One difficulty with mental health, and perhaps especially dieting, obesity, and eating disorders, is that much of our conventional wisdom is inaccurate.

For example, nearly everyone knows that diet and exercise are essential for weight loss, right?

What most don't know is that people who diet, even if they exercise, tend to lose just 5-10% of their weight in the short term. Most also don't know that, in the following years, 95% regain more weight than they initially lost. Surprising, isn't it?

In addition, studies have found little or no evidence that dieting leads to improved health for the majority of dieters. Worse yet, if restriction and exercise become compulsive, they can be dangerous, even deadly. If your goal is to be healthy and vibrant, diets are not the way to go.

Of course, a very small percentage of dieters are successful at weight loss. So what are your odds? If you have already tried diet and exercise and were not successful, what is going to be different this time? The possibility of long-term success is stunningly low. The problem is not that you lack motivation. The problem is that you are fighting against biology. It's no wonder that so many people try diet after diet, only to be disappointed over and over.

Are you willing to take a different approach?

Surprisingly, health and weight are not closely associated. Fitness is much more closely correlated with health than weight. In fact, studies have shown that people who are obese and fit are healthier than people who are not fit, no matter what their weight. Fitness, not weight, is the key to a healthy life.

Most people still focus on weight instead of fitness and health. Their desired weight and body shape often have nothing to do with what their genes have planned for them. Why keep fighting the “losing” battle? Re-orienting your thinking can take time and effort, but the rewards are great. You're worth loving—from the inside out!