By Deena Waisberg

Losing weight is hard to do. From appetite-suppressing sunglasses to an all-cabbage regimen, here’s the skinny on gimmicks and gadgets that promise to slim down.

Marianne Thee had tried every diet plan going – the Scarsdale diet, a grapefruit diet, a cabbage soup diet – among a plethora of other fixes. Sometimes she lost weight, but once she expanded beyond the diets restrictive regimens she would gain it all back, On top of all that, she was always hungry.

So why did she persist with these often times outrageous diet plans? Simple. she wanted the weight to come off fast. It wasn’t until Thee hired Vancouver-based registered dietitian and nutrition coach Ramona Josephson (www.yournutritioncoach.com) that she learned how to lose weigh sensibly and how to keep it off. Josephson helped Thee create a healthy eating plan with lots of variety. She lost 5 pounds in the first five weeks and continues to lose at a steady pace.

Thee’s story is not unusual. About 85% of people who try to lose weight do. Unfortunately only about 15 percent of those will keep the weight off for two years, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

There are many, many diet plant, pills, patches and gadgets out there that claim to help you shed extra pounds. But what among them really works?

For complete article see Smart Click Living Magazine Nov/Dec 2002