Why Diets Don't Work
Jessica is just about fed up with her weight. She weighs 75kg at 160cm. She has tried eating less and eliminating sugar. She has also incorporated aerobic exercise for half an hour 4 times a week. She had lost some weight initially. But once she came off the diet, it seemed that all the weight just piled back on. Then she went back on the diet. This has just become a cycle or what we call yo-yo dieting. It does not help that her sister who is 55kg at 163cm can just eat whatever she wants and will not put on any weight. Jessica is so frustrated and does not know what to do!
How many times have we come across this scenario – whether it is our loved ones or we ourselves? Every time Jessica goes to a gathering or party, she always says.. “I will not have that piece of cake, I am on a diet…”. She only has some small pieces of fruit at the party. When we say diets here we mean severe restriction of food intake for a period of time. Eventually her cravings and desire to eat becomes too strong and she starts binge eating, thus gaining all the weight back on again.
Before we can understand the reasons behind the inertia of weight loss, we must first understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. What most people think they are aiming for is weight loss whereas in actual fact they are aiming for fat loss. Fat loss will give your body a nice toned, slim shape. Literally an hour glass figure. In the conventional method of dieting/starvation, the body loses fat and some muscle as well. Thus the end result will be a smaller body but not an hour glass figure. These people end up having lots of loose skin and generally look flabby, not toned.
Let’s look into some of main reasons diets do not work.
Most people starve their body when they go on a diet. This means they probably eat even fewer than 1000 calories a day. Let’s take the example of Jessica again. She only has an apple for breakfast with a cup of black coffee and a small whole meal bread sandwich with salad tomatoes and grilled chicken for lunch. She skips tea and has just grilled fish with some boiled vegetable for dinner. Her body actually perceives this as starvation and literally lowers her calorie consumption to the bare minimum to survive. As a result, no weight/fat will be lost. However, this is not a state in which we are designed to exist in. Therefore, her cravings and desire for food will eventually triumph. When she starts bingeing, her body feels that it is getting food after a long time and is unsure as to when it will get another good meal. This spurs the body to store most of the food as fat. Thus, Jessica always put on weight after coming off a diet. A lot of the time, while lots of us think that we are eating healthy” or are on a diet, we are generally unaware of the hidden calories in our foods. For example, bottled sauces such as ketchup and chili sauce contain loads of sugar. These foods will definitely put the brakes on any diet program we may be on.
Jessica has also incorporated aerobic exercise into her regime. She walks for half an hour 4 times a week. Initially, she lost 2 kg. However, after that her weight has been stagnant despite the regular exercise and strict diet for the past 4 weeks. She is frustrated and particularly dislikes having to go to the gym after work to exercise.
Everyone would think that logically speaking, Jessica should lose weight because she is eating very little and is exercising 4 times a week. This is what we have always been told. However, we have to take a few things into consideration. Firstly, the yo-yo diets that she has been on have caused her to lose a lot of muscle. When she goes on any diet, she will lose fat as well as muscle. Once she comes off the diet, she will put on only fat. We can only put on muscle through use of the muscle, for example by doing resistance training. Muscles need a lot of calories to sustain. As a result of this her metabolic rate (the minimum amount of calories the body needs a day to just survive, ie for the heart to beat, produce heat for the body, digestion and other necessary bodily functions) reduces and it will be difficult for her to lose weight. Secondly, she is taking very little food in a day. She will need more calories in a day of healthy food to give her body the nutrition it needs. Lastly, she has to be very compliant to any program for at least 6 months before she can see any appreciable results. Remember, Rome was not built in a day!
Another reason that lots of people fail to lose any fat is due to the lack of support or motivation. Let’s take the example of Jessica. Her sister obviously has a high metabolic rate and is one of the genetically blessed. Her eating habits will definitely have an impact on Jessica. The refrigerator is full of ice cream, cakes and coca-cola cans which are a temptation for Jessica. It would have been much easier for Jessica if her sister was sympathetic to her problem and did not keep these foods at home. Alternatively, another family member or friend also trying to lose weight would keep her on track and accountable.
One of the biggest challenges that people face is that they consider this to be a temporary diet. Therefore they restrict their food intake severely while telling themselves that in 3 months they will be slim and able to eat whatever they want. It almost never works that way. We should consider this to be a lifestyle change. Good, healthy eating habits and regular exercise should be a part of our lives forever and we should encourage our family to do the same. The aim should not only be to lose weight/fat but also to be healthier.
Study
In a study done by the UCLA, reported in the American Psychologist, 31 long term studies were analyzed as to why diets do not work. It was found that though most people do lose about 5 – 10% of weight, but the weight tends to come back on. It was also concluded during the study that this loss and gain of weight contributes to a lot of wear and tear on the body.
In one study of dieting, obese patients were followed for varying lengths of time. Among those who were followed for fewer than two years, 23 percent gained back more weight than they had lost, while of those who were followed for at least two years, 83 percent gained back more weight than they had lost.
Several studies also showed that dieting was a consistent predictor of future weight gain.