Diets – fads and fiction
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Each year millions of people will attempt a ‘diet’ with the aim of losing weight and more often than not this is not successful, especially in the longer term. Why do diets not work? And if they do work for the short term, why do so many people
then end up putting the weight back on over a longer period? There are three main reasons why, typically, diets do not work. Firstly, in terms of nutritional value and health balance the diets are often not very good for sustained weight loss. Secondly, the underlying reasons for being overweight and poor eating habits are not addressed and thirdly, the motivation to stick to a disciplined diet does not continue for long.
Crash dieting, in which you hugely cut down how much you eat, is popular because it’s seen as a quick fix, but sadly there’s no such thing. Crash diets might help you to lose a few pounds at first, but they won’t help you to stay a healthy weight in the long run. Usually as soon as you stop restricting your calorie intake, you will put the weight straight back on again.
This happens because if you lose weight too quickly, you tend to lose a lot of lean body tissue – muscle – as well as fat. When this happens, your body starts to work more slowly, meaning that it needs fewer calories to function day to day. That’s why the weight piles back on so quickly once you go back to your usual eating habits; your body has adjusted to a lower calorie intake, so the extra calories are stored as fat. If you’re overweight and want to lose some, the trick is to set realistic goals. Aim to lose weight at a rate of about 0.5kg (1lb) per week.
I’m not a fan of fad diets like the ‘cabbage soup diet’, the ‘maple syrup diet’, the ‘blood group diet’ – no sooner does one fad diet lose popularity than another one comes along, promising to help you lose weight through one method or another. A healthy, balanced diet is essential for good health and cutting out entire food groups, as stipulated in some diets, can be dangerous. No single food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need to stay healthy, so it’s important to eat a range of foods from the five main food groups.
If you’re trying to lose weight, rather than cut something out completely, try to eat less fat and sugar and replace them with more of other food groups, such as fruit and vegetables. Weight for weight, fat has more than twice the calories of carbohydrates and protein. Try to find low-fat alternatives to creamy sauces and buttery toppings, and choose cooking methods that keep the overall fat content low.
Also watch out for ‘reduced-fat’ foods. These may not be low in fat at all – a ‘reduced-fat’ product must just have a third less fat than the standard product, so it may still be high in fat (‘ 75 percent fat-free’ still means the food is a quarter fat). Alternatively, the product may contain lots of salt and sugar. Although diets such as the Atkins diet advocate cutting out fruit and vegetables, it’s important to aim to include at least five portions of these in your daily diet. Not only are fruit and vegetables rich in essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, but steamed, boiled or raw, they are both filling and low in calories.
then end up putting the weight back on over a longer period? There are three main reasons why, typically, diets do not work. Firstly, in terms of nutritional value and health balance the diets are often not very good for sustained weight loss. Secondly, the underlying reasons for being overweight and poor eating habits are not addressed and thirdly, the motivation to stick to a disciplined diet does not continue for long.
Crash dieting, in which you hugely cut down how much you eat, is popular because it’s seen as a quick fix, but sadly there’s no such thing. Crash diets might help you to lose a few pounds at first, but they won’t help you to stay a healthy weight in the long run. Usually as soon as you stop restricting your calorie intake, you will put the weight straight back on again.
This happens because if you lose weight too quickly, you tend to lose a lot of lean body tissue – muscle – as well as fat. When this happens, your body starts to work more slowly, meaning that it needs fewer calories to function day to day. That’s why the weight piles back on so quickly once you go back to your usual eating habits; your body has adjusted to a lower calorie intake, so the extra calories are stored as fat. If you’re overweight and want to lose some, the trick is to set realistic goals. Aim to lose weight at a rate of about 0.5kg (1lb) per week.
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| Diets – fads and fiction |
I’m not a fan of fad diets like the ‘cabbage soup diet’, the ‘maple syrup diet’, the ‘blood group diet’ – no sooner does one fad diet lose popularity than another one comes along, promising to help you lose weight through one method or another. A healthy, balanced diet is essential for good health and cutting out entire food groups, as stipulated in some diets, can be dangerous. No single food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need to stay healthy, so it’s important to eat a range of foods from the five main food groups.
If you’re trying to lose weight, rather than cut something out completely, try to eat less fat and sugar and replace them with more of other food groups, such as fruit and vegetables. Weight for weight, fat has more than twice the calories of carbohydrates and protein. Try to find low-fat alternatives to creamy sauces and buttery toppings, and choose cooking methods that keep the overall fat content low.
Also watch out for ‘reduced-fat’ foods. These may not be low in fat at all – a ‘reduced-fat’ product must just have a third less fat than the standard product, so it may still be high in fat (‘ 75 percent fat-free’ still means the food is a quarter fat). Alternatively, the product may contain lots of salt and sugar. Although diets such as the Atkins diet advocate cutting out fruit and vegetables, it’s important to aim to include at least five portions of these in your daily diet. Not only are fruit and vegetables rich in essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, but steamed, boiled or raw, they are both filling and low in calories.
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