If you are timid about wading into the weight loss realm, either as a practitioner or as a user, there may be many reasons for that. One of the biggest may not be cost, confidence or will power, it may be the stigma of either paying someone for your weight loss or charging someone for your weight loss. There is a permanent black eye we have permanently imposed on both. Clearly it is a lose/lose situation. Either you have gouged someone for something they could have clearly done on their own with simple diet and exercise, or you have been ripped off by a snake oil salesman looking for a quick buck by a vulnerable audience with low self esteem that have come to the conclusion that they are worthless and in need to be capitalized on.

Well first of all, to all of you lifelong healthy weights who have little idea of the psychological reasons for weight loss and weight gain, if the simple, “go away and eat right and exercise” bit worked we would all look the same with such a simple set of directions. I have worked as a pharmacist in the same community for 22 years and have seen many people residing at the same BMI for the entire time and would still be there were it not for my intervention. I would see a typical customer and fill the same oral type 2 diabetic medication along with their high blood pressure medication for the entire time. Is this what we expect of our pharmacists. Who commits the bigger crime here? A pharmacist who quietly collects a dispensing fee forever without actively trying to reduce a patient’s weight or a pharmacist who takes the bull by the horns and aggressively works towards lowering a patient’s weight with careful body composition monitoring and nutrient intake for a fee for 6-12 months? The former is often left alone when in fact they are enabling the patient. The latter is left open to criticism even though they make the patient the hero in their weight loss and reduce overall healthcare costs.

Granted there are a lot of unhealthy weight loss programs out there. Ask your health care professional which one is a fit for you.

Anyone who looks at an overweight person as someone who is too lazy to try the correct eating and exercise route is completely blind to psychology. Have you been watching the Montreal/Tampa Bay series lately? A sure finish in the series by Tampa Bay began to fall apart because of a too confident feeling for Tampa Bay combined with a desperation mentality by Montreal, which completely changed the series. You could have said to Tampa Bay, just win one more and play like you did last game. That didn’t happen though.

Mentality has a lot to do with results and weight is no exception. There is no shame in asking for help, or offering it. I have many people ask me for help with weight loss as long as we keep it just between us. Imagine - someone wanting to get healthy but not wanting anyone to know it! There is no shame in this, regardless of the experts and seemingly intelligent advisors that warn against any regimented weight loss program. Is the weight loss program ensuring they keep the weight off? Well only if it has and end date. In that case, the weight loss program loses control. Eating right and exercising has no end date.