Okay, I exaggerated a bit towards the end of the list of examples, but you need to understand what weight loss does NOT involve.

If it were as easy as each purveyor of modern fat-burning snake oil says it is, the world would have buried the inventor of that product in a mountain of dollars. After all, weight loss is a few-hundred billion-dollar industry, so take my words seriously, guys!

It is crucial to understand the most fundamental of truths about losing weight: there are NO magic pills or lotions, no quick fixes that will give you that waistline, or those rock hard abs that film stars sport.

In fact, film stars are a great example of people possessing what I think is the Number One Factor that works in weight loss for most people. What is that?

Let us say I told you, “Dude, if you can lose 25 lbs of weight in six months, I will write you a cheque of a million dollars. Take it as a challenge!” Would you not have a great chance of actually doing it? How will you do it? Yeah, you will cut out all the fried stuff, you will stay away from sweets- hell, you will throw all the goodies you have at home into the trash can so that you will not be tempted to eat them even in your sleep! You will also join a gym. You will run till your heart feels like blowing out of your chest, and you will pump iron hard as you visualize that million dollars becoming reality.

Why will you do all that, especially as you are the same man as before, who found a hundred different reasons not to lose weight? The answer, and the main theme of this small story, is MOTIVATION.

How else did our film stars do it, you think? Because they got paid for it, or because their success depended on achieving that target.

If you are serious enough about weight loss, or building muscle, or climbing a mountain, or passing an exam, you can do it if you are motivated enough.

That, folks, is the truth behind successful fat loss: charge yourself up, keep the fire burning, and you WILL see success.

Everything else about ‘easy’ or ‘rapid-fire’ fat loss, whether it be a capsule, a new exercise machine or a gym membership, is male cow excreta.

Think about it.

If you are serious about it, keep watching this space. 

(Dr. B. Ramana is a Bariatric Surgeon at BMI Kolkata. He can be reached at rambodoc@gmail.com, website:http://www.bmi-india.com)