Here's a statement I frequently hear from people who are dieting.

"I'm trying super hard to not get discouraged,
but I'm not seeing enough results
even though I'm sticking to my diet."

Even though we are "responsible-adults" in almost every way, when it comes to dieting and weight-loss most of us are like spoiled children, expecting to receive something we simply have not yet earned.

Each of us lives inside an individual body, and bodies differ as to how fast they lose weight ... even when they eat exactly the same amount of the same foods.

Our ONLY real CONTROL over the size of our bodies is the food we put into our mouths ... AND, we have the ability ... although it is difficult... to control our behavior with food.

Eating less is the CAUSE of weight-loss.

Weight-loss is the RESULT of our eating BEHAVIOR.

  We DO NOT have any control over the speed of our weight-loss, and until we understand and accept this, we are not going to have the PATIENCE, and the PERSISTENCE, that it takes to continually, day-after-day engage in the kind of eating behavior that CAUSES weight-loss.

There is really no WAY that any one individual body can lose weight faster than it can when strictly following a diet that allows only a tiny bit of food intake, ... for example one such as the 5-bite diet.  Even a total water fast would BARELY increase one's weight-loss speed.  So, if you feel that a very-low-calorie-diet such as the 5-bite diet is a good choice for you, personally,  I say do everything you can to stick with it, no matter whether your weight-loss results are fast or slow.

Working to control one's eating behaviors is EFFORT.

Weight-loss that occurs from skillful eating behaviors is a RESULT.

Although we are responsible for our EFFORTS,
we are not responsible for our RESULTS.

Eating Behavior skills for becoming thinner can be acquired, and using them can help accomplish that task. But even with the consistent application of the same eating behaviors, people's weights will vary. Weight is only partially determined by factors under our control. As we look around and size one another up, we have to stop thinking that a variation in size means a variation in effort.

Belts and bathroom scales measure RESULTS.

They do not measure EFFORTS.

 
 
Human physiology accounts for many variations among us. Genetic mutations exist which result in greater or lesser energy efficiency, and other variations in metabolism influencing the propensity to gain, retain, or lose weight.

While most people are vulnerable to the obesigenic influences of the modern world, some of us are far more vulnerable than others. All of us can lose weight when calories in are less than calories out, but it takes very differing efforts for some of us, than for others, to get There from Here.

Weight is neither a behavior, nor a choice.

Almost no one can wake up and decide exactly what to weigh... no matter which diet they decide to implement in order to become thinner. 

Many Thin people put far less Effort into their eating behaviors than the Efforts that are put forth by Fat people. Variation in size doesn't equal variation in effort. It is important to recognize that even the best application of eating behavior skills will not turn weight Results into a Behavior.

We don't ALL get the same RESULTS from the same EFFORTS.

Does weight-loss make fat people healthier?
          Not necessarily.

Is permanent weight-loss even possible for the majority of people? 
          No.

Since neither of these questions can be answered in the affirmative, what are fat people to do?

The Weight Loss paradigm is that fat people should feed their bodies less food than they need to survive in the hope that they will eat themselves and become smaller, and also healthier.

The Health at Every Size (HAES) paradigm is that people at every size can make behavior choices based on their own prioritization of health; the path they choose; and their current situation.

Research indicates that,… although there are never any guarantees and health is never entirely within our control, … working toward healthy behaviors is the best way for us to support our bodies, rather than, choosing to use food and movement in an attempt to manipulate one’s size while hoping that good health comes along for the ride.


What is Behavior-Centered Health?
          It is a health practice in which healthy choices and behaviors are the Goal, rather than a particular size, weight, or shape.

What is Health at Every Size?

1. Accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes.
   
   
2. Recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional and that they include physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional, and intellectual aspects.
   
   
3. Promoting all aspects of health and well-being for people of all sizes.
   
   
4. Promoting eating in a manner which balances individual nutritional needs, hunger, satiety, appetite, and pleasure.
   
   
5. Promoting individually appropriate, enjoyable, life-enhancing physical activity, rather than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.

If a Past Miracle were in the Present Time..