The Cosmo article in the Feb 2008 issue (bought of course one month earlier) about a Never Diet Again Pact is based on a book by nutritionist Kate Cook, author of Get Healthy for Good. Cosmo is blue.
It raises six points:
Let the yo-yo go – we all know why: you lose muscle mass, mess with your metabolism, are almost guaranteed to regain more weight than you’ve lost, and you’re likely to also experience depression and lower self-esteem.
Find your Natural Body Balance - and the coach quotes suggests being satisfied with a range based on your height:weight ratio (ie the discredited BMI). Good advice, but the waist measurement that naturopaths recommend is probably more accurate.
Trust the foods you eat - eat real whole foods and ditch the processed foods. Eat lots of variety and nothing is off limits. Yes, just like granny always said – everything in moderation. And remember, Granny never bought the pre-packaged junk that passes for food in the inner isles of the supermarkets now; it just wasn’t available.
Ease into exercise – good tip, but it then says exercise five times a week at a level to make you sweat till you get to your ideal weight, then three times a week to maintain it. Hmm. I’d say, start with walking a few minutes a day for a week, and go a bit further as you feel up to it. That’s easing in, and it’s more likely to stick than is a full-on deal that exhausts and hurts you, and that you’ll give up in a day or two.
Bin the Scales - don’t let unrealistic images manipulate you into thinking you should be another body ideal. A quick flick through the rest of the mag shows what you’d expect: dozens if not hundreds of images of very thin women looking “perfect”. I’d suggest it’s really hard for a ‘normal’ woman to feel happy when she’s got so much perfection staring her in the face.
Healthy body and attitude- eating properly makes you feel happier. Yes. 
So that’s the pact. Or maybe I didn’t see the pact bit? Isn’t a pact where you and I agree together to do something that benefits us both? It’s an interesting article, a useful contribution to the new paradigm, but a pact? Good try Cosmo, try again.
