to ads for buffet restaurants, the number of coupons you get in the mail, the magazines you read, the TV shows you watch, the movies you see, the billboards you spot, dental health, and the ability to come up with a ridiculously long list of contributory factors that affect a person's success on a program.

Obese people spend approximately $180 billion a year on treatments for obesity.

Obese people have increased health problems and die younger than nonobese people.

Obese people experience more employment discrimination and average less income due to underemployment than nonobese people.

100% of obese people have great reasons to want to lose weight, and still 95% of them fail.