What I Learned about diets from the Therapist

As mentioned before, I had arthroscopic knee surgery three weeks ago tomorrow, the day Michael Jackson died. It wasn't a major surgery, but there is some rehabilitation that goes along with it, and I am in the process of doing that. Apart from the knee the therapist, Darren, addresses other issues such as my weight that will be a definite factor in long term use of all my limbs. He is in the process of co-writing a book about weight loss. He spoke of several things that I might have learned, but soon forgot, in the many diet programs I have been on over the years.
But I will pass on some of the wisdom he discussed today:
1. They have learned in many recent studies something about addiction -- be it to food, drugs, alcohol, or whatever-- that there is a center in the brain that responds in addictive-prone people to stimulus more than in other people. When that center is rewarded by food etc it pays off to a greater extent by releasing more serotonin and consequently locks in the source of pleasurable response more strongly in their minds. The only way to overcome that powerful addictive center is to exchange the bad behavior with good, beneficial behavior. So bottom line: don't fight it but reward it with other pleasurable experiences which will build the body rather than tear it down.
2. Any weight loss plan is good if it does three things
a) shows how to control the amount of caloric intake
b) includes some type of regular aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise and
c) stresses the oft-overlooked advantages of weight training and resistance exercises

He made a point of saying that bikers for example who do a fast amount of cardiovascular work lost only an average of 3.8 pounds per year if they did not include either of the other two things in the list. And that those who did resistance training only lost 15 lbs on average even if they didn't do the other two things on the list.

Interesting? To me it is ....anything is interesting that motivates me to good works.