Diets don’t work. If you go on a diet, you will most likely regain what you have lost once you go off your diet. In fact, chances are that you will regain more than you lost. And it doesn’t matter which diet you pick – low fat or low carb diet – they all have the same outcome. This is well documented. But why? Why do diets not work?
In this episode, I will look at why diets don’t work and what you can do to make them get you the results you hope for. Hint: I am not making it easier to be on a diet – there are unfortunately no shortcuts. But I will give you five evidence-based recommendations.
Diets don’t work. If you go on a diet, you will most likely regain what you have lost once you go off your diet. In fact, chances are that you will regain more than you lost. And it doesn’t matter which diet you pick – low fat or low carb diet – they all have the same outcome. This is well documented. But why? Why do diets not work?
In this episode, I will look at why diets don’t work and what you can do to make them get you the results you hope for. Hint: I am not making it easier to be on a diet – there are unfortunately no shortcuts. But I will give you five evidence-based recommendations.
Hello, and welcome to What Monkeys Do. My name is Morten Kamp Andersen and this is a podcast about what it takes to make a change and make it stick. Happy New Year, maybe you've decided to make a new year's resolution. And if you have you're not the only one. In fact, in most western countries more than 50% make a new year's resolution. Maybe you've decided to go on a diet? And if you have just hold on for a second, because in this episode of What Monkeys Do, I'll tell you why diets don't work. Because for most people, they don't. Maybe you've heard this already, but only a few people know why. And it is in that why doesn't work that we find the answer to what to do instead. And at the end of this episode, I'll tell you how to make a diet work. But let's start. What's the problem with diets? Well, there are many problem with diets. Actually, I could start off by saying that it's not much fun to be on a diet. I bet many of you listening have been on a diet at some point. You start with high desire, hope, motivation about this new regime. But not many days go by before you sense that this is not much fun. Some things that you like to eat, you're no longer allowed to eat, or what are some things that you don't like to eat, you now have to eat. That's not much fun. Another problem is that it's such a jungle out there. There's so many diets, and it's hard to know which one to pick. But there are essentially two types of diets there the low carb diets and low fat diets. So the low carb diets, they are the the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, the Mediterranean diet, the keto diet, and so on. There are many diets. Both types of diets claim to work, but they say the exact opposite of each other. So one say you should not eat any carbs, or you should restrict them as much as possible. Whereas the other one is saying that's exactly what you should eat. So which one to believe which tire to pick. But that's actually not the problem with diets. The problem is that they don't work. The number one success criteria for a diet is that you lose weight, and that that weight stays off. But on that most important criteria, most diets fail. And that's actually all types of diets that fail on this. Most people would, according to the American scientist treaty, man, be better off not going on a diet to begin with. Let's get a little bit scientific about this. A large study was recently published in the BMJ the BMJ is a very respected medical journal, and actually is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Anyway, it was a large systematic review, which included over 120 trials with almost 22,000 people who were overweight or obese. And those 22,000 people had been on following one off of 14 diets. So a number of different diets, including the Atkins diet, or the Weight Watchers and the Mediterranean diet, and so on, you get the picture. And they had been on that diet for an average of six month. Now the researchers had has grouped those diets into three categories, the low carb, the low fat, and then a third group, which included diets that was similar to the low fat but included a little bit more fat, and a little bit less carbs. The conclusions for all of these different people and trials were that people on both the low carbs and the low fat diets lost about 10 pounds, or four and a half kilos, on average during that six month. However, most of that was put back on within one year of finishing the diet. Also blood pressure and cholesterol results. They improved a little bit during those six months. But also here, results returned to where they started off after one year. And finally there were no major differences between the different diets. So of all of those 14 diets, not one of them were better than the others. According to Tracy Mann who teaches Psychology at the University of Minnesota and has been studying eating habits, self control and dieting for more than 20 years. She says that after four to five years after a diet, two out of three people had not only gained the weight back, but they've actually now way more than they Did before starting on a diet. Think about that. So, if you start on a diet, then there is a 66% chance that you will weigh more four to five years after you finish the diet that you did before starting the diet. So diets do work in the short term while you're on the diet. But the bad news is that afterwards, you gain it all back, and then some. And that's a hard thing. Going on a diet, putting in all of that work, getting a result only to regain the weight. trying and failing perhaps even many times is not only depressing, it actually also increases the likelihood of developing an eating disorder. So the problem with diets is that they don't work, you lose the weight, but then you regain it all again. So why do diets not work? Well, let's just get one thing out of the way. It has nothing to do with willpower, or grid discipline, those things are generally good to have. But with diets, that's not the issue. So what is the issue? Well, there are three reasons why diets do not work. Well, actually, there's more reasons than that. But these three reasons will give us an insight into what to do about them. The first reason is that you're fighting many fights at the same time when you are on a diet. So you're also fighting biological changes made to you while you're on a diet. So for example, in neurological changes, which means that when you are dieting, you actually become more likely to notice food, or other hormonal changes. So as you lose body fat, the amount of different hormones in your body change. So the hormones that makes you feel full, they actually decrease and the hormones that make you feel hungry increase, so you become more likely to feel hungry when you are on a diet. And finally, also fighting metabolic changes, so your metabolism slows down. So when you are on a diet, your body finds a way to run on fewer calories. And that makes it harder to lose weight as you are burning fewer calories. So the first reason is that you're fighting many fights while you're on a diet. The second reason why diets don't work is that there is too much focus on losing the weight, and too little on maintaining weight loss diets, by their very nature focus on losing the weight. But that's actually only half the challenge. The real challenge comes after you've lost the weight. Now you must maintain your new weight. And that's a whole different approach. Another type of diet if you would like so you must restructure how you eat and how you think of food. So you really should have two plans ready. The first plan is to lose weight. That's the traditional diet. But then you also need to have a second plan, which is the weight maintenance plan. And this plan will go on for a long time after you finish the first plan. So the second reason that diets don't work is their lack of focus on maintaining weight loss. The final reason why diets don't work is that there for many people is an underlying reason why you gain the weight in the first place. Or in other words, overweight is for many people the symptom, but not the issue. And by going on a diet, you're not addressing the underlying issue. So the issues can be many things they can be, for example, loneliness, stress at work, depression, low self esteem, just to name a couple of them. And if you're suffering, let's take an example. If you're suffering from stress at work, and you're using food to regulate your emotions, when you come home, then your diet will not work simply because the underlying cause the stress at work is still there. And you will continue to use food as a way to escape from certain emotions after you have stopped your diet. So diets don't work because evidence show that people regain the weight when they stop with the diet. And the reasons why they do that is that diets make biological changes, which makes diet hard because diets don't focus on maintaining the weight loss. And finally, because for many people diets do not tackle the underlying reasons for the weight gain. Okay, so the question is now Is there nothing you can do to lose weight? And yes, there is. You've probably figured out but I doubt that I I like my list. If you're thinking to yourself, how can I lose weight? Well, then here are five things you must do to lose weight. But before we go into those five things, let me just be absolutely clear here, I'm not offering any medical advice, you should always consult with your doctor before you go on a weight loss program. But the following other things that we know work. And when I say work, I'm not talking about a program that will help you lose weight, that many diets that do that and do that, well. I'm talking about evidence based recommendations that will make you lose weight, and then keep it off. So let's look at them. The five things are first, number one, pick a diet, if you do want to lose weight, you do need some kind of diet, you do need to consume fewer calories for a period. But it doesn't matter which one you pick. If you pick the keto diet, or Mediterranean or Atkins, or low fat, high carb diet or intermittent fasting, pick one of them and stick with it. And pick one where you like the food, some of the diets, you would have to spend quite a bit of time finding new ingredients and cooking new types of food. Maybe you will like that. Maybe you will not others diet is almost like eating what you normally eat just a lot less of it. But again, it doesn't matter which one you pick, pick one, and stick to it. Advice number two, have realistic goals and lose your weight slowly. Evidence suggests that it is realistic to expect a weight loss of between seven to 10% of your initial weight. So if your initial weight is let's say 80 kilos or 175 pounds, then you can expect to lose six to eight kilos or 12 to 17 pounds. But don't expect that result over a few weeks. Instead, set your goals to lose that over three to six month instead, that will make it more likely that you will not regain your weight after you stop your diet. Advice. Number three, add physical activity. Physical activity is important as a part of a comprehensive weight loss plan or a weight control program because it contributes slightly to the weight loss. But as importantly, it helps with maintaining the weight loss. And I'm not talking about breaking the world record in a triathlon or anything like that I'm talking about moderate level of physical activity three to four times a week, we know that if you if you add that to your diet, it is more likely that you will keep the weight off after you stop. Advice. Number four, fight your demons. If you're using food as a way to escape from unwanted emotions, such as stress, depression, anxiety, or something like that, then you must address these issues. And that's probably a good thing to do anyway. And I know that's easy to say, I know that's easy in theory, and really hard in practice, I know that. But just understand that if you do not tackle those issues, it will be really hard to keep the good results from your diet once you stop with your diet. So maybe you need some help with this, maybe you need to include a professional with this. Issues like these can be hard to tackle alone. But regardless, fight your demons. And the fifth advice, have a weight maintenance plan ready. After you've been on a diet, you lost your weight, congratulations, the likelihood of maintaining the weight loss is much higher if you have a weight maintenance plan. Now those programs are often more specifically tailored to the individual to you. At least that's my recommendation. And such a program could consist of of diet therapy, which is just a fancy word for selecting the right food for you. And you know, creating a food plan. It would consist of physical activity, as I said, but also maybe behavioral therapy, which is also just another fancy word, which means getting some help to keep you on your plan. But making a weight maintenance plan is such a good idea. And it should continue to be in place for a very long time after you stop with the diet. So losing weight is hard, really, really hard. But if you do want to increase your odds of losing weight and keeping it off, then follow those five advice. And finally, have a happy new year. Make a new year's resolution. I know I will. But please don't just go on a diet because they don't work. Before you go, can I ask you one favor if you enjoyed this content, and I hope I've given you some value today, I hope you enjoyed this. And I hope it has been worth your time. If you think it has, please do go out there and find just one or two other people and tell them about the show. Find one or two other people that you think will enjoy this episode. Could be a friend, it could be somebody at work, take that time and just mentioned the show to them. I would really appreciate that it helps us grow our audience. Until next time, take care