Michael Roizen - You - On a Diet - The Insider’s Guide to Easy and Permanent Weight Loss

To help you determine your level of dietary knowledge, take this Fat Facts Test. In less time than it takes to listen to an American Idol off-key clunker, you may just learn more about your body and belly than you’ve ever known before.

1 What is the first historical event that we can point to as contributing to the rise in excess pounds?The development of agriculture.The development of whipped cream in coffee.The development of more office jobs.The development of fast food.

2 What is the reason most diets fail?They’re designed so that they’re impossible to stick to long-term.They’re so complicated that you need a math degree to follow them.There are only so many carrot sticks and celery stalks a person can take.Mozzarella sticks. Mmm!

3 Which of the following strategies is most recommended for people trying to lose weight?Weighing yourself once a week.Eating two to three small meals a day.Eating nuts every day.Ex-Lax smoothies for everyone!

4 What’s the most important number for determining whether an increased waist size is putting you at risk for health problems?Bra size.Blood pressure.Cholesterol.Heart rate.

5 What is ghrelin?The name of a Harry Potter character.A hormone that makes you want to eat more.The name of fat cells in your belly.The chemical in your brain that makes you feel good.

6 What is leptin?The name of the dude on the Lucky Charms cereal box.The muscle-building protein that helps burn fat.The nutrient in fruit that works in conjunction with fiber.A chemical from fat that tells your brain you are full.

7 Which spice has been shown to be helpful for controlling weight?Cinnamon.Thyme.Oregano.The one married to David Beckham; Posh, is it?

8 Complete this sentence with the most accurate response. Fructose .Is responsible for decreasing the number of calories in many foods.Tricks your mind so you stay hungry longer.Is responsible for increasing the amount of bad-for-you trans fat in foods.Sure makes my Trix taste darn good.

9 What does your body most want to do in periods of extreme stress?Stay away from food.Gorge on food.Seek crunchy foods.Crumple up into a pile of jelly and retreat to a warm bath.

10 Which choice is most recommended to cut your appetite?Whole-grain foods.Whole aisles of fruit.Whole lot of a diet soda.Whole boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

11 Of the following choices, which is least dangerous to a long-term waist management strategy?A 1,000-calorie-a-day diet.Higher than usual colonics ro remove all fat.Training for a marathon.Playing video games.

12 Which organ is most responsible for metabolism?Heart.Stomach.Liver.Kidneys.

13 Which condition is responsible for weight gain in about 10 to 20 percent of younger women?Vulvodynia.Hyperthyroidism.Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).I’ve had six kids, so cut me a break, would ya?

14 Calorie for calorie, what fills you up for the longest amount of time?Fat.Fiber.Fructose.French fries.

15 At least how much must you walk daily for optimum waist control?Thirty minutes.Two hours.Any time you can spare.Any, as long as it’s not traveling to and from the fridge.

16 What is the main purpose of liposuction?To help people lose weight.To target problem body parts.To keep some Hollywood docs in business.To ensure another season of successful reality TV.

17 What is your omentum?A badly misspelled word.The part of your brain that’s stimulated to store fat.A chemical that controls hunger.A fat-storing tissue.

18 Health-wise, what is the optimal waist size for a woman?As little as possible.32½ inches.Under 35 inches.Whatever slides into that little black dress, honey.

19 Which part of your body that plays a role in weight gain works most like your brain?Your stomach.Your heart.Your small intestine.Your unmentionables.

20 What is CCK?The former Soviet Union.A hormone that regulates insulin levels by changing your blood sugar level.Colonic Creations by Katherine.Cholecystokinin, a chemical that tells your brain to stop eating the waffle.

21 Of the following items, what contributes most to weight gain?Periods of low levels of willpower.Short periods of high-intensity stress.Long periods of low-intensity stress.Periods of high-intensity dessert trays.

22 What is a duodenal switch?An effective surgical technique for losing weight.An intestinal transplant.The hot new band from Seattle.A program for cleansing your colon of toxins.

23 Which of the following can be an effective medical option for weight loss?Aspirin.Beta-blockers.Statins.Antidepressants.

24 Which activity is most helpful for waist control?Crunches.Cardiovascular training like running.Resistance training like weight lifting.Naked salsa dancing every other Tuesday.

25 What’s the worst side effect of losing weight?Increased risk of chocolate withdrawal.Increased risk of muscular and joint aches.Increased risk of yo-yo dieting.Increased risk of astronomical tailor bill.

Answers

1 a. The development of agriculture meant that we could now have foods we wanted, not needed. And that’s what provided the foundation for indulgence.

2 a. Most diets don’t reprogram you to think and eat automatically, so that eventually you’ll go off the diet just as surely as you went on it.

3 c. Eating a handful of nuts has been shown to help you stay full, while skipping meals can be detrimental because your body will go into a fat-storing, starvation mode when it doesn’t have enough calories.

4 b. Of these risks, blood pressure is the greatest indicator of health risks associated with being overweight.

5 b. Ghrelin makes you want to eat more.

6 d. Leptin keeps you full.

7 a. Cinnamon increases insulin sensitivity, which helps enhance the satiety center in your brain (and also reduces blood sugar levels as well as cholesterol levels).

8 b. Fructose, as in high-fructose corn syrup, doesn’t appear to turn off your hunger chemicals, so you do not feel full; thus you eat more.

9 a. Extreme stress (as in the case of a car accident, or even exercise) turns off your hunger. Chronic stress (like a long line of looming deadlines or family problems) can make you crave feel-good carbohydrates.

10 a. Whole-grain foods are loaded with filling fiber.

11 d. Playing video games works because it keeps your hands busy, so you can’t eat. (Training for a marathon is actually destructive to your body because of the risk to your joints, and for most people, 1,000 calories is a dangerously low daily caloric intake. Do we really need to explain colonics?)

12 c. Your liver is responsible for most metabolic functions.

13 c. PCOS is responsible for weight gain in at least 10 percent of women under age fifty. It’s now clinically called androgen excess; androgen refers to the male hormone.

14 b. Fiber fills you. A cup of oatmeal in the morning has been shown to prevent you from afternoon gorging.

15 a. Walk at least thirty minutes-at once or in intervals-every day.

16 b. Liposuction should be used to sculpt problem areas, not to remove a lot of fat.

17 d. Located next to your stomach, your omentum is fat that can cause damage to surrounding organs.

18 b. While 32½ inches or less is ideal, 37 inches is when women start seeing a greatly increased risk of weight-related disorders.

19 c. Your small intestine-with 100 million neurons-has anatomy similar to your brain.

20 d. CCK is a chemical that directly and indirectly sends a message to your brain from your guts that you’re full.

21 c. Chronic stress makes your body store more fat.

22 a. A duodenal switch is one of several surgical options for people with morbid obesity.

23 d. Bupropion, an antidepressant, has been shown to help control cravings and lead to about a 7 percent weight loss. Other antidepressants, such as tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can often be associated with weight gain.