What is the best weight loss program out there? Before I answer that, consider the following. In the United States, over a third of the population is considered not just overweight but obese. This is why Americans spent an estimated $40 billion dollars last year on weight loss programs and products. For all of this time and money spent, you would think that the United States would be well on it’s way to becoming a fit and healthy nation. You’d be wrong, however. The truth of the matter is that only 5% of people who follow some kind of weight loss program maintain their new slimmer weight for a year or more. A 2007 UCLA study entitled “Diets Are Not the Answer” came to the following conclusions: “One Third to Two Thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost on their diets.” “There is little support for the notion that diets lead to lasting weight loss or health benefits” The UCLA researchers concluded with the following: It appears that dieters who manage to sustain a weight loss are the rare exception, rather than the rule. Dieters who gain back more weight than they lost may very well be the norm, rather than an unlucky minority. You may already have heard of the above, or perhaps it is new to you. Regardless, the conclusions we can draw from the above are obvious. Diets don’t work? What is the best weight loss program then (to answer my original question)? Don’t diet at all! From my experience, the whole idea of a diet is ill conceived from the start. A diet forces you to radically change your eating habits for a period of time. However, these changes are only temporary. As you approach whatever you consider to be your ideal weight, most people typically just go back to their regular eating habits, and the weight comes back with a vengeance. This is why diets fail. What is the best weight loss program then? You need to analyze your current eating habits, and make minor changes to those. One good strategy is to keep a journal and write down every time you eat something. It is important to record why you are eating, as well as the circumstances. What you will soon learn is that, unlike animals in the wild, you are eating for a variety of reason other than hunger. This is why the best weight loss program is one that focuses on your habits surrounding food, and not necessarily the food itself.