I watched the ITV programme: Claire Sweeney: My Big Fat Diet

I watched the Claire Sweeney My Big Fat Diet programme last evening. Here are my thoughts about it:

The peg on which the programme hung was that Claire would abandon her usual highly disciplined pattern of eating (about which I noted that she said she was always hungry! - not a healthy way of living, in my opinion) - and her rather heavy commitment to exercise, which seemed to involve a great deal of running up and down an outdoor stairway - very boring, I thought - and a lot of repetitive exercises like sit-ups, etc. accompanied by her personal trainer and a stopwatch.

I think most people would want to abandon that routine...

However, the idea was that after abandoning this unhealthy routine, she would take up a different unhealthy routine for 6 weeks - of eating whatever she felt like, whenever she felt like it, and eating/drinking as much as she wanted - and see how much weight she would gain and how unfit she would become.

She didn't stick to this though. At first she claimed not to be making a pig of herself and deliberately eating more than she wanted, but later on it was clear that she was forcing herself to eat more than she wanted, because she was, for example, really struggling to stuff a HUGE concoction of layers of bread bun and other stuff into her mouth when her mouth was nowhere near big enough to get it round the concoction...)o: - I forget what was in the ghastly mountain - was it a built-up hamburger? - meat/cheese/sauce etc etc squashed into the bread? - No way would I or anyone I know ever eat such awful 'food' in such quantity in such an ugly form or unattractive way...)o: -

She gained a load of weight very quickly indeed! - And raised her blood pressure and her pulse rate, etc.

If you force yourself to eat more than you have a stomach for you will of course gain weight, just as the guy in the 'Supersize Me' film did. - He gorged himself constantly, making himself feel ill and sick, eating far more than anyone in real life would.

This is NOT how people become fat. - It so clearly isn't. - And most fat people are constantly trying to lose weight or at any rate not to gain more weight. They are not trying to burst out of their skin. They are uncomfortable and long to weigh less and feel less bloated and not be laughed at and insulted... This means in reality that most fat people are watching what they eat, counting calories, etc most of the time for many years, often for most of their lives. - Yes, some of them eat too much, but that is a minority of them. And some slim people eat too much as well. - The apparent paradox there is that the naturally slim people simply excrete the excess calories/fat/salt they eat, whereas the fat people have a different body chemistry and cannot do this.

Such a pity that the programme reinforced yet again the false stereotype of fat people as greedy and lazy...)o:

It wasn't the amount of fat/food/calories that Claire ate that caused her to gain a lot of weight fast (though the amount of alcohol she seemed to be knocking back would certainly have contributed to the fluid retention in her abdomen). - It was that her salt intake must have been very high, and as a person who had in the past had an eating disorder - bulimia - she will have a tendency to salt sensitivity/fluid retention and so will easily put weight on.

I didn't think much to the programme. People need to be told the truth - namely that salt intake and fluid retention are the main critical factors that determine whether they are overweight or not. - Exercise has nothing to do with it, however many people insist to you that exercise helps you to lose weight. - It doesn't! - Reducing salt intake and avoiding dieting result in swift, safe weight loss, and if Claire happens to read this, then I advise her to adopt this easy, healthy way of living and give up always being hungry and constantly pounding those boring outdoor steps - and cut down on the booze! - Alcohol causes fluid retention in the abdomen if you are sensitive to salt.

A note about the clothes Claire wore in the show: - she seemed to go out of her way to wear the tightest clothes she could manage to get into, so that it was absolutely impossible not to notice her fatter tummy, etc. - Doesn't she have any clothes that are not skin-tight?

The final irony of the programme to me was that salt was not mentioned even once in the context of weight gain/loss, except that at the end Claire said something about taking something 'with a grain of salt'...(o:

Lose weight safely, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

I watched Ann Widdecombe present a programme criticising the Diet Industry on ITV1 tonight

There's more information about it here: http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/AnnWiddecombeVersustheDietIndustry/Ep1/default.html

Ann Widdecombe is a good presenter for this sort of programme. Her main message was that "Diets Don't Work!" I think and hope that it will do some good. It highlighted the harmful role that so many of the glossy magazines do with their emphasis on dieting and on celebrity tips for losing weight and on photos of celebrities with extremely slim bodies, very unlike most people.

I was particularly impressed by the success of a woman psychologist who worked with a small group of teenage girls to raise their confidence and self-esteem so that they no longer felt that they had to lose weight in order to be liked. Her work was very worthwhile and the girls were clearly happier and no longer obsessed with diet nonsense.

Ms Widdecombe's visit to America and to Hollywood showed people whose obsession to be ultra-slim was so great that many resort to hugely expensive, ridiculously extensive weight reduction surgery, which she herself was offered and sensibly refused, not being a gullible fool.

The experts on the programme were wisely against the daft and often dangerous diets. Sadly, not one of them gave the best advice of all for losing excess weight safely and reliably, namely avoiding salt and salty food. - And Ann Widdecombe own advice for losing weight: "the best way to shift the pounds and stay slim is to eat less and move more" is not correct. - Very, very few people lose weight by doing that, and are often harmed by trying it.

To lose weight safely and rapidly, you need to give up dieting and low calorie/low fat junk altogether! - You can eat more food, more calories and still lose excess weight provided that overall your salt/sodium intake is lower. And faster still if you eat plenty of fruit and unsalted vegetables, i.e. potassium-rich food.

Yes, although it contains no calories, salt is fattening! - because it causes fluid retention - but only if you are sensitive to salt... - Read more:

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods and

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

The Duchess of York in Hull TV programmes. Also the Slimfast advert during the commercial break.

I watched both of the programmes on ITV1 about the Duchess of York trying to help an overweight, disadvantaged family living on the Preston Road Estate in Hull. I must say my opinion of the duchess rose considerably as a result of seeing these programmes. She was kind, friendly, understanding and helpful. Unlike many diet gurus, her manner was not at all patronising or bullying, and I think the family will have pleasant memories of their contact with her and so will continue to benefit from her sensible advice and ideas.

I was struck by one of the adverts during one of the commercial breaks - that for Slimfast. - There was the usual note on the screen about the product only helping with slimming if it is taken as part of a calories controlled diet...)o: - This is RUBBISH! - It is UNTRUE! - Calorie control/restriction/reduction/counting does not IN ANY WAY assist with losing excess weight.

The ONLY way to reduce excess weight is to reduce fluid retention, which is the cause of excess weight. - This means in practice reducing salt/sodium intake and/or increasing intake of potassium-rich foods such as fruit and fresh vegetables.

I wrote to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) years ago about this calorie-controlled diet advice, which is so widespread. The ASA is supposed to ensure that adverts are "legal, decent, honest and truthful." - Well these calorie claims are not true; they are misleading and damaging. To lose excess weight, calorie reduction is unnecessary, counter-productive and harmful, and furthermore, there has never been a shred of evidence to support the claims made about calorie reduction, nor have the claims ever even been put to the test... - But the ASA has never done anything about these fraudulent claims... - So, in my opinion, the ASA is pretty useless...)o:

Salty food causes fluid retention/weight gain/obesity in people who are sensitive to salt, so for overweight people to lose weight they need to avoid eating salt and salty food.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Children and Obesity

vulnerable groups

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See FAT RETENTION

advice for pregnant mothers

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

There were warnings on ITV's "Tonight with Trevor McDonald" about the bad side-effects experienced by some people when taking Lipitor, a statin drug.

Statins, among them Lipitor, are clearly being over-prescribed both in the USA and in Britain, and are undoubtedly harming some of the people who take them; and sometimes the harm done is both serious and permanent.

This sensible programme explored changing to a healthier lifestyle as an alternative to statins as a way of reducing high cholesterol levels; and the healthier lifestyle brought about significant improvement in all of the patients who tried it. - And unlike with taking statins, there were no adverse side-effects.

You can also lower high cholesterol levels by cutting down on salt and salty food.

You can read more about statins, and the bad experiences of people who have taken statins, by clicking on the statins tag under this blog entry.

Lose weight and improve your health in many ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/ami.html

vulnerable groups

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

This evening I watched a programme about diet pills on ITV. - But there is no need to diet or to take pills to lose weight...

The fastest, safest, surest way to lose excess weight is to stop eating salt/sodium and salty food. - Dieting and diet pills are harmful, unnecessary and do not reduce obesity.

Obesity is not caused by overeating; it is caused by fluid retention/salt sensitivity.

Lose weight and improve your health in many ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html

vulnerable groups

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

I watched ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald this evening - entitled Food for the Brain

The ITV website says: "Children and teachers at a previously under-performing school discover if a radical, year-long experiment overhauling their diet and fitness has yielded improvements in the classroom."

What a pleasure it was to see how improved nutrition benefited the these primary schoolchildren! - The concerted efforts of headmistress, teachers, mothers and the children themselves really did pay off...(o: - Children ate healthier school meals or took healthier packed lunches (in particular, containing fresh fruit) to school. Also their mothers made great efforts to provide them with healthier meals at home. - In particular they cooked, rather than just giving their children ready meals. - Also they sat with their children at the table to eat, instead of the children eating convenience food while sitting watching the TV.

The changes were dramatic and most impressive: - happier children, better behaved children, who were better able to give attention and to concentrate, better able to cooperate and play with their siblings, reading better, scoring higher in school tests, especially maths. - And the mothers were so happy at the improvements and so justifiedly proud of themselves for the results of the work they had put in.

Personally, I don't believe in ADHD and such medical labels for a putative disease that some of the children were supposed to suffer from, and for which no doubt some drug-happy doctors would want to prescribe ritalin. - It simply stands to reason that if you do not feed a body proper food, then both the body and the mind will perform sub-optimally.

The best 'doctor' is good food/good nutrition...(o:


Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods
and Associated health conditions

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free...

Last evening on ITV I watched the final documentary programme about Brookhaven Hospital in New York - the hospital for morbidly obese patients.

Last evening on ITV I watched the final documentary programme about Brookhaven Hospital in New York, the hospital where morbidly obese people go to be cared for and, hopefully, to lose weight. I was, again, very impressed by the kindness, humanity and understanding shown towards the patients by the staff there, especially by the manager of the hospital. Everyone seems to be treated as an individual and care is taken to preserve their dignity. - I don't think I can say the same for the programme editors though...)o: - I will write about this later in this post.

Although there was a theme about the supposed genetic nature of obesity and the risk of children of obese parents becoming obese themselves, I was not very interested in this, because I believe it to be a bit of a red herring. I am confident that any genuine genetic component of obesity is very small compared with the overwhelming magnitude of the main factors, namely prescribed medications which cause sodium and water retention, pregnancy, and eating salty food in childhood. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/vulnerable_groups.html

What particularly interested and impressed me was the success and happiness of some individual patients who lost a great deal of weight in their time at the hospital. The weight loss cannot, of course, have been because of lower calorie intake (See the article in the British Medical Journal of November 2003 article in the British Medical Journal for actual research on what happens when this advice is followed!). The weight loss must be because the meals at the hospital are much lower in salt/sodium that the food that these patients had been eating prior to going into the hospital. - Obese people who reduce their sodium intake always lose weight - because of excreting extra water - even if they eat more calories than before...

I fear that when those successful patients eventually return home they may gain weight again simply because their meals are unlikely to be as low in salt as those at that hospital. - On the other hand, they may now have come to prefer less salty food and may be able to keep to lower sodium food. - I do hope so.

It would all be so much easier if the 'expert' advice about obesity contained the information about salt and fluid retention... - And if reckless high dose prescribing of steroids and other drugs which cause sodium retention were to be curbed BY LAW.

My criticism of the programme makers lies in the way they portrayed the sons of the brave woman who lost such a lot of weight. - We hardly seemed to see these young men doing anything other than eating - and they were always shown as though they were gluttonous pigs...)o: - They were kind, loving sons to their mother and obviously decent guys, who should not have been spoken of patronisingly or held up to ridicule in this way. - It is definitely NOT their fault that the 'experts' do not tell them that eating less salt is the key to losing excess weight safely, rapidly and easily. When obese people make a genuine effort to eat less sodium they usually lose about 14 pounds in the first month.

Obese people are almost always portrayed on TV as though they are gluttons. It has become the popular perception of obese people. But it is unfair and untrue. - Most obese people are, sadly, 'dieting' or watching calories most of the time. Some, of course, overeat - but some slim people overeat; in fact I think most of the people who overeat are slim. - The fact is that simply overeating does NOT cause obesity, as I have explained above.

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)
If you would like my help, I can be emailed from my website.

I watched the ITV programme "Half Ton Hospital: Tonight Special" this evening. It featured the New York obesity clinic, Brookhaven Hospital.

In this documentary we saw a few of the patients/residents in this clinic, one of whom, a young woman, sadly died during the time period covered. - Many obese people suffer from sleep apnoea; they have particular difficulty in managing to keep breathing while they are in bed asleep, so they wear oxygen masks to help with this. This young woman had forgotten to put on her oxygen mask one night and that was why she had died.

Most of the morbidly obese residents were trying to lose weight by adopting the measure advised by the director of the clinic, namely to eat only 1500 calories a day and to take more exercise. Many of them, understandably, could not keep to this regime and there was a lot of what was called 'cheating' - i.e. sending out for food to be brought in - food that was then eaten 'in secret'. - But the CCTV cameras showed this happening.

The director seemed a nice fellow, and was very concerned about the harm that obesity surgery (bariatric surgery) can do and the deaths that often result from it. He wanted to protect one of the residents from this. But the young woman was determined to have it done and by the end of the programme she had had gastric surgery. We were told that this meant that she would then have to eat and drink very little in order not to strain/burst the small stomach that she now has.

But the director was quite right, this young woman could not keep to the regime. She had already started to eat extra food and presumably will damage her stomach.

I can't cover all the programme with what I write here, obviously, but I feel I should commend the kindness that was evident. Those fat patients were not insulted (except when they were in public, away from the clinic) and were treated with respect as fellow human beings.

The sadness is that nobody realised that all they needed to do was eat less salt/sodium... - There is no need to restrict calories and there is no need to increase exercise. Because obesity is not caused by overeating or by insufficient exercise; it is caused by fluid retention, usually in people who are sensitive to salt. Exercise is awkward and often hazardous for obese people. And obese people need a lot of calories/food because carrying all the extra water/weight about uses up a great deal of energy.

One young woman managed to lose 3 stone in weight in a month, keeping to the 1500 calories a day and doing more exercise. - I firmly believe that the reason she lost weight was actually because she must have been eating a lot less salt. - I feel sure that she could have eaten twice as many calories and still lost a lot of weight fast provided that she avoided all salt and also ate plenty of fruit and fresh vegetables.

I invite you to read my Mensa article Obesity and the Salt Connection

You don't have to believe me, of course. - But the thing about what I say is that I'm not selling anything, and you can easily put my advice to the test. You also have the reassurance that cutting down on the amount of salt you eat is completely safe and will benefit your health in many ways.

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)