Health and fitness contradictions abound in today’s rush-’n-ready world. Svelte models embody our physical aspirations while a cycle of indulgence and remorse governs what and how we eat. Headlines trumpet the successes of fad diets while criticizing those who have fallen off the dieting wagon or failed in their discipline.

Despite an environment that encourages us to consume more calories more often and bodies that are designed to fatten up, our culture expects people (especially women) to exert extraordinary self-control to lose weight.

Why Diets Don’t Work is a criticism of conflicting dieting messages, but it’s also a story of health. Kat Tancock teaches readers why it's okay to let go of "fat guilt" and a deprivation mindset, and she shows them how to focus instead on choosing and controlling their environments and being aware of external and internal eating cues.

Topics include:

• The evolution of "normal" eating (why are our plates and cups so huge?)
• Dieting history and trends, as well as today's juice fasts
• Real women's experiences with dieting and weight gain and loss
• Food marketing in North America
• Why we overeat
• Food choices as a form of identity, and food as reward
• Why deprivation diets almost always backfire
• How exercise really can help you lose weight (and it's not about calories burned)

KAT TANCOCK has written on health and nutrition for publications including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Flare and Glow and has worked as an editor at major Canadian magazines including Reader's Digest, Best Health and Canadian Living. Currently a freelance writer and consultant specializing in health, fitness, food and travel, she is also new media editor at Food & Drink and a part-time yoga teacher. Follow Kat on Twitter @kattancock, on Tumblr at kattancock.tumblr.com and on Pinterest at pinterest.com/kattancock, and visit her website at kattancock.com.

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