Yes, we’re once again in depths of the post holiday New Year's resolution ritural. And yes, the most common resolution is: lose those unwanted pounds – again or still. But, think - are you really ready to lose weight and do the daily work to keep off those unwanted pounds?

Warshaw is quoted along with several other RD authors in WebMD story posted 12/10/09 How to Design Your Own Diet.  The story, written by dietitian Elizabeth Ward, offers strategies to figure out a personalized weight loss plan based on individual needs vs. a one-size-fits-all eat this, not that approach. Warshaw is quoted on the topic of healthy restaurant eating and author of Eat Out, Eat Right.

The first report of the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study (DPPOS) came out October 29th, 2009 online in The Lancet, a well known medical journal. DPPOS is part two of the ongoing Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) conducted in the U.S. as a National Institutes of Health multi-site study. The DPP and DPPOS results are similar to findings from trials conducted internationally over the past two decades in Finland, China and elsewhere. 

November is American Diabetes Month and the kick-off for a new campaign Stop Diabetes - Make Diabetes Powerless by sharing, acting, learning and giving. Check out stopdiabetes.com.

The 2010 Dietary Guideline committee is continuing their work on revising the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. The full committee held their third meeting on April 29 – 30, 2009. I attended the meeting via webinar, as did all observers. The meeting began with a series of talks by invited experts, such as Brian Wansink, PhD, Frank Sacks, MD, and more. The remainder of the meeting revolved around presentations of the subcommittee reports. Attending meeting #3 again proved to be enlightening and educational.

The longest (2 years) and largest (~800 people) randomized control trial (the gold standard of studies) reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (2/27/09) was designed to answer the seemingly age-old question What’s the Best Diet for Weight Loss? The study was funded by National Institutes of Health and conducted by leading obesity researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Pennington Research Center in Louisiana. 

Oh yes, it’s that time of year to once again commit to losing weight for good. And the headlines from myriad media outlets are ready to provide you with umpteen quick weight loss schemes and promises to make this simpler than ever. The problem is that the only way to lose weight and - the hardest part - keep it off for good, is to make slow and steady positive changes over time. Yes it’s hard work that takes diligence and perseverance!