What do we do after Christmas or before a holiday or before a wedding or because our favourite celebrity said so?
Diet.
Of which, the choice is endless; Paleo, Atkins, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Dukan, 5:2, South Beach, Zone etc etc etc. These systems all claim to have the secret to your weight loss (and apparently happiness?), with reams of testimonials and pseudo science to back them up. Most of us are not so naive as to expect them to have our best interests at heart and indeed the diet industry is BIG business. A recent report estimated it to be worth US $586.3 Billion(1). Before considering coughing up more cash for these huge corporations let's consider some of the evidence about dieting.
They don't work. This
would be what the academic literature will tell us anyway. It has been
known for many years that those who diet more, gain more weight over
their lifetime. You would literally be better off not bothering in the
first place. Sure, we all have a friend who has lost a huge amount of
weight and kept it off using one of the aforementioned diets but they
are the exception, not the rule. A recent study titled 'Does dieting
make you fat? A twin study' found that twins who diet, gain more weight
over 25 years than those who don't. It's not genetics, it's dieting.
How on earth can this be the case? Diets are there to help us LOSE weight not gain it. To explain this paradox we need to travel back in time to our hunter gatherer ancestors. Unlike today, food was scarce for most of human history and our lives consisted of constant 'feast and famine'. How long would the famine last? We did not know and therefore, those of us who could conserve our energy best would survive and those of us who burned it all off would die out.
It is evolutionary beneficial to have a slow metabolism. This is especially the case in times of famine. Most modern diets restrict calories in order to help us lose weight. The body will effectively see this as a famine and will start to enter what is popularly known as 'starvation mode'. This will not occur immediately but over weeks and months of caloric restriction the body will find ways to burn less energy. Effectively all of the processes of metabolism that keep us alive (respiration, digestion etc.) become MORE efficient i.e.. they require less calories(3). In addition to this your body will make you move less without you even knowing it! Great for keeping a starved caveman alive, a nightmare for the 21st century dieter.
So, the typical dieter goes on a diet, loses some weight
AND slows their metabolic rate down, goes back to their 'normal' way of
eating, puts the weight back on (and usually a little more) and the
cycle continues. What's more, this is perfect for the diet industry!
Every time you leave the diet, you put weight on and you have to go
back! They have the perfect business model, at the expense of your
health and bank account. So, it all seems a bit doom and gloom. Diets
only serve you make you fatter and big companies richer. What can you
do? You probably already know the answer. The answer lies in the paradox
discussed above. The diets 'work' in the short term, you lose a
significant amount of weight initially (often a lot of water rather than
fat) which makes you think they work. If you 'lost weight doing it last
time' but are now larger than you would like to be then don't go back!
The likelihood is that very diet has contributed to your subsequent
weight gain.
If you can't stick to it or you don't like it, don't do it. If you detest the gym (make sure you explore different ways of training first, mindless treadmill plodding is not what I mean here) then don't go. If you hate broccoli, don't eat it. You need to build habits that bring about a positive change and that you can stick to.
Progress may(should) be slower but if it keeps you healthy and keeps the weight off forever then it is worth it ten times over. From personal experience with hundreds of clients I usually find the most successful weight loss cases do have a slightly quicker rate of loss to begin with (3-5lb for the first week or two) but then tend to settle into a 1-2lb per week loss. I have NEVER seen someone lose every week for 10+weeks and keep the weight off, there will be the odd week where weight stays the same or even goes up a pound or two. So long as the general trend is down and your life is not miserable because of it, you are doing perfectly.
I can not tell you exactly what to do here, I would need to see your recent diet history, daily routine, likes, dislikes etc but I will provide you with a few general pieces of advice that most of us can implement one way or another to help stay(or become) lean, happy and healthy.
- Increase your fruit and especially vegetable intake. 5 pieces per day is an absolute minimum. They have been shown to reduce the risk of many diseases (4). Low in calories and high in micronutrients they should be present at EVERY meal. For weight loss favour vegetables over fruit which is higher in sugar (no where near as high as sweets mind!).
- Avoid processed foods where possible. Single ingredient foods will be the most satiating, will have the smallest effect on your blood sugar and are difficult to overeat. If more than 20% of your diet is made up of processed foods (comes in a tin/wrapper) then this can be improved!
- Increase your protein intake. Protein is very satiating, requires a lot of calories to be digested and has been identified as a key component of many weight loss diets (5).
- Take your bodyweight in kg, for every 25kg that is 1 litre of water per day. If it's warm or you are exercising, you may need another litre on top of that! You will sometimes mistake thirst for hunger leading to unnecessary over eating. What's more your body (- the fat tissue) is 73% water - you are water!
- Eat you what enjoy. Of course this must be within reason, but try to find foods that fit the above criteria and that you enjoy eating, this is the only way to long term success.
The ideal answer, is never to let dramatic weight
gain occur in the first place, but of course we can't turn back time.
The 'modern western diet' does not match our genetic makeup and with the
food and diet industry's booming business, are constantly being
persuaded to make poor choices resulting in many of us 'sleepwalking
into obesity.
We have to be mindful and sometimes a little disciplined, but wanting it NOW is a slippery slope. Sometimes, patience is a virtue. Focus on the journey, not the destination and the destination will become inevitable..
References
(1) Information can be found at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/global-market-for-weight-loss-worth-$726-billion-by-2014.asp
(2) Pietiläinen KH1, Saarni SE, Kaprio J, Rissanen A. (2012) Does dieting make you fat? A twin study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 Mar;36(3):456-64. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.160. Epub 2011 Aug 9.
(3) Paul S. MacLean, Audrey Bergouignan, Marc-Andre Cornier, and Matthew R. Jackman.(2011) Biology's response to dieting: the impetus for weight regain. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. Sep 2011; 301(3): R581-R600.
(4) F J He1, C A Nowson2, M Lucas2 and G A MacGregor (2007) Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: metaanalysis of cohort studies. Journal of Human Hypertension (2007) 21, 717-728; doi: 10.1038/sj.jhh.1002212; published online 19 April 2007
(5) Thomas L. Halton and Frank B. Hu (2004) The Effects of High Protein Diets on Thermogenesis, Satiety and Weight Loss: A Critical Review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 23, Issue 5, 2004, pages 373- 385 Published online: 18 Jun 2013
Diet.
Of which, the choice is endless; Paleo, Atkins, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Dukan, 5:2, South Beach, Zone etc etc etc. These systems all claim to have the secret to your weight loss (and apparently happiness?), with reams of testimonials and pseudo science to back them up. Most of us are not so naive as to expect them to have our best interests at heart and indeed the diet industry is BIG business. A recent report estimated it to be worth US $586.3 Billion(1). Before considering coughing up more cash for these huge corporations let's consider some of the evidence about dieting.
How on earth can this be the case? Diets are there to help us LOSE weight not gain it. To explain this paradox we need to travel back in time to our hunter gatherer ancestors. Unlike today, food was scarce for most of human history and our lives consisted of constant 'feast and famine'. How long would the famine last? We did not know and therefore, those of us who could conserve our energy best would survive and those of us who burned it all off would die out.
It is evolutionary beneficial to have a slow metabolism. This is especially the case in times of famine. Most modern diets restrict calories in order to help us lose weight. The body will effectively see this as a famine and will start to enter what is popularly known as 'starvation mode'. This will not occur immediately but over weeks and months of caloric restriction the body will find ways to burn less energy. Effectively all of the processes of metabolism that keep us alive (respiration, digestion etc.) become MORE efficient i.e.. they require less calories(3). In addition to this your body will make you move less without you even knowing it! Great for keeping a starved caveman alive, a nightmare for the 21st century dieter.
If you can't stick to it or you don't like it, don't do it. If you detest the gym (make sure you explore different ways of training first, mindless treadmill plodding is not what I mean here) then don't go. If you hate broccoli, don't eat it. You need to build habits that bring about a positive change and that you can stick to.
Progress may(should) be slower but if it keeps you healthy and keeps the weight off forever then it is worth it ten times over. From personal experience with hundreds of clients I usually find the most successful weight loss cases do have a slightly quicker rate of loss to begin with (3-5lb for the first week or two) but then tend to settle into a 1-2lb per week loss. I have NEVER seen someone lose every week for 10+weeks and keep the weight off, there will be the odd week where weight stays the same or even goes up a pound or two. So long as the general trend is down and your life is not miserable because of it, you are doing perfectly.
I can not tell you exactly what to do here, I would need to see your recent diet history, daily routine, likes, dislikes etc but I will provide you with a few general pieces of advice that most of us can implement one way or another to help stay(or become) lean, happy and healthy.
- Increase your fruit and especially vegetable intake. 5 pieces per day is an absolute minimum. They have been shown to reduce the risk of many diseases (4). Low in calories and high in micronutrients they should be present at EVERY meal. For weight loss favour vegetables over fruit which is higher in sugar (no where near as high as sweets mind!).
- Avoid processed foods where possible. Single ingredient foods will be the most satiating, will have the smallest effect on your blood sugar and are difficult to overeat. If more than 20% of your diet is made up of processed foods (comes in a tin/wrapper) then this can be improved!
- Increase your protein intake. Protein is very satiating, requires a lot of calories to be digested and has been identified as a key component of many weight loss diets (5).
- Take your bodyweight in kg, for every 25kg that is 1 litre of water per day. If it's warm or you are exercising, you may need another litre on top of that! You will sometimes mistake thirst for hunger leading to unnecessary over eating. What's more your body (- the fat tissue) is 73% water - you are water!
- Eat you what enjoy. Of course this must be within reason, but try to find foods that fit the above criteria and that you enjoy eating, this is the only way to long term success.
The ideal answer, is never to let dramatic weight
gain occur in the first place, but of course we can't turn back time.
The 'modern western diet' does not match our genetic makeup and with the
food and diet industry's booming business, are constantly being
persuaded to make poor choices resulting in many of us 'sleepwalking
into obesity.We have to be mindful and sometimes a little disciplined, but wanting it NOW is a slippery slope. Sometimes, patience is a virtue. Focus on the journey, not the destination and the destination will become inevitable..
References
(1) Information can be found at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/global-market-for-weight-loss-worth-$726-billion-by-2014.asp
(2) Pietiläinen KH1, Saarni SE, Kaprio J, Rissanen A. (2012) Does dieting make you fat? A twin study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 Mar;36(3):456-64. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.160. Epub 2011 Aug 9.
(3) Paul S. MacLean, Audrey Bergouignan, Marc-Andre Cornier, and Matthew R. Jackman.(2011) Biology's response to dieting: the impetus for weight regain. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. Sep 2011; 301(3): R581-R600.
(4) F J He1, C A Nowson2, M Lucas2 and G A MacGregor (2007) Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: metaanalysis of cohort studies. Journal of Human Hypertension (2007) 21, 717-728; doi: 10.1038/sj.jhh.1002212; published online 19 April 2007
(5) Thomas L. Halton and Frank B. Hu (2004) The Effects of High Protein Diets on Thermogenesis, Satiety and Weight Loss: A Critical Review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 23, Issue 5, 2004, pages 373- 385 Published online: 18 Jun 2013
About the Author - Chris Bell earned his BSc in Sports Studies
from the University of Southampton in 2011, and is currently studying
for his MSc in Human Nutrition. He co- owns the Personal Training
Business Delta Nutrition and Fitness and has helped hundreds of people
working as a Personal Trainer. He reads relentlessly and is always
looking for the best ways to improve his, and others health, physiques
and fitness.
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