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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Successful Dieter Cynthia Fink

Aired July 06, 2002 - 12:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now, someone who found the key to losing weight and keeping it off, Cynthia Fink. She lost 54 pounds and has kept it off for now 13 years. And she also runs a Web site promoting healthy eating and exercise. Wow, congratulations. That is pretty amazing.

CYNTHIA FINK, SUCCESSFUL DIETER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Cynthia. You like thousands, millions of Americans probably turned to the fad diets more immediately, right?

FINK: I did.

WHITFIELD: You tried everything and it just didn't seem to keep the weight off?

FINK: Everything. I tried everything but what I needed to do, which was to put in the changes for good behavior. And I think that that's what a lot of people get confused about. Everyone wants a magic bullet. We want a quick fix. And believe me, if I had the secret, I would tell you. It's not there. The quick fix, the magic bullet is basically that you need to eat less and move more.

And people don't want to hear that. But if there is anything that even comes close to a magic bullet, it's exercise. And it's also understanding what you're doing wrong, what foods you're eating that are not making your body be the way that you want it to be.

WHITFIELD: So really it is an overall lifestyle change, but not everyone knows, you know, just what to cut out and how much reps to do of what exercise, et cetera. So how did you begin? Did you consult someone, or did you just, you know, kind of go down the basics and use logic?

FINK: Well, I did both. I was lucky enough that a dear friend of mine was a registered dietitian. And we started a Web site, cyberdiet.com. And she was able to help me learn about what I needed to eat and how I needed to exercise. And we then wanted to be able to teach people to be able to pass this knowledge along.

I think if everyone sat down and looked in the mirror and said, OK, what am I doing that's wrong? They would know. I knew that I was eating way too much fat, I knew that I was really loving sugar, and I knew that I was not getting enough exercise. WHITFIELD: So is it a matter of moderation? Did you mix everything from your diet, or did you make a decision that I'm just going to have to trim down on the portions -- I can still eat everything I want to, it's just in moderation, as they say?

FINK: It's in moderation, but you've also got to make sure that you say to yourself, what do I want most? And compare that to what I want most in the moment.

And honestly, what I wanted most was to be thin. And there were times that we would go and we would be out at dinner and I would see a dessert and I would think, I had a mantra, and I say, "most, most in the moment. Most, most in the moment." Most of the time -- you know, as long as 85 percent of the time, most want out, you're going to get to your goal.

It's not about deprivation. You don't have to give up everything for the rest of your life. But you do have to stay on course 85 or 90 percent of the time. And you have got to be sure that what is important to you -- if what's important to you is being thin or fitting into jeans, my clothes hurt. You know, I didn't want to do that anymore. I wanted to be thin, I wanted to be able to move, I wanted to have my body take me places that I couldn't go before. And I had eaten myself up to about close to 170 pounds.

WHITFIELD: And don't you have to set realistic goals? Because if it is going to be a lifestyle change, you don't want to just lose the weight for a period of months, you don't want to gain it all back. And how discouraging that is to even want to go back to trying, you know, try something else. So, how do you set those realistic goals for yourself?

FINK: Well, the realistic goals, you've got to say, you know, you can look at weight charts. You can decide that you want to get into a certain clothes that fit.

What you want to say to yourself is, 90 percent of the time, I'm going to take really good care of myself. And as long as that 90 percent of the time where you're eating well, you're exercising, you're going to be able to stay on course.

And I have one trick that I'd like to share with you is that I have a three-alarm bell. When I gain three pounds, I say, OK, what are you doing that you weren't doing before? What's the behavior that's changed? And put back in the right behavior. What are the choices that I'm making that are wrong?

My weakness is jelly bellies. I can't have them in the house. And one of the things we tell people at Cyberdiet, is if it calls your name and you can't stay away from it, don't bring it home. You know, there are certain things that I just can't have around. You have got to take good care of yourself, and I think the ladies that we were listening to on the package said it absolutely right, you have got to put yourself first and you've got to care about yourself in order to do this. And then you can take care of everybody else around you. But it's a job, and it's not easy, and you've got to find support. That's the other very important component. Don't try to do it by yourself. And one of the things I found out and one of the things I really enjoyed seeing on the Web site is that people understand they're not alone. You feel like, wow, I'm out here all by myself. I'm the only one that's ever had this problem. And you find that there's lots of people around that can support you. And that's really, really empowering.

WHITFIELD: Great. Well, Cynthia Fink, you look fabulous. And thank you very much for sharing your story and getting it off and keeping it off.

FINK: OK.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it, thanks very much.

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