To what lengths would you go to lose weight? Would you starve yourself? Would you  subject yourself to the torment of some crazy fad diet? Too many people, especially women, answer yes to these questions. It is the act of dividing health and weight  loss. Instant gratification in the form of the quick fix. This is detrimental to overall well being.

It seems that every week there is some celebrity flogging the latest weight loss  craze that promises to give you the best body in the world in the shortest possible  time. Here we almost invariably see health being sacrificed for weight loss. What  they forget to tell you is the fact that often they have chefs and personal trainers  at their beck and call around the clock. Those of us in the real world seldom have  these luxuries.

One of the worst of these celebrity fads I feel is the Atkins diet. It has been labeled a "nightmare diet" by the American Dietetic Association, the largest  organization of food and nutrition professionals in the world. How can any diet that  prohibits the eating of fruit while advocating the health benefits of eating  excessive amounts of fatty meats, cream, cheese and butter be taken seriously? Even  some vegetables are banned in the early stages! Crazy...

We must understand that to achieve real health we should eliminate the low-this or high-that mentality. Balance should be the driving force behind our food choices. If  we are to be a truly fit and healthy society, the separation that exists between health and weight loss must be addressed. They are one and the same, for if you eat a nutritionally balanced healthy diet, natural weight loss will follow quickly on its heels.