Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Melanie W. Rotenberg, MD
With Mitch Rotenberg, PhD
You are reading "Preview Chapters"
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Laugh the Pounds Away Forever xi
SIX: Eat Right, Die Anyway: What Are Good Foods? 105
SEVEN: Put the Muffin Down and Slowly Back Away:
What Are Not-So-Good Foods? 125
viii Contents
Conclusion: I Told You That There Would Be a Quiz at the End! 215
Notes 221
Resources and Further Reading 229
Index 231
Acknowledgments
The weight-loss journey, for most people, is a lot like a theme park
ride, a very stressful and scary one. It doesnt have to be. Ideally, it
should be more like a fun, exciting adventure, with a safe and pleasant
outcome.
Although I hope you will think this book is funny, please realize that
the weight-loss concepts are serious. Healthy skinniness cant occur
without laughs, since negative emotions undermine successful weight
loss. Laughter is the hallmark of a life lived better, a life full of pleasure
and joy.
laugh while you read, put the book down and back away. I am intent on
making the experience enjoyable for you. In my spare time, when Im
not seeing patients, Im writing or practicing comedy. I started doing
stand-up routines just after my 40th birthday; you could say Im hav-
ing an unusual midlife crisis.
When I asked Mitch if he would help me write this book, his re-
sponse was Id rather put eye-hooks through my hands. The man
blurts out funny stuff all day long, and then I run and write it down.
Lets just get it straighthis blurting got him credit for co-authorship,
but I did the hard work, and thats why the book is written from my
perspective.
I also have to tell you this: most of the stories here about my pa-
tients, friends, and family are true, but the names have been changed to
prevent unwelcome visitors to our house in the middle of the night.
does not have to happen. It will not happen to you if you follow the
scientically based suggestions in this book.
Its like everybody and their brother has written a diet book or a cook-
book. Even dead people and fictional characters are getting in the act.
Im afraid it wont be long until we see Noah Cooks for Two.
People gain back their lost weight for one very important reason: they
havent embraced weight loss through a thinking and behavioral whole-
life approach. For most people trying to lose weight, the word diet
implies a temporary state of food restriction. Either types of foods or
amounts of foods are restricted until the desired weight is achieved.
However, there are three parts to successful and permanent weight
loss: (1) thinking and behavior; (2) input, as in food and drink calo-
ries; and (3) output, as in metabolism and activity calories. Most diet
books, even those written by physicians, have an overemphasis on the
input part of the equation. A typical diet book will give you pages
and pages of food rules and recipes. These books rarely talk about the
behavior, attitude, and cognitive processes that go into how and what
we choose to eat. They rarely give more than a page or two to the issue
of activity and exercise. Weight loss cant be permanent unless all three
areas are addressed in a balanced manner.
Now remember, health advice works only if you act responsibly with
the information. Which reminds me of the time my hospital offered
a breastfeeding course but had to cancel it because more men signed
up than women.
The key to weight loss is to start from a good point and go to a bet-
ter onethe joy, laughter and happiness that you develop will be all
your own.
Melanie Rotenberg, MD
People want quick results, but there are no healthy ways to rapidly slim
down. Health spas often promise serious weight loss with only one ex-
pensive session of an exotic treatment. Usually it involves being slath-
ered, enveloped, and heated. None of those techniques really work; they
are only sucking water out of your system. However, I guarantee that
you will experience rapid and dramatic weight loss with the piranha
swim.
Laughter is the key to weight loss. Well, really, its those things that
cause laughter, like happiness, fun, and pleasure. But we can use laugh-
ter as a good gauge of how happy and content we are. Stress, negative
emotions, and misguided thought patterns are a leading cause of obe-
sity. Yet diet books almost never address an overweight persons men-
tal state or level of joy. They might have pages of dietary restrictions
and recipes, but rarely is there more than perfunctory prose on reliev-
ing negative emotions. There might be a chapter or two on exercise, but
nowhere is there a description of the cardiovascular benets of a good
pillow ght.
And we all need a good pillow ght on a regular basis. The way to
lose weight and to keep it off permanently is to lower stress, depression,
4 Laugh Yourself Thin
and other negative emotions through positive thinking, humor, fun, and
lots of laughter. A lighter approach to life leads to a lighter waist line.
A recent study by Dr. Mark Wilson at Emory University brings home
this point. He offered unlimited nutritious food to two groups of mon-
keys, high-status, contented, happy ones and their miserable, stressed-
out, low-status subordinates.1 All the monkeys ate about the same
number of calories. However, when Dr. Wilson substituted high-fat and
sugary junk food pellets in unlimited supply, the high-status monkeys
ate about the same calories as previously, but their stressed-out brethren
couldnt stop munching. Those miserable primates continued to eat the
junk food all day long and well after sundown, similar to human snack-
food grazers. The researcher concluded that eating high-calorie foods
is a common coping mechanism to deal with daily life stressors, even
in those who dont have a cranky boss, prolonged commute, or nasty
mother-in-law.
food, the less you will eat of it. (Well talk more about that in Chapter 9.)
Weight loss should be approached as painless. Eating is pleasurable.
Having fun and laughter around meals and playing with food are im-
portant. Additionally, exercise and activity are not burdensome but in-
vigorating. Those who are most successful with permanent weight loss
are those who consider regular physical activity an enjoyable, integral
part of their daily life forever.
Are there things that you do that feel purposeless? Realize that a role
that feels important and satisfying to you (such as work or houseclean-
ing) may feel unfullling to others. Examine your own values and emo-
tions while in those roles. What do you enjoy about them, and what do
you dislike? Are there responsibilities that you could eliminate, that give
you too little pleasure? Are there ways to make them more pleasurable?
Are there roles that you enjoy and would like to expand? Much of our
lives is spent fullling functions that we never question. One of the best
ways to decrease stress is to question assumptions that you have made
about your day-to-day activities. Examine everything you do, take a
step back, and begin to look for ways to increase your happiness and
pleasure.
Some peoples idea of work stress is different from others. Ill never for-
get the attendant who ran the canoe rental at my favorite remote vaca-
tion site. She sat under a palm tree and read novels in between handling
her three or four customers a day. Last time I saw her, she was com-
plaining about how she couldnt wait to go on vacation. I wonder where
she goes to relax: Manhattans Friday afternoon rush hour?
Take stock of what isnt joyous and humorous, and approach rea-
sonable ways to x the pressures. Note that if you constantly worry
about your weight, you can take the issue so seriously you stress your-
self into weight gain. Conversely, many people who are chronic dieters
report that they feel exhilaration when they start a new diet. The excite-
ment of a new diet likely comes from the enjoyment of envisioning your
10 Laugh Yourself Thin
new body, your new energy level, and perhaps all the other things you
think a slimmer body will bring to you (perhaps an improved social life).
Unfortunately, traditional dieting is all about deprivation and discom-
fort. Abandon that mindset. But if you are the type that has gotten some
enjoyment at the beginning of a new diet because you are envisioning
what a thinner, healthier you will do, maintain that vision, but without
all the pain.
While you are examining what brings you more joy and less stress,
think about things like walking, biking, singing, dancing, meditating,
music, and sounds of the beach or the woods. Im always surprised how
few people I see outside enjoying nature and using their muscles. Exer-
cise is an antidepressant and works as well or better than medications,
so not only will it help you to lose weight, it will also relieve stress and
improve mood.
You have coping mechanisms for each major person in your life and
each part of your life. But are they successful, positive coping mecha-
nisms, or are they self-defeating? Do they reduce stress in the long run
or add to it? If you take a drink when you get home from work and
then a couple more before you can face the kids or the spouse and make
dinner, is that the best way to treat your body and your mind? What
would benet you both physically and spiritually and be better for you
and your family? How about stopping for yoga class on the way home,
walking in the park on the good weather days, meditating for 15 min-
utes in pure silence before the gang gets home, or dropping that extra
project at work thats been causing you all those extra hours? Perhaps
your best coping mechanism could be setting limits for the superwoman
or superman inside of you and refusing to push yourself harder or re-
fusing to let others push you into responsibilities that you dont want
or need.
12 Laugh Yourself Thin
stressing me and making my life less fun? Then start searching for
nonmaterialistic friends and have heart-to-heart talks with your family
about what your real monetary goals need to be. Consider moving to a
less fancy neighborhood if you have the opportunity to move. Even if
you can afford the luxuries and a high-end neighborhood, what unwrit-
ten messages are being transmitted to you and your family? Find places
that t your personality; whether they t your scal abilities should be
secondary. I truly believe that materialism is rotting the American soul
and leads to a great deal of unnecessary stress, anxiety, and depression.
And theres nothing wrong with a modest lifestyle, most of the time. I
read about a famous director who named all three of his kids after the
locations where they were conceived. I think one was named Houston
and another, something like London. Obviously, he traveled a lot. I
wanted to do that with my own kid, but Motel-6 Rotenberg just didnt
have the right ring to it.
Under the category of people with good intentions doing stupid things
would have to be the people who planned the annual fundraiser at our
local zoo. It was a big evening barbecue. They called it the Zoo-b-q.
16 Laugh Yourself Thin
They should have called it the Lets Celebrate Animals by Eating Them
Night. Im glad Habitat for Humanity isnt doing anything similar:
This weekend, were having our annual cannibalism social!
the perverted few, the rest of us are forced to abandon physical signs of
appreciation with most of the people we interact with on a daily basis.
In the proper and acceptable setting, put physical touch back on your
to do list.
As a physician, I sit at the bedside and touch my patients on the arm
or hold their hand just to connect with them and make certain they un-
derstand that I care. (With the use of high-tech equipment, doctors have
almost eliminated the need to touch patients. Some of us have gotten
lazy and have forgotten that medicine is still as much an art as a sci-
ence.) Healing touch does matter. I do hug my patients and their fami-
lies often, and they appreciate and ask for it.
If you truly nd that you cannot increase your hug factor with family
or other situations, then by all means get yourself a huggable pet from
the animal shelter. Do a good deed and save an animal from destruc-
tion, and watch that animal save you, as well.
nonsexually. If you believe that this may be a problem for you, avoid-
ing the issue is not going to help. Talk about this with your signicant
other or make honest, frequent attempts to correct your unwanted habit
with others. Often we are our own worst enemy and undermine our own
mental health. Everyone needs to feel wanted and loved, and physical
touch is one of the most immediate ways to express this.
by getting together weekly and reciting the special things that we are
grateful for at that moment, including our freedoms, our friends, and
our community.
In terms of my own family life, I have to admit that Im not your typi-
cal mom. Ive never been someone who fits neatly into the traditional
mothering role. So when my son was younger, I used to teach him nurs-
ery rhymes that were a little different, imbued with my own odd sense
of humor. For example, The queen of hearts made some tarts. She ate
them all and got the farts! Which was great fun, that is, until the pre-
school principal called me. And then I had to pretend Id never heard
that rhyme before.
the positive. Guard your brain from assaults by those who dwell on
the darker, pessimistic side of life, and guard your own emotions to
keep from dwelling on this. Being positive-minded in your thinking is
not improper or unrealistic any more than dwelling on the negative,
the violent, and the miserable is proper (even if it has become nor-
mal in our society).
The fatter you are, the more likely that you are depressed.
To get thin, believe that eating is pleasurable and exercise is invigo-
rating.
There are several keys to happiness, and they impact weight loss.
To decrease stress and anxiety, eliminate unfullling work and
boredom.
Increase pleasure with music, dance, tness, and nature.
You are no good to those you love if you use self-destructive coping
mechanisms.
Search out comedy, joy, giggling, friends, and spontaneity.
Use daily nonactive moments away from energy and mood-sucking
activities.
The way you choose to cope with lifes challenges will determine your
weight.
Decrease negative emotions by giving up materialistic attitudes.
Encourage your own positive health behaviors with benecial self-
reward.
Those who lose weight permanently lean on good social support.
The easiest stress-reducing activity: hugs, touches, and cuddling.
Give more of yourself to others, and practice gratefulness.
Be positive-minded in your thinking; guard against pessimists and
self-criticism.
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TWO
Im Allergic to Food, It Makes
Me Swell: Thought and
Mind for Success
This book is about lifestyle change; its not about a diet. Good food
choices and increased activity feel positive and are not restrictive. When
you follow the ideas of the book, you will say to yourself about your new
habits, I choose this lifestyle because of the wonderful way it makes me
feel. There is no guilt, nor are there any absolute restrictions or com-
mands. You will behave in a certain way because you are positively mo-
tivated to do so. Nobody will watch over you, because you will learn to
motivate yourself. Thats how permanent weight loss is achieved. As a
physician, I see myself as an advocate for my patients. I dont command
or even cajole; I only advise. In this book, I can give you advice, but the
ultimate responsibility for your health and habit choices is your own.
Once you make positive new habits your own, you will achieve a new
level of health, happiness, and easy weight loss that is truly enjoyable,
for a lifetime.
24 Laugh Yourself Thin
new pattern of eating, exercising, and living is just the way it is, forever,
and its going to be terric for you.
Daily exercise works because it decreases stress, anxiety, and depres-
sion. People who exercise as part of a weight-loss plan feel better physi-
cally and mentally and are more likely to reach their goals. And, since the
goal should be to enjoy the journey as much as the destination, I cant
emphasize this habit enough.
People say to me, I wish I were thinner, but I dont have time to ex-
ercise and eat right, even though I know I should. Do you like feeling
tired and stressed and fat and out of shape? If not, then you have time to
exercise and eat better because, in the long run, you havent much time
for anything else.
Throughout the book I avoid using the word diet as much as possi-
ble because that word implies short-term and restrictive behavior. When
talking about intake of calories, I prefer to use the term food choices.
This implies active, positive, lifelong behavior.
The truth is, most traditional diets do work for weight loss, but only
for a little while. And none has been proven to be superior to the others.
Thats because they all do basically the same thing; all diets make us
think about what we stick in our mouths.
But traditional diets fail eventually because we stop thinking about
what we put in our mouths. The only way to modify the input perma-
nently is to ingrain the new eating habits. But the bigger reason that tradi-
tional diets fail is that we hate restrictions and commands. When a human
feels forced to do a behavior but doesnt learn to enjoy it, eventually the
behavior stops.
26 Laugh Yourself Thin
Its been shown in the weight-loss literature that when you set up a
bunch of strict rules of how, when, or what to eat, the perception is that
when you break a rule (which happens inevitably), a tendency to binge-
overeat occurs. This is what researchers Janet Polivy and C. Peter Her-
man, from the University of Toronto, call the what-the-hell effect.2
Banishing foods from a persons diet usually results in increased cravings
for that food. Never think of any food as forbidden; then it will never
be coveted in an unhealthy or excessive way. Eating without guilt is
the goal.
Good habits are not stressful and demoralizing; they are uplifting and
invigorating. Drop the do I have to do this the rest of my life thinking.
Its self-defeating. Nope, you dont have to do anything. But healthy
weight-loss behaviors, done right, mean youll want to do them the rest of
your life. Theyre fun.
pressure but also became less stressed when put into an emotionally chal-
lenging situation. They dealt with the everyday stresses of life better than
those who didnt regularly exercise. Walk every day before work, and you
will be able to handle both the difficult commute and your annoying co-
workers!
When you exercise, think about the positive changes your body is go-
ing through. Recognize the improvements that you see and feel on the
outside, and envision the improvements that are happening on the inside.
Note that the blood vessels are opening, the muscles are building up, the
fat is truly melting away every time you move. Your brain is growing
clearer and sharper. The hormones are happily signaling youthful mes-
sages to your private parts (ah, what a vivid imagination you havekeep
going with that thought . . .) Even though you need to visualize those
improvements that you cant see, they are just as important as what you
can see.
I have a good friend who is very overweight and swings from one fad
diet to the next. Two years ago, she went on an all-fish diet and lost
60 pounds, then gained it all back, plus 20 more. Usually fish is one of
the better foods for weight loss, when eaten in moderation, except for
swordfish, which is high in mercury. It should be eaten only rarely. But
the good news is that, when cooking swordfish, you dont have to check
the temperatureit tells you what it is.
Its amazing how much your spirit and emotions can be detected by other
people, and sometimes in the most unusual ways. A woman who lives by
me advertises that she is a spirit photographer. She says that she can take
photos of the colors of your natural aura for you, your kids, and even
your pets. The more money you have, I guess, the greener your aura.
30 Laugh Yourself Thin
Beware, there are exceptions to the rule that exercise makes you feel
more in control. Golf is not an exercise that breeds that feeling. What
is it with golfers and those little head covers they put on their drivers?
Theyre thinking, It protects my club so it wont get scratched. Then
they take the cover off, whack a hard ball as fiercely as possible, hit a
really bad shot, wrap the club around a tree . . . then put the head cover
back on.
Why is control so important in weight loss? Its because not every per-
son who succeeds does it the same way. This book is a description of the
best proven techniques that lead to sustained weight loss. However, no
program is one size ts all. Take what works for you and make it your
own. To keep weight off permanently, you should individualize the ideas
from this book to t your own style so that you can maintain your suc-
cess through the years.
Persistence is the key. Keep trying different ideas from this book, until
you nd the best t for you and your lifestyle. Those who succeed keep
trying different approaches until they nd the methods that work for
them. Then they stick to those methods.
There are so many dietary supplements that dont work. People dont
realize theres no government regulation for checking the effectiveness
of the claims of any type of nutritional supplement. People out there
are selling supplements that are supposed to boost memory and cogni-
tive function by increasing blood flow to your brain. The funny thing
about that claim is the real medical research shows that the better your
brain is functioning, the less blood flow it requires. Psst, want to be
Einstein? Ill sell you something better than a supplement. Ill sell you a
tourniquet to put around your neck.
comes with fewer physical signs than other emotions and gets missed as
an emotion.
If you are chronically anxious, you may subconsciously feed your but-
teries, rather than deal with your anxiety. (Chronic anxiety disorder
is the most common undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness.)
You should identify what makes you anxious and nd ways to reduce
the anxiety either by seeking treatment or by dealing with the source.
Or you should practice reducing anxiety through breathing exercises or
meditation. Then you will succeed in avoiding this common cause of
overeating.
Theres no doubt that modern life leads to a lot of difficult emotions and
stressful situations. Did you ever wonder about Rapunzels reaction to
being saved if she were a modern woman? Shes locked up in a tower,
away from kids, boss, stress, and traffic. Hey, it sounds pretty good to
me. Modern Rapunzel: Go away! I dont want to be rescued. And get off
my freaking hair!
Are you lonely? Get on line and nd someone decent to chat with.
Join a class or a support group, or arrange to teach a skill at your local
community center. Sign up for a hobby club, exercise class, or the rac-
quetball league. Volunteer at a school, hospital, nursing home, or
pet shelter. Make yourself useful to others and they will reward you
10 times over.
What if you are bored? If you nd yourself rummaging in the cabi-
nets for food and you are not hungry, you are very likely bored. Go for
a bike ride, call a friend, visit a neighbor, do crafts, grab a fun book, or
watch the educational channel on television. If you are bored at work,
ask for more challenging assignments or learn new skills. Do something
that stimulates your mind and your heart.
Take a mental health day from work and responsibilities, but not to sit
home and brood. Instead, do something positive and uplifting with your
day off. Go to the park and ride the swings. Walk in nature. Play, laugh,
sing, and force yourself to get out of your depressed comfort zone. Rec-
ognize that your mood is down and make a deliberate effort to change
it with positive activity. Read about depression on university Web sites
and ways to recognize if its serious enough to warrant professional inter-
vention. Depression causes most people (normal weight and overweight
individuals) to eat more, but people trying to lose weight who are de-
pressed overeat the most calories.
I believe in communing with nature to lift the spirits. But here in Florida,
the nature often comes to me. Ive had snakes in my closets and a wolf
spider that was bigger than a tarantula in my baking pans. Ive had large
frogs come up from my sewer akin to a biblical plague. The nickname of
Florida is The Sunshine State, but the motto should be What the hell
is that in my commode?
Some people use food like an addiction. Food becomes another de-
structive way to soothe the hurting soul. Dr. Mark Gold at the University
of Florida has stated that he believes hedonistic overeating is an addic-
tive disease and needs to be treated the same as other addictions.7 His
research shows that, in obese people, beef broth does nothing for brain
chemicals, but Kobe beef lights up functional brain scans as if an addic-
tive drug were being given. Food causes dopamine release like sex does.
Receptors light up in PET brain scans as they do in cocaine and alcohol
abusers. When overeaters are shown a photo of the Golden Arches, their
brain brightens like a reworks display at Disney World.
Interestingly, the portion of the brain devoted to the sensations of
texture, taste, and feel of the mouth and tongue is also enlarged in over-
eaters, thereby reinforcing the sensual pleasures of food. In Chapter 9,
youll see why this isnt a bad thing.
If you think you are suffering emotionally, get help. People with real
psychological problems that need treatment lost only half the weight of
those without emotional problems in the same weight-loss study. Dont
focus just on your weight. You need mental and physical strength and
healing to achieve your weight loss goals.
38 Laugh Yourself Thin
The wedding day is still the most common target date for crash diets.
But due to changes in society, weddings are less common than they used
to be. On the other hand, things are looking up for the funeral industry,
as baby boomers are dying in droves. In fact, wedding planners are now
doing funeral arrangements so they can stay afloat. This is a quote from
an article in my local paper, given by a funeral director: Other than the
fatality, whats the difference between a wedding and a funeral? Well,
in one case, youre less likely to have kids afterwards.
40 Laugh Yourself Thin
Myth: If I start gaining weight, even a little bit, it will all come back.
Fact: People who successfully maintain long-term weight loss monitor
themselves constantly. As soon as they notice a slight weight gain,
they have an action plan to reverse the trend. This is a normal part
of the process, not a failure.
Myth: I cant quit smoking because then Ill gain weight.
Fact: If you dispose of addictive behaviors, you gain control over your
life. And the more you practice healthy habits, the more likely you
are to lose weight permanently.
I have patients who insist on smoking while wearing oxygen. Ive been
thinking of opening Doctor Rs Institute of Patient Rocketry.
This reminds me of an 89-year-old patient of mine who explained
that she started smoking as a child when her mother forced ciga-
rettes on her. Up in the mountains, they thought it got rid of intestinal
worms. The lady is still smoking 80 years later. I said to her, Isnt it
funny that worms are smarter than people? They know to leave when
tobacco is around.
playing in your head. Think about how differently you feel when you
say to yourself that you are in a ght rather than a learning ex-
perience about your weight. Reframe the words and thoughts that
you use, to yourself and to others, when thinking about eating, exer-
cise, and your approach to weight loss. You are not avoiding cer-
tain foods; rather, you are choosing more of this food or less of that
food. When things dont go quite right, its another learning oppor-
tunity, not a failure.
Remember, no matter how bad life is, it can always be better with choc-
olate. Unless, of course, you are severely allergic to chocolate; then it
will be over.
Not every vacation is full of fun and joy. The last cruise I went on, the
economy was at its worst. For many people on board, they were looking
at a lifetime of investments and retirement savings suddenly gone. Ev-
eryone was so depressed that at the muster station, the crew was teach-
ing people how to take their life jackets off.
Be careful with focusing on negative body image; this can lead to self-
criticism and unhappiness. Overweight people often delay socializing or
having enjoyable experiences, like going to their high school reunion,
waiting until they have their idealized body. Take steps to say and be-
lieve that you have a positive body image now and always. Have those
42 Laugh Yourself Thin
special experiences now, as that will lead to more happiness, which leads
to more success in weight loss. Buy the clothes that make you feel beauti-
ful and handsome now, not when you are a size whatever smaller. Enjoy
them; this will bring you closer to thinness and to mental and physical
health. Misery, self-deprivation, and neglect certainly wont. Take the
time to make yourself look your best now, every day. Do what you can now
to improve your self-image, both inside and out. Dont wait until some
nebulous future time.
Chinese fortune cookie: Over every mountain there is a path although
it may not be seen from the valley. You may feel like you are looking
upward at a very steep mountain to reach your weight-loss goals. If so,
redirect your view. Start looking at the lovely foothills right in front of
you. Then you can enjoy the path along the way.
People who are fat have fat kids. We know that. The argument is whether
that is the effect of nurture (environment) or of nature (genes). Since fat
families also tend to have fat pets, Im betting it is more nurture rather
than genetic predisposition. Unless, of course, you are related to your pets.
If you have been blaming your obesity on your lousy genes, its only go-
ing to make your ancestors feel bad, and its not going to help you get
healthy and skinnier. Leave Aunt Tillie out of this.
However, if Aunt Tillie was the one who taught you to always eat din-
ner at 8 p.m. and never to leave the table until you clean your plate and
that exercise is only for athletes, then Tillie is in the doghouse after all.