In the land of the free fast-food upgrade, weight gain stigma can be as sticky as the sugary sodas many of us use to quench it. Whether you're a sucker for the ?quick fix? drive-thru, or just someone who pays more attention to the TV Guide instead of the calories on the back of food packages, odds are you struggle like the rest of us keeping the pounds off?and it's starting to affect more than just your waistline.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 67 percent of all Americans, about 200 million, are overweight or obese. That number has doubled since 1980. Currently, about one-third of American children are either obese or at risk of becoming obese, and while being overweight can increase your risk from everything from high blood pressure, diabetes, to back pain, the buildup of poor self-esteem from psychological and social problems can only make things worse.

I've seen it before. From the patients who enter my office, to my own family and friends that gather around my dinner table?the struggle they endure while undertaking a weight loss or diet program just isn't fair. Yep, I said it. If you want to lose weight, and keep it off, those diet plans?Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers?may not be the answer for you.

I know, I know, I've heard it all: ?I ate nothing but soup and lost 10 pounds!? Or, ?I haven't had a single carb in two weeks and lost five pounds!? The common thread with all these ?fad diets? is just that?they're fads. Just like those bell bottom pants you were once so fond of, eventually the allure wore off. How many times have you thrown a defunct diet in the attic trunk, just like you did those pants?

I should probably admit something before I go any further'I've battled the cookie tray temptations like anybody else. But I've learned that if there's any rule to live by, the quick and easy way out?magic diet pills, fad programs, etc., simply don't work.

When all else fails, stay positive, and excuse yourself from the table of ridiculous and outrageous diets. I hope that those who continue to get lost, while on the road to weight loss, never stop trying to get to their destination.