I watched Hannah Jones' programme "Fix My Fat Head" last Tuesday evening on BBC1 and sent her an email afterwards with the information she needed, but

I watched Hannah Jones' programme "Fix My Fat Head" last Tuesday evening on BBC1 and sent her an email afterwards with the information she needed, but I've not received a reply.

Hannah, "journalist, newspaper columnist, a published author" (see WalesOnLine), weighs over 20 stone, and her programme explored her thoughts and feelings about being obese and her unsuccessful efforts to lose weight by various means - hypnotherapy, Lighterlife, LifeShapers, psychotherapy...

It was great to see a programme about being fat that wasn't being presented by a patronising slim presenter or guru. Hannah Jones has a beautiful, mobile face and an engaging self-deprecating wit.

Unfortunately, like most of humanity, Hannah has been conditioned to believe that for a fat person to lose weight it is necessary to eat fewer calories and exercise more. Since this advice does not work, however hard she tries and however hungry and tired her efforts make her, she will not be able to succeed in losing weight by these methods.

I visited the WalesOnLine website and emailed Hannah from there. This is the message I sent:

Dear Hannah

I have the answer to your problem of losing weight. You do NOT need to diet or go hungry or exercise, but you do need to cut down on your sodium intake. Although you say you do not eat salt, you do eat a lot of food that contains a lot of added salt - added by someone else. - Your weight problem is caused by salt sensitivity which has led to fluid retention.

I am not selling anything or advertising anything and my advice is free - but it does work. I became fat as a result of taking prescribed steroid medication, so my website is www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk - Visit my website and read how to lose weight by eating less salt. - Go on! - Try it! - Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection: http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/obesity_and_the_salt_connection.html You have nothing to lose but your excess pounds!

Best wishes

and I gave my name and address and phone number. I've been disappointed not to receive a reply. I don't know whether Hannah has seen my message or not. I expect she received a great many messages after people saw her programme. - Maybe she will see my message here. - I do hope so. If she sees it and follows the advice in it and on my website she will lose weight easily, safely and rapidly. If she carries on trying to lose weight by dieting she will lose her looks and lose her health...)o:

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it!

See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

prescribed steroids and HRTand FAT RETENTION

I watched Ann Widdecombe present a programme criticising the Diet Industry on ITV1 tonight

There's more information about it here: http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/AnnWiddecombeVersustheDietIndustry/Ep1/default.html

Ann Widdecombe is a good presenter for this sort of programme. Her main message was that "Diets Don't Work!" I think and hope that it will do some good. It highlighted the harmful role that so many of the glossy magazines do with their emphasis on dieting and on celebrity tips for losing weight and on photos of celebrities with extremely slim bodies, very unlike most people.

I was particularly impressed by the success of a woman psychologist who worked with a small group of teenage girls to raise their confidence and self-esteem so that they no longer felt that they had to lose weight in order to be liked. Her work was very worthwhile and the girls were clearly happier and no longer obsessed with diet nonsense.

Ms Widdecombe's visit to America and to Hollywood showed people whose obsession to be ultra-slim was so great that many resort to hugely expensive, ridiculously extensive weight reduction surgery, which she herself was offered and sensibly refused, not being a gullible fool.

The experts on the programme were wisely against the daft and often dangerous diets. Sadly, not one of them gave the best advice of all for losing excess weight safely and reliably, namely avoiding salt and salty food. - And Ann Widdecombe own advice for losing weight: "the best way to shift the pounds and stay slim is to eat less and move more" is not correct. - Very, very few people lose weight by doing that, and are often harmed by trying it.

To lose weight safely and rapidly, you need to give up dieting and low calorie/low fat junk altogether! - You can eat more food, more calories and still lose excess weight provided that overall your salt/sodium intake is lower. And faster still if you eat plenty of fruit and unsalted vegetables, i.e. potassium-rich food.

Yes, although it contains no calories, salt is fattening! - because it causes fluid retention - but only if you are sensitive to salt... - Read more:

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods and

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers

Associated health conditions

and FAT RETENTION

Are you one of the unthinking majority who believe that obesity is caused by greed and laziness?

And do you try to bully people into losing weight? - Do you reckon insulting obese people is therapeutic for them?

Why don't you try using your brains and read the evidence? That's what intelligent people do...

Read The political background to obesity in Britain

and Do you believe that obesity is caused by overeating?

and Heinz Asthoff eats more than 12,000 calories a day but does not gain weight

Obesity is caused by fluid retention, not by gluttony, and is reduced not by dieting and exercise, but by eating less salt.