Overcome Overweight

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

According to Business Week Magazine, dieting in America is a $40 billion a year industry. For a majority of Americans, these diets don’t work and are a waste of money. People are looking for a quick fix, and when it comes to permanent weight loss, a quick fix won’t fix the problem of overweight. 

In fact, the quick fix diet can do more harm than good. When too few calories are eaten, muscle mass is reduced and much of the weight loss is water. Once off the diet, the body can go into a starvation response, leading to a weight gain of only fat. The American Psychological Association reviewed 31 diet studies and after two years, found up to a third of the dieters weighed more than when they began the diet.¹ Repeated failure at weight loss gives us a sense of failure and little hope of successful weight loss.

Dear Drug Company: Thanks, but I'll Pass on the Free Food

During pharmacy school, my classmates and I were promised a future with seemingly endless streams of cash - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

In fact, I remember on several occasions when one of my pharmacy professors would bring this up in a joking, yet lighthearted manner each time we'd face a grueling assignment or exhaustive exam in his class. "Just remember, you make lots o' money one day as pharmacist," he'd say in his fun-loving, Southeast Asian accent, as he rubbed his index finger and thumb together towards us. He meant well and was a very nice man, one of our class favorites actually. He always seemed to make things more bearable while going through academic torture during those tough years in pharmacy school.