Health & Fitness
Renowned health and fitness expert Marilyn Diamond
reveals the key to lasting weight loss
by Marilyn Diamond
                All over the country, people believe that if they are ever going to get in shape they will have to lose weight. For obesity, the cure is weight loss. Lose weight; look and feel better about yourself. This is what we hear. And here’s how we react:
                “My New Year’s resolution is to lose weight!” ... “I’m crash dieting so I can get into a bathing suit.”... “I’m increasing my cardio to lose weight fast.”... “I’m cutting carbs.”... “I’m going on a low fat diet.”... “I’m cutting calories.”
                Just about everyone goes on at least one diet each year, and therefore diets must work, right? You know as well as I do that diets are a temporary fix, at best. The idea of a diet is really upside down and backwards, and it’s part of the problem, not the solution. It has you going in a completely wrong direction. But, hey, TV talk show hosts are doing it this way; your neighbors, family and even celebrities do it this way. Are we all just spinning our wheels?
                The answer is yes. And here’s why:
                Focus on weight loss can often be what causes a weight problem. What I am telling you is that if you want to look your best, in many cases, you are going to have to put weight on. Muscle weight. Think about this question: what kind of weight do you want to lose and what kind of weight do you need to gain? It’s the pivotal question in any effort you will make to get in shape. Chances are you just want to squeeze into that smaller dress or pants size, which is understandable! But let’s look at it from a different angle.
                Do you want to lose weight or do you want to lose fat? Do you want to take off the fat and keep it off? Of course, you do! But this outdated idea of “weight loss” isn’t going to do that for you. “Weight loss” never really addresses what kind of weight you are going to lose. You can lose water weight, which will come right back on. And you can lose muscle tissue and water, which is what most people do on diets. Unfortunately, this is the major reason why 99.9% of all diets will only lead you to be heftier and weaker ultimately.
                What we all want and need is to replace fat with muscle. If you aren’t focusing completely on FAT LOSS to get in shape, you never will, and there isn’t a diet out there can successfully make you lose fat. Without exercise, there simply is no way you are ever going to be the shape you want to be. To lose the right kind of weight, you need the right kind of diet and the right kind of exercise. When you have these variables in place, you have a lifestyle that will make you fit and shapely for life.
                As the co-author of Fit for Life, I was into exercise. Knowing what I know today, it wasn’t the right kind of exercise, and it often bothers me that my message gave so many people the impression that all you have to do to lose weight is change the way you eat. I have been determined to figure out why even lifestyle diets really haven’t delivered the type of results we are all seeking—and now I understand why.
                Nearly 90 percent of all the aches and pains we experience are caused by weak muscles that are shortened and stiff from non-use. You’ve seen the rubber band that dries in the sun and when your stretch it to use it, it is brittle and immediately breaks. Your body is similar to the rubber band.
                Age is no factor. You’re never too old to feel great. The right diet and exercise program will obliterate those debilitating aches and pains, strengthen and shape the active, calorie-consuming muscles that will burn off the fat, and the years. I’m more than 60 years old and I’m stronger and in far better shape than I was in my 20s. Concentrate on building muscle—this is healthy weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, so, as I mentioned, you may find that you put on a little weight initially with this new approach. Lose the scale and your weight loss mania. Sculpt your muscle. It will tighten and tone your appearance. Being buff—at any age—is far more fun than being too thin, overweight or growing old! 

Bestselling author of the “Fit for Life” series, Marilyn Diamond will release the “Buff Body Breakthrough” in 2006 with her husband, Dr. Donald Burton Schnell. She resides in Sedona, Arizona, and has three grandchildren. She makes regular visits to the Smith Mountain Lake area to play with her granddaughter Remy.