See how six area men and women have
lost substantial amounts of weight
and kept it off.

WRITTEN BY RUTHAN BRODSKY I PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANGIE BAAN

ost of us know something about failing at dieting.
Some of us lose and regain the same 5 or 10 pounds
over and over again. Others may be losing 20 pounds
— only to gain 25 pounds four months later.
At the same time, we're bombarded with evidence that tells us
keeping trim is key to avoiding health problems such as diabetes or
high blood pressure. We understand this premise all too well, but
it's not easy to come up with a good solution.
Contributing to the problem is the increasing number of popular
and fad diets. How do you choose — Atkins or Mediterranean?
How much should we exercise? How many calories should we con-
sume? Can we eat meat, or is fish better? What kind of fish?
In theory, weight control is a simple matter of balancing energy
intake (calories from food) with energy output (the calories expend-
ed by physical activity and metabolism). To lose weight, we need
to expend more energy than we take in. In practice, however, it's
not that simple. We also need to make changes in our lifestyle, and
that can be overwhelming. To really make it work, losing weight is
something we need to do for ourselves.
Fortunately, when we do decide to lose weight, we don't have to
do it alone. There are dietitians and nutritionists who can help us.
There are also commercial group programs that support our efforts
with eating plans, counseling and reinforcement from other partici-
pants in the program.
And here's some inspiration: A number of men and women
in Metro Detroit's Jewish community have had success at losing
weight. And not just five or 10 pounds — though that's nothing to
sneeze at either — but substantial, life-altering weight loss. How
did they do it? Read on.

26 •

JULY 2007 •

platinum