Weight Loss that Lasts: Break Through the 10 Big Diet Myths

257 Pages·2004·1.779 MB·English

by  James M. Rippe M.D., Weight Watchers

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Weight Loss
That Lasts
Break Through
the 10 Big
Diet Myths
James M. Rippe, M.D.
and
Weight Watchers
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2005 by Weight Watchers International,Inc.All rights reserved.Weight
Watchers is the registered trademark of Weight Watchers International,Inc.
Published by John Wiley & Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
Design and composition by Navta Associates,Inc.
All photos were provided by Weight Watchers.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or trans-
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rippe,James M.
Weight watchers weight loss that lasts : break through the 10 big diet
myths / James M.Rippe.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-70528-4 (cloth)
ISBN 0-471-72172-7 (pbk.)
1. Weight loss.2. Medical misconceptions. I.Weight Watchers
International.II.Title.
RM222.2.R5524 2005
613.2’5—dc22
2004023808
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Stephanie,Hart,Jaelin,Devon,and Jamie Rippe—
who make it all worthwhile.
JMR
To Jean Nidetch,founder of
Weight Watchers International,Inc.
KMK
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction The truth will set you free 1
Chapter 1 Is sustainable weight loss possible? 9
Chapter 2 Do those extra few pounds really matter? 27
Chapter 3 Is willpower the key to weight loss? 47
Chapter 4 Should I focus mostly on exercise? 69
Chapter 5 What counts the most—fats,carbs,or calories? 89
Chapter 6 Do my genes or metabolism keep me from
achieving sustainable weight loss? 115
Chapter 7 Is my metabolism affected by what,how,
and when I eat? 133
Chapter 8 Does how I lose weight really matter? 149
Chapter 9 Is there one right approach to weight loss? 169
Chapter 10 Is my weight problem just about me? 189
v
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vi CONTENTS
Conclusion Your personal triumph 207
Afterword 213
Sources 223
Index 237
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Preface
A personal message from
James M. Rippe, M.D.
I am a cardiologist—a physician who specializes in the prevention and
medical treatment of heart disease.I have spent the past twenty-five
years fully engaged in the battle to lower the likelihood of heart disease
for my patients and my country.In addition to my work with patients,
I have written several cardiology textbooks and continue to edit the
major intensive care textbook in the country,Irwin and Rippe’s Intensive
Care Medicine. I have also written books for the general public con-
cerning simple steps that we can all take to lower our risk of heart dis-
ease. Most recently, my book Heart Disease for Dummies provided
commonsense advice about how to lower the risk of developing heart
disease or how to treat it if you already have it.
I am also a researcher. Based on my early research on the health
benefits of walking,I have been called the father of the modern walk-
ing movement,an accolade of which I am extremely proud.I founded
and currently direct the Rippe Lifestyle Institute (RLI) based in Mas-
sachusetts and Florida, one of the largest exercise, nutrition, and
weight management research organizations in the United States.RLI’s
research is designed to help people understand how their diet,level of
vii
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viii PREFACE
physical activity,and weight management techniques have a profound
impact on both their short- and long-term health and on their quality
of life.At RLI,we have studied many different aspects of weight man-
agement and have been able to observe what works and what does not
work on thousands of patients. Over the last twenty years, RLI has
studied thousands of people and presented hundreds of research
papers at important medical and scientific meetings around the world.
Why is a cardiologist coauthoring a book on weight loss? The
answer is simple: Being overweight or obese significantly increases the
likelihood that you will develop heart disease—the number one killer
of both men and women in the United States.Unless we make strides
to help individuals control their weight,we will never get the epidemic
of heart disease under control in our country, or, indeed, throughout
the industrialized world.
I am not a diet doctor.It is not my purpose to convince you to fol-
low a weight-loss plan that I developed.Instead,I am sharing with you
published research on the health aspects of various methods to weight
loss and helping you interpret the research so that you can make use
of them in your life.
My Collaboration with Weight Watchers
Although this is the first book that I’ve coauthored with Weight Watch-
ers, we have been collaborators for more than a decade. I was intro-
duced to Karen Miller-Kovach, currently Chief Scientific Officer at
Weight Watchers, through mutual contacts. Weight Watchers was
interested in putting its program through a rigorous clinical trial,and
as a researcher I was interested in the opportunity to objectively study
this weight-loss method. I published the findings from that study,
which you’ll learn more about in this book.
Karen and I have maintained our collaborative relationship over the
years.We’ve shared the podium at speaking engagements,discussed the
latest weight-loss research,and swapped greeting cards over the holi-
days.It is a pleasure to be collaborating with her on this important book.
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PREFACE ix
I am proud to be associated with Weight Watchers because the
organization focuses on two things that are extremely important to me.
First,Weight Watchers is committed to developing programs,products,
and services that promote healthy,sustainable weight loss.Second,the
Weight Watchers program is based completely on sound science.
Weight Watchers has scientific data to demonstrate its track record in
helping people achieve long-term weight loss. In forty-plus years,
Weight Watchers has evolved into the most trusted name in weight
management—one that educates people based on scientific develop-
ments and real-life experiences in sustaining weight loss.
The Weight Watchers program makes sense because it combines
the findings from two types of equally important laboratories: scientific
research laboratories and real-life laboratories.Weight Watchers is an
active participant in the global forum of diverse disciplines related to
weight management—everything from cardiology to psychology.The
organization synthesizes the learnings from ongoing medical and sci-
entific research and turns them into practical reality.This involves con-
stant in-field testing and adaptation of their program.The experience
of helping millions of people through Weight Watchers meetings also
provides a living laboratory for observing what is necessary to achieve
sustainable weight loss.The science is only useful if it fills a need and
can be applied in real life.
The result is the experience at Weight Watchers meetings.They pro-
vide coaching and real-life insights so that participants can make the
positive changes required to lose weight and keep it off. Participants
learn that there are different paths to losing weight, but all involve
making wise food choices, being physically active, having a positive
mindset,and living in a supportive atmosphere.Weight Watchers is a
realistic way of life for sustainable weight loss.
Weight Watchers has the only structured program with a legitimate
ongoing database of individuals who have successfully lost weight and
kept it off.The Weight Watchers organization has graciously allowed
me access to this database and these individuals—the first time that an
academic researcher has ever been granted ongoing access to this