Why diets don't work

I was asked to explain privately but will publicly as maybe others wonder how/why this is working for me.  I know I might be coming off a bit like a reformed smoker, but I wish I could stop everyone from dieting.  It does more harm than good.  I don't say that to those of you who are on a diet to discourage you.  I support everyone in reaching their goals in the healthiest way possible. And I know some of you, due to physical limitations, it's your only option.  WIth that said... My trainer and I talked about it a couple times, particularly when I was jealous that someone lost 30 lbs in the time I've lost half that, because she was dieting (WW) and taking 3 swim classes a week.  That's it!  Lord knows I've been working my tail off going to the gym so frequently and for so long.  And I'll tell you, it's hard to eat to fuel as it is to cut calories.  But the difference is she has a 95% chance of regaining her weight.  I don't.  Even if I become less active.  I also am not having to go through the mental gymnastics of feeling deprived (which would cause me to cheat or beat myself up emotionally). So he explained to me how the body reacts to the cut calories.  Generally, the body adjusts to the decrease, thinking this is all there is, and while it may lose weight, there will come a time when the body realizes since this is all there is, it must hold on to every ounce.  The metabolism says to itself--this is our world and slows down.  That creates the need to ever lower the calories (see how I got down to 800-1000 calories and didn't lose weight?) to lose the weight and make the original diet amount what it will require to sustain itself.  With that said, when a person goes back to the intake they biologically desire (example, 1800-2000 calories for a woman), they of course gain. Ever wrap up a diet and gain back quickly?  I always laughed when people said "you didn't put it on overnight."  Uh, yeah, in many ways I did.  I spent six months on Jenny Craig only to lose 14 lbs which I gained back in two weeks. The diet industry puts it off on willpower.  Good Lord is that condescending!  No, it's not that it's will power, it's biology driving you to do what it's always done.  The only difference is of course the choices you make (e.g., healthy choices versus fast food). Yes, both dieting and doing what I'm doing will be less effective if lifestyle reverts (if I for instance became inactive and eat too little or too much of the wrong things), but I won't have trained my metabolism to betray me once I act as my body is supposed to--eat.  When I get down (to 150lbs, I anticipate), I'll be taking in the calories appropriate to that body, not less (not 1200 calories, more like 1800) and if I were to stop being as active as I am, be able to maintain 150lbs on 2000 calories.  IOW, I'd be: normal. What a concept. What angers me is that this is less promoted than diet is.  Even doctors (not well trained in managing obesity nor in fitness or nutrition) promote caloric restriction.  Many don't have this as part of their core curriculum--did you know that?  They just buy into the hype we all did. There are a number of trainers in my gym who lost >100 lbs. and have kept it off for years.  They lead by example.  They're not living in restriction, nor living in a world where they must be exercise fanatics.  They're living as our bodies are driven to and so...they succeed with greater ease. If anyone reading this is feeling like their diet isn't working or is contemplating what to do, I cannot encourage you more to skip the diet and go to the gym and talk with a trainer and a nutritionist who understands this aspect of weight loss.  I want you (as well as I) to lose all our excess weight and live well! If I can direct anyone away from the mental torture (just look at some of the title of posts on these boards and you know what I mean), I will have saved someone the grief I went through time and again before. Best wishes to all.

It's all about understanding your own body, your own metabolism and the way you react to food.

I started South Beach back in the summer of 2004.  I was working out like crazy, my body was changing dramatically and I felt fantastic, amazingly fantastic.  Well, after 6 weeks of doing this I went to the doctor and I was sure I had lost 40 pounds.  Well, the scale registered 10 pounds.  I was devastated.  I was sure I had shed more than 10 pounds off of my 343 pound body.  It didn't matter that I felt great or was physically smaller.  What mattered was that number.  Well, within 2 weeks I had gained back the 10 pounds and went on to gain until I reached 362 and decided to try again in July of 2005.  The rest is history. I think it's all about understanding, completely understanding, your body and nutrition and the way your own body works.  It is a lifestyle change, but that lifestyle has to be what we each make of it.  I never aimed for more than 3-4 days a week at the gym.  To aim for more would make me feel like I was failing when I didn't get there every day.  I work out 1 - 1 1/2 hours a day.  I don't do more than that because it makes me physically ill to work out too hard for too long. 

I know that you mean well, and I know in my journal I have written that if I could bottle what made me successful then I would, and share it with everyone in the world.  But that doesn't mean it will work for all of them.  I have people writing to me asking "tell me EXACTLY what you did to lose your weight."  Gosh, that's just not going to work for them.  We ALL have to find our own way based on physical and mental considerations. congratulations on your successes.

 

"Skip the diet" might work for you, but not everyone's going to feel that way. The care of your body is a holistic venture. It's really not an either/or issue. Both diet AND exercise have been clinically proven to be effective ways to lose weight, if that's what you're after. (Note: I said "diet", not "dieting." You're in it for life, or you're screwed, periodendastory.) If weight loss is all you care about, either works. But there's more to consider when you're discussing health. Altering one's diet (if it's a crappy one to start with) has multiple health benefits. I didn't become 368 pounds by eating sprouts-- I ate an extremely high fat and high cholesterol diet which not only caused me to be obese, but also insulin resistant, and have very high cholesterol. I was constantly protein anemic-- I didn't  consume enough protein to adequately create muscle mass. No amount of exercise is going to undo that kind of damage efficiently alone. Also-- at very high weights, the amount of exercise you are physically able to do is often minimal, unfortunately. Losing some body mass through diet can be beneficial if only to regain mobility so that you *can* lose weight/maintain a healthy body with exercise. I'm not "mentally tortured" because I can't scarf a bag of Doritos-- I'm feeding the machinery the required nutrients for good health. Is it a challenge? Sure-- but what of value isn't? Asking me at 368 pounds to go hit a treadmill would have been more torturous, since it was implausible, impossible, humiliating and downright excrutiating. It's not an either/or, and it needn't be. Take care of the body holistically. Balance is what nature seeks out.

I couldn't agree more. I watch what I eat very closely.  I make sure that my intake is less than my output.  At around 1500 calories a day I can eat a very comfortable amount of food and lose signifcant pounds.  However, I do not exercise.  It is painful for me to move.  I HATE exercising.  I would rather eat less than move more.  For me that is the correct balance. I worry that for many people who are SMO there is great risk of injury with great amounts of exercise and that movement for the first time in years should be carefully monitored to ensure that lasting damage isnt done.

While they're can be tweaking as to what each body needs--what variation in the diet, calories, and exercise ability, it is the one thing that will work for all, whereas dieting won't work for all people and can be detrimental to the goals longterm. To me the whole "resetting your metabolism" is the part that people seem to miss.

"Consume less than you spend" works for me. The rest is semantics.

I came to the conclusion you did about 4 years ago myself. "The one thing that will work for all", as you call it (meaning exercise and plenty of it) caused me to gain muscle mass --which is nice--but I also lost very little of the weight that was literally crushing me. I had a trainer and exercised-- significantly for my size-- daily for five months, with no major change in diet. I lost about 12 pounds. From March to July of this year, I exercised about half as much, and changed my diet. I lost 68 pounds in the same time period. I needed the weight to move fast-- my comorbidities were killing me. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing. Mileage varies. You have to find what works for you-- and I am glad you did.

 

So he explained to me how the body reacts to the cut calories.  Generally, the body adjusts to the decrease, thinking this is all there is, and while it may lose weight, there will come a time when the body realizes since this is all there is, it must hold on to every ounce.  True to a point, but think this through: how'd the kids in Ethiopia get so skinny if this is the case? Eventually loss continues.

LOL - never mind the ethiopians.... what about the Olsen twins?

Middle English diete, from Anglo-French, from Latin diaeta, from Greek diaita, literally, manner of living, from diaitasthai to lead one's life Skewing of the word "diet" to mean something temporary is fairly recent. I don't do this to be condescending.  Somewhere along the line we've forgotten, as a society, that a diet is more about a way of life than about a temporary cure for the ailment of obesity.  I follow a healthy diet and I consider myself to be on a lifelong diet.  I eat lots of food, about 2000 (balanced) calories per day and that works for me.  The quality of the food is just as important as the calories.  I get physical activity almost every day in the form of quick pace dog walking as well as 5 days per week of cardio/strength, flexibility.  Am I losing weight?  Yes.  Am I losing inches? Yes.  My calories consumed are less than my calories burned over time in a non extreme manner that does not lead to starvation.  Do I consider myself to be on a diet?  Yes.  Everyone is on a diet whether it be healthy or unhealthy.  I wish people would stop viewing a little four letter word as a dirty expletive. The bottom line is I try to eat well most of the time, allow myself the occasional treat and get some type of exercise almost every day.  I don't have a trainer, but I'm doing my best and will continue to do it and will proclaim proudly that am maintaining a healthy diet as best I can. I don't eat junk food and fast food every day, but try to eat a healthy mix of things each day including fruits, veggies, milk, protein and fats.  I've challenged myself to not follow an extreme prescription for obesity and it is a "diet" and there is nothing wrong with it.  BTW, my activity is not extreme either.  There is nothing wrong with daily activity.  I alternate my workout and participate in light activities 2 days per week.  I can't wait to add other activities in the future as well.  I can't afford the gym or a trainer right but I'll keep doing it on my own. I think some of the advice you offered people is good, it just frustrates me to see reinforcement of negativity that the word diet does not deserve.