The key to losing weight and keeping it off? Ask an alpaca

We get almost every diet and weight loss book published, but a recent one stopped us in our tracks. It wasn’t the awkward title so much: “The Problem With Weight Is NOT Losing It” (Raccoon Press, 2010). It was the cover, which included photos of a camel, a llama and an alpaca -- not your typical diet book subjects.

It took us a few chapters to discern what llamas have to do with weight loss: The book’s premise is that we can learn how to keep weight off (the hard part of dieting) by what we know from relating and working with animals. Or, rather, how author Marty McGee Bennett relates and works with animals, which seems to be with an enormous amount of kindness and compassion.

Bennett is an Oregon-based animal handler who specializes in llamas and alpacas. She was also a typical yo-yo dieter, taking off 20 pounds here and gaining 30 there, until she realized that was no way to live. While working with her animals she discovered that some of the principles that helped them lead a more balanced, happy life might also apply to humans who wanted to maintain a healthy weight.

Animals, for example, like being in balance and feeling secure, but some have been traumatized or abused, leading to odd and sometimes detrimental behavior. It’s the trainer’s job to help the animal feel more comfortable, with the hope that it will eventually be calmer and happier.

Bennett writes, “Maybe we could all take a lesson from animals and just get on with it, work on the physical aspects of getting into balance and let the mental insight follow along.” In other words, live a more healthful life and you’ll feel better, physically and emotionally.

Also, animals don’t resolve behavioral problems in a day, and people don’t change their diet and exercise habits in a day. “Picture your body as an animal,” Bennett writes, “and meet your body and its diet where it is now. Change is scary; the specter of failure can discourage a person from any action at all. Don’t go on an overly ambitious diet.... All you need to do is make a few small changes that you know you can live with.”

OK, so the advice isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it may resonate with animal lovers and those who have tried to change their animals’ behavior. The nutritional advice is sound, but nothing cutting-edge: Eat more fiber, keep portion sizes reasonable and read food labels. We just wish Bennett had included advice on what do with a cat who thinks 3 a.m. is a great time to play. But we’ll wait for the sequel.

-- Jeannine Stein / Los Angeles Times