Kick diet book habit and get moving

Do you know a diet book junkie? That's a person who seems always to read the latest diet books while making no apparent changes with respect to weight, activity, eating or other behaviors.

They seem to get a kind of high from espousing the wonders of their latest discovery — "Well, in Dr. Skinny's book, How to Get Thin and Rich in 24 Hours, it says drinking eight glasses of water before lunch doubles fat-burning!"

Maybe this sounds like you. You get excited every time you buy a new diet book, thinking that its contents are going to somehow change your weight and your life. You remain excited throughout the book — each page seems to make so much sense! It's so exhilarating, you can't put it down. Some of these books even have beautiful color pictures of healthful recipes that you know will be great to eat and definitely produce the weight loss you've been hoping for.

But eventually you get to the end of the book. What now?

"Hey, I heard there's a new Rocky Mountain Oysters Diet book out!" That's the ticket, you think — another diet book. But, is it?

Not all books about weight loss have useful and accurate information. Some are based on ineffective fad diets and gimmicks. Even if the book is full of sensible and effective methods, however, that doesn't mean it will help you. Only you can do that.

Lifestyle changes aren't magically absorbed simply by reading a book. And if, like a diet book junkie, you jump from book to book, expecting magic to strike, it's no wonder that your eating and weight problems don't change.

Ineffective methods never work, and effective methods work only when you use them. The books are simply tools, and like a hammer or screwdriver, they won't fix anything if all you do is look at them.

Reading is generally a good habit to have. However, if you're reading a book with the intent of having it help you change something in your life, you have to go beyond just reading it. You have to use it.

Kick the diet book habit in favor of taking constructive action, and you'll notice real changes starting to happen. Your library of diet books may stop growing, but who cares? Your body and mind will be getting fitter. Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?

Lavinia Rodriguez is a Tampa clinical psychologist who specializes in weight management. She can be reached at drrod@fatmatters.com or (813) 240-9557.