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DO:Being overweight significantly increases the risk of virtually every chronic disease. Some authorities have said that obesity is now overtaking smoking as the most preventable cause of premature death.

KF: How do you break through cravings for unhealthy food—because they really do have a hold on most of us!

DO: As you begin to eat more healthfully, your taste preferences change. You begin to prefer foods that are more healthful. And you connect the dots between what you eat and how you feel—because these mechanisms are so dynamic, most people find that they feel so much better, so quickly, it reframes the reason for changing from living longer to feeling better.

KF: What is a reasonable rate of weight loss?

DO: In most cases, no more than three pounds per week.

KF: What if we want to lose weight faster? Is there a healthy way to do it?

DO: Do more exercise and meditation and eat smaller amounts of healthy foods and less salt. Regular exercise not only burns calories, it also raises your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you burn while at rest. Thus, exercise helps you lose weight even when you’re not exercising. Do some strength training as well as aerobic exercise. Walking a mile burns even more calories than running a mile. Exercise in ways that you enjoy, then you’re more likely to do it. If it’s fun, it’s sustainable.

I also want to make the point that you have a spectrum of choices; it’s not all or nothing. In our research, we learned something very powerful: the more you change, the better you feel and the more you heal. What’s sustainable are joy, pleasure, and freedom.

If you go on a diet, sooner or later you’re likely to go off a diet—because a diet is what you can’t have and what you must do. Even more than feeling healthy, most people want to feel free and in control.

What matters most is your overall way of living and eating. If you indulge yourself one day, then eat healthier the next. If you forget to exercise or meditate one day, do more the next. You get the idea. It’s a very compassionate approach.

Some of the most toxic emotions are guilt, humiliation, and shame. If you go on a diet or a lifestyle program and feel like you have to follow it rigidly, then you’re setting yourself up for feeling guilty, humiliated, and ashamed. The language of behavioral modification often has a moralistic quality to it that turns off a lot of people (like “cheating” on a diet).

It’s a small step from thinking of foods as “good” or “bad” to seeing yourself as a “good person” or a “bad person” if you eat them, and this creates downward spirals in a vicious cycle. For example, once you feel like you’re a bad person for eating some ice cream, it’s all too easy to say, “Well, I blew it, so I might as well finish the entire pint.” Studies have shown that those who eat the healthiest overall are the ones who allow themselves some indulgences.

If you’re trying to reverse heart disease or prevent the recurrence of cancer, you may need the “pound of cure”—that is, bigger changes in diet and lifestyle than someone who just wants to lower their cholesterol levels a few points or lose a few pounds. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free. If you see your food and lifestyle choices each day as part of a spectrum, as a way of living, then you are more likely to feel empowered and to be successful.

KF: If someone is too busy to cook, and is in a big hurry, what is the best and most affordable approach?

DO: There are more and more healthy prepared and frozen meals on the market. Eat with your friends and take turns shopping and cooking—not only does it save time, but when you fill your heart with the love of friends and family in a shared meal, you have less need to overfill your belly.

For more information, you can visit Dr. Ornish’s website at www.pmri.org.

Now let’s meet someone who has put all this into play and transformed himself. Here’s Ben Goldsmith’s account of how he changed. I saw him recently at a party and didn’t even