Americans are fatter than ever and continuing to grow. Being fat has almost become a national past-time. There is a singular discomfort in this fact since the only thing that makes a person fat is his own direct action. This makes losing the weight into a kind of personal civil war.

Losing weight really is very easy. Exercise more and eat less. There is no secret behind it, no magical incantation, there’s nothing special in it – just action and direction. But these two things are nearly impossible to manifest in the seemingly endless battle to lose weight.

The motivation to lose weight is predicated on an idea of what an “ideal” weight should be. This leads to a lot of disappointment since the methodology about the idealism is completely arbitrary. Weight as a measurement is inherently flawed since any number of things can trigger weight gain as opposed to fat gain. Body-fat percentage is the real measure of being “over-weight” and this is not something a scale can convey. Even charting the Body Mass Index (BMI) is flawed since it, too, uses weight as one of its factors.

Neither can the desire to lose weight be a function of personal comfort. Americans are extraordinarily obese – more than 50% of adults are considered this way – and when they find their clothes too confining, they simply buy larger sizes. The natural limitations to body size have been removed and with them go the inherent necessity to be “thin”.

What remains is a rather vanity induced version of body where the desire to be thin for the sake of implied beauty, a pursuit of fitness for the sake of attractiveness, takes precedence over any physical benefit.

This desire, though, never quite seems to be enough to bring victory to the civil war that rages within the over-weight person. The desire to be thin, the desire to eat, the desire to avoid discomfort, are all interwoven and often nothing is gained, nor is anything lost.

Overcoming this stalemate has proven to be the most difficult position in the history of war. So it is to the Art of War that one must look for a way to ending this ages old battle. Literally, Sun Tzu’s book provides some insight into how to proceed.

1. The art of war is governed by five factors: Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, Command and Discipline. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete agreement with their ruler so that they follow him into battle regardless of danger. Heaven is the change of time and seasons. Earth is distances and dangers. Command is for wisdom and courage. Discipline, the most important, is the way the war is played. Bearing all this in mind, Sun Tzu says that a war must be examined based on the weight of those five factors:
   
   
   
   1. Which leader has the allegiance of his people
   
   
   2. Which leader has the greatest ability
   
   
   3. To whom does Heaven and Earth show favor
   
   
   4. Who has the greater discipline
   
   
   5. Whom is the stronger force
   
   
   6. Which side has the greatest abilities
   
   
   7. Which army has the greatest rewards and strictest punishments
   
   
   
   

Sun Tzu gives these guidelines and when they are closely examined, the body is the victor without any doubt – the human mind and its desire for thinness are easily usurped by the dedication of the body toward being fat. The body can exact terrible pains from the mind when it is not fed or when it is driven too hard. The mind must be made to endure these terrible pains if it is to force the body to give up its fat stores and lose weight. Clearly, the mind is disadvantaged in this effort. But that is not all Sun Tzu can teach.

2. All warfare is based on deception. When able to attack, one must seem unable to do so. When using force, one must seem inactive. When near, one must seem far away, and vice versa. Hold out bait to entice the enemy, feign disorder, and then crush him. If he is secure, wait him out. If he has superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is ill-tempered, irritate him. Act weak so that he will become arrogant. If he is at rest, assault him. If he is united, divide him.

The only way to win this battle against the body is to be clever, to be sneaky, and that is the one thing that the mind can do which the body cannot. For all its anger and tyrannical ruling, the human body is just a machine, designed to function in a specific way. The human mind is quite different – able to think, to reason, to be deceptive. It is these tactics that need to be used to overcome the obviously superior enemy.

Lying to your body is effortless. The body is a formidable foe but it is still beholden to the will of the mind. It is any easy thing to go into work in the morning and decide the elevator is broken. Whether or not it actually is broken is irrelevant – the belief is enough. The elevator is broken so the stairs must be taken. Taking the stairs is an excellent easy activity to burn calories. The same can be done of parking spots. All the parking spots nearest the destination are taken – whether they are or not – so parking far away and walking is the only option. The body will do as it is told.

Secondly, and most deceptively, employ the act of deprivation. This is done with some reluctance but great success. When the body demands food, when the call of the cookies is too much to bear, have a cookie. Bring it carefully to wanting lips and bite it softly. Take only one small bite – then throw the cookie in the trash. Do this with any food that poses a threat to willpower. Concede the need for a taste of it, but maintain control.

For the endless routine of daily meals, the deception has to be more cunning. Find a small plate and use it in place of all other plates. A saucer is more than sufficient for measuring meals – and all the food will look bigger occupying the smaller space. When it comes to measuring food, find the measuring cup and measure out a single serving of the food. Then put the food away. Don’t get distracted like some who mistakenly fill up the measuring cup, see it as “too little” and begin adding more. Once the measure is made, do not deviate from it.

Employing those acts of deception with the tenet to always keep yourself distracted, the urge for food will rapidly decrease. The body will be forced to learn its place and recognize that it has to be subservient to the will of the mind. Instead of lounging and watching television, play a video game. Instead of spending time in the house where the call of food is too strong, go to a park for a walk. Go to a movie – but they’re all out of candy and popcorn – or go visit a friend.

Remember, as Sun Tzu said: “Hostile armies may face each other for years, waiting for the victory that is decided in a single day.”