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by Lainie Anderson

01 Jan 06:00am

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Filed under: 2012, Health, New Year, New Years Resolutions, Obesity, Weight Loss

20 comments

I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes.

It doesn't matter what age you are, you can do it too! Picture: Matt Turner

In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount.

“I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully.

“Ten!” said another.

“More than 20,” said a third.

On January 4 last year, a core group of four gathered in a busy Adelaide office and pledged their allegiance to the cult of Dukan.

Off went the heels. Out came the scales. In true bureaucratic style, someone whipped up an Excel spreadsheet.

And the Dukan diet began.

“We’re really proud of ourselves,” said Ms 16kg.

“Some joined later in the year, after they saw how well we were all doing. They’ve lost weight too, but nothing like those of us who’ve been at it for 12 months.

“Others started and didn’t keep it up, and they’re kicking themselves now for not sticking with it.”

I’ve always been cynical about diets, especially those that require you to sign your life away for months in advance, buy a self-help tome, or consume nothing but some weird ingredient like cumquats.

I’m doubly cynical about New Year’s resolutions, generally cast aside quicker than those cute Christmas puppies that turn out (surprise, surprise) to be more hard work than soft toy.

But you can’t help but be impressed when you see a group of people who’ve made a pact to support each other through thick and (wafer) thin, stuck it out for 12 months and turned their lives around.

I don’t know much about the Dukan diet and I know you Punch readers are bright enough to thoroughly check it out before you head into the four phases of introduction, attack, consolidation and cruise.

But I like French founder Dr Pierre Dukan’s philosophy of taking people across the globe on a “journey” out of obesity.

What’s life without a proper commitment to the journey? A bunch of good intentions and sad abandoned starts.

Take a friend of mine who’s been trying to quit smoking for ages now. Each time she falls off the wagon, she rings a support line and they tell her to “just keep quitting”. (Whenever I think of it, I hear Dory in Finding Nemo: “Just keep quitting, just keep quitting…”)

So after years of attempts, she just keeps quitting… and smoking.

That’s what’s so impressive about my radically reduced former workmates. They not only started the journey but made their way to the end, too.

These days it seems we’re all very happy to hop onto the latest fad, but boredom or lack of determination or work/life balance, that pitiful excuse cursing the modern world, soon has us legitimizing old habits.

Get it right, though, and it’ll change your life.

A couple of years back, another friend took up running to show her children the power of commitment.

She hadn’t run since high school and was quite unfit, so she started slow on January 2 – running between power poles (walk one, run one) for five minutes the first day, building up in five-minute increments as she got stronger.

By the end of the year she’d run half marathons in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Surely it’s the same with anything, from dieting to weaning yourself off maxed-out credit cards.

In one week you’ll feel a bit better. In two weeks, better still. Months down the track you’ll be ecstatic that you’re months down the track.

More than 60 per cent of Australian adults are overweight or obese. If you’re one of them, consider this: 2011 proved you can’t do much about tsunamis in Japan, economic woes in Europe or natural disasters in Queensland.

But it’s also proved that a little group of people in little old Adelaide can get a whole lot littler, thanks to willpower, moral support and an Excel spreadsheet.

If you did make a resolution last night: start slow. Aim big. Stick with it. And imagine how fantastic you’ll feel in July.

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20 comments

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- Suze says:
  
  10:19am | 01/01/12
  
  We have done similar in our office. 47 of us signed up for a 3 months program of weigh loss and fitness improvement. 40 completed the 3 months and a die hard dozen continue to go to the gym at lunch times and after work. A side effect we never expected was the great team spirit that was created - work colleagues got to know each other so much better and support each other when we were doing it really hard and it turned into a hugely succesful team building exercise as well as bringing about enormous change in weight and fitness. Go for it!
  
  Reply
- Nic says:
  
  10:20am | 01/01/12
  
  Lainie, what you seem to have missed in this almost-advertisement is that the Dukan diet simply isn’t healthy. It doesn’t promote healthy eating, instead focusing on quick weight loss at the expense of actual health. A healthy diet, one which will lose weight in a healthy fashion, involves eating wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and meats/proteins so that your body has enough nutrients to function well. The losing weight part comes by simply reducing the amount of other crap that we eat such that our daily intake of calories is lower than our daily energy requirements. Any diet that warns of constipation and bad breath is probably not a good diet. I am not a nutritionist, this information comes from a quick fact check on WebMD.
  
  Reply
- St. Michael says:
  
  11:55am | 01/01/12
  
  There’s some very unfortunate implications with the chosen article photo, guys.
  
  Now, probably your subeditor thought “Awww, how cute, the family that exercises together is happy and healthy”. Nice idea. If the article was about exercise.
  
  Pity this is a piece about dieting and weight loss. I don’t see any sign that the toddler in that photograph is overweight or obese. So the implication left is:
  (a) the kid is expected to keep up with her former fatass mother; or
  (b) the kid has to engage in the body combat classes that her mother does, or worse still
  (c) the mother thinks the kid is fat when in fact the kid is normal, which is a real own goal for female body image.
  
  Option (c) is particularly glaring given the picture’s caption is: “It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can do it too!” As in, it doesn’t matter what age you are, you can diet or do the Dukan diet too?
  
  Let’s leave aside the fact children have different nutritional needs to weight-loss patients or weight maintaining adults, which makes dieting for children (unless in crisis situations) pretty damn stupid.
  
  Fact is, it’s medically noted that overexercise for kids causes lifelong damage because their bones and muscles are still developing. In particular the American AMA says kids younger than 12 shouldn’t be doing one sport but several different ones throughout the year because it causes repetitive strain injuries, which are that much more serious because they’re done to a developing body. It was a missive against the sort of Tiger Woods overtraining of toddlers from cradle to 18 that happens all too often in some circles.
  
  Reply
Ben says:

07:30am | 02/01/12

you gave way too much effort to your reply, talk about missing the point… lighten up!
- Wilma J Craig says:
  
  12:19pm | 01/01/12
  
  Thewre has never, ever been a Diet Programme which actually works!
  Oh! Yes, you can lose lots of weight over a short time. The problem is it doesn’t stay off! Most of those supposedly wonder diets are unbelievably expensive, some of their promoters demand that you only buy their over-priced branded products - many of which are nothing more than regular products available in the same supermarkets but with their labels on them.
  They simply don’t work for as soon as people stop those diest the weight is back on within a very few weeks.
  The only Weight Loss Diet you need is:
  1) Your Willpower
  2) Have a look at what you are actually eating
  3) Stop fooling yourself that “Oh! I hardly eat a thing”
  4) Eat Small & Sensibly
  You don’t really need those Potato Crisps, the “diet’ drinks the sweetening ingredients of some have been proven to increase your desire for all thos ‘bad’ carbohydrates!
  What’s the point of only drinking ‘diet’ something whilst you are stuffing your mouth with some greasy, fat-filled ham or chicken burger & a nice Honey Log for ‘afters’??
  Lainie, I suggest you get all those Dukan Dieters, Weightwathchers, Jenny Craig, Kate Morgan, xndo people together this time next year & in all probability they will all be right back up there with their obese brothers & sisters!
  It is the amount & the quality of the stuff you put in your mouth that makes you obese.
  After doing the shopping does anyone really NEED to go & eat? No, of course not!
  If you do feel a bit peckish then why not simply buy a banana, they are now cheap, don’t need washing (unless you eat the skin), are fat-free & full of goodies.
  
  Reply
- Ridge says:
  
  01:28pm | 01/01/12
  
  The best solution is the simplest one: Don’t gain weight in the first place!
  
  Reply
scumbag says:

11:32am | 02/01/12

I know, I used to be 8lbs 3ozs.
skinny1 says:

09:02am | 03/01/12

Depends on your weight gain! I gained 3 kilo over christmas/new year. Not too bad seeing as I am usually 48 kilo. Just a little walking and dieting will return me to my usual self.
- Debbie says:
  
  01:45pm | 01/01/12
  
  Great success story Lainie. I was totally unfit and overweight, could barely walk to the end of the drive without breaking out in a sweat and huffing and puffing. Back in October I signed up for bootcamp. 5 weeks later I was one of the most improved overall, another 6 week bootcamp up to Xmas and I have improved my fitness so much it is unbelieveable. I haven;t lost heaps of weight, but have lost inches and look so much better for being fitter and having muscles for the first time in years. But the best thing is that it has changed the whole dynamic of our family. My husband and 2 daughter (7 & 9) are all really fit and great athletes. They look at me in a whole new light and now we go off doing healthy activites as a family all the time, like swimming, walking, rock climbing etc. Its been a revolution for all us and I am so happy I took the step to make a change. Keeping it up after Xmas, am now signed up for swimming lessons to learn to freestyle properly and carry on building my fitness. The weight is slowly coming off and we are all living a healthier lifestyle which is what it is all about. Happy New Year to you all and heres to a great 2012 for all of us. Remember even baby steps will get you there eventually.
  
  Reply
- Al says:
  
  02:45pm | 01/01/12
  
  There are diet programs that work but many CHOOSE not to do them because they are not a quick fix. (And I am NOT talking about the Dukan diet in the article)
  The diet programs that work require:
  1) A long term commitment to change habits.
  2) A combination of diet and moderate exercise.
  3) Instill a pattern of behaviour and eating that is sustainable and healthy.
  4) Changes. Any diet pattern without variety will be bad for you.
  What you should be saying is any diet that offers a ‘quick and effortless’ result is full of crap.
  Of course all this can be done without a diet program, but some need it spelled out to them in simple steps.
  I have done this by myself (i.e. without a specific program) and know of at least one diet program that follows these criteria (Do a web search for BodyRenovator).
  As for fruit as snacks, yes they are good (better than chips or candy anyway), in moderation. They are however generaly high in carbohydrates that if not used by the body as energy in the short term are then stored as fat.
  The main points I remember are:
  1) You don’t need to be stuffed full. Just eat enough you aren’t hungry.
  2) Rapid weightloss is an illusion, it will only return just as rapidly. Gradual weight loss over time is sustainable and works.
  3) Don’t deprive yourself, just eat less (sweets are OK in small amounts and not regularly).
  4) Moderate exercise regularly.
  5) Almost anything is OK in moderation.
  6) Educate yourself on what you are actualy eating.
  I lost over 30Kg over a year doing this and am now 71 Kg and have been so for over 2 years now.
  
  Reply
Debbie says:

04:25pm | 01/01/12

Good effort Al, well done for all your hard work, sure you will keep it off in 2012
- the other woman says:
  
  04:09pm | 01/01/12
  
  My new year’s resolutions are simple.
  I want to see all my Punch comments published in the Punch website.
  I want Labor to win every State and federal elections this year.
  i don’t want to see any published Punch comments on the Punch website that either criticise the Labor Party or praise the Liberal Party or both .
  “Think you can’t keep that resolution ? Think again”
  Lainie Anderson
  
  Reply
- liberal says:
  
  11:35pm | 01/01/12
  
  i think the liberal party is great - hehe
  
  Reply
- Sophie Rose says:
  
  11:45pm | 01/01/12
  
  Diets don’t work - no matter what type, because as soon as you come off the diet you go straight back to your bad eating habits that got you to the point of dieting in the first place. Permannt changes to your eating habits work.
  I lost 24 kg over the last 12 months by making a few changes to what and when I eat, and going for a walk everyday.
  
  This years resolution is a different one.
  Because I had lost the weight I was able to indulge in one of my passions - shoes.
  I have spent on average $1000 a month on shoes. I do wear them, I don’t just buy them so they can sit in the wardrobe and look good.
  So this years resolution is to stop buying so many, I am halving my shoe budget to $500 a month and am feeling pretty confident that I can stick to it.
  
  I think it would be interesting to have a follow up to this in 6 months, just to see if people have stuck to their resolutions, and if they have, how well it’s working out!
  
  Reply
Mark says:

05:40pm | 02/01/12

1000/month on shoes - are you serious?
- Paul Davis says:
  
  10:46am | 02/01/12
  
  All these shcemes and joint decisions, fad diets and short term exercise are a total watse of time.
  
  To change a long term habit you need to want to do it, enjoy doing it and stick with it, permanently. Else you’ll just start it all again.
  
  It is simply a matter of a person making a real decision and not being pushed along by peers, out of shame. You must decide and follow through. New Year’s Eve resolutions are the most unsuccesful of all as they are manly just wishes, not decisions.
  
  Do yourself a favour and become an individual who makes decisions they are happy to make and follow through. Remember smokers, drinkers, speeding drivers and all the rest are only one step away forever from returning to what they were so make it stick, or don’t bother at all.
  
  Reply
- maree says:
  
  11:26am | 02/01/12
  
  Its an odd world.I have also just lost 21 kilos by simply cutting portions and concentrating on fruits and lean meat fish chicken and veg.No snacks ,no desserts…..but now at a meal my husband criticises how much I am NOT eating..Frustrating.
  
  Reply
Audax says:

02:27pm | 03/01/12

An easier way to lose a boat load of ugly fat would have been to ditch the husband!

But seriously, well done on the weight loss.
Ed says:

02:48pm | 03/01/12

... and he has not noticed that eating less has lost you 21kg? Sounds to me like it’s time to lose him as well…
- Mademoiselle Slimalicous says:
  
  09:04am | 06/01/12
  
  Happy New Year! Interesting post, I like it!
  
  To help my fellow bloggers sticking to their diet related New Year’s resolutions, I’m currently running a giveaway (open to aussies) on my blog to win a copy of bestseller: “French Women Don’t Get Fat”. This books is about NOT DIETING, but eating for pleasure and making the right choice. It’s what the French paradox is all about, isn’t it?
  
  Anyway, not sure if you have read this book already or are interested but feel free to visit me for a chance to win!
  
  Reply

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Suze says:

Nic says:

St. Michael says:

Ben says:

Wilma J Craig says:

Ridge says:

scumbag says:

skinny1 says:

Debbie says:

Al says:

Debbie says:

the other woman says:

liberal says:

Sophie Rose says:

Mark says:

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