Why Diets Make You Fatter -- And What to Do About It | | AlterNet
It's that time of the year again. Every January, the weight-loss frenzy begins anew as the overeating of the holiday season subsides and millions of us resolve that this will be the year that we will lose weight and keep it off. Dieting has become one of the great American pastimes, and no matter what our size, none of us is immune from the messages that we're too fat -- or that we'd better start worrying about becoming too fat.
We read about the latest diet craze, enter weight-loss contests, and talk about our dieting struggles. We celebrate the shedding of pounds, and commiserate about their eventual return. As we stand in line at the grocery store, surreptitiously scanning The National Enquirer, we're filled in about the fat-thin-fat-thin roller-coaster ride of Oprah, Russell Crowe, Kirstie Alley, Jessica Simpson, John Travolta, and any other celebrity who puts on or takes off the pounds. As we unload our shopping cart, magazine covers promise that we can lose weight and keep it off, that we can have firm abs and thin thighs, and that we can accomplish all of this before the spring fashion season rolls in. It's hard to miss the irony that the same magazines feature recipes for delectable five-cheese lasagna and melt-in-your- mouth double-chocolate fudge cake.
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Thanks, Meaddows! Interesting thing about the 'holiday season' weight gain syndrome is that it coincides with annual cycles, fattening up for the deepest parts of winter by partaking in the abundance of autumn, losing that padding during the lean time, gaining a bit again in spring when nutrition-laden sprouts are abundant, and leaning out through the active summer months. I wonder if it's not just a great opportunity to capitalize on nature.
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