The Nutrition Grouch
The weight loss industry is, has been, and always will be a dumpster fire. People like to say health & wellness (of which weight loss is a part of) is “broken” or full of “misinformation” but that is being too generous because it implies that some of it is good or that it is actually fixable. It is damaged beyond repair. If it were possible, I would burn it to the ground and start over.
While it is impractical to try to summarize what’s wrong with the industry in one podcast description, my premise is this: there is a truly astronomical amount of information that neither our media nor our professionals are able to communicate to you in a meaningful way without losing all context, applicability to real life, and/or the ability to see how all of the pieces fit together.
The media should just stop covering health & wellness because their soundbites explain nothing and are little more than headlines and talking points. They may raise awareness but not understanding, leading to the illusion of explanatory depth. Academics actually know what they are talking about and could help educate us but are too busy with their work and only some are engaged with the public. Most academics look down on and laugh at the quacks and zealots in the field but it’s the quacks and zealots that have the real power.
Businesses do not have the right people in place (PhDs or medical professionals) to drive product and service development (that’s left to the MBAs). After the brand is established, the number one rule is that you must protect and promote the brand no matter how myopic, self-serving, or unimportant that brand is. Healthcare is for the (already) sick and public health is so surface level.
When it comes to their health, the public is lazy. They want the most entertaining, convenient, and positive information available, even if it is at the expense of achieving their goals. Hard work, I think not. Let me take the path of least resistance and “do it on the side”. There’s no reason for real change.
Instead of being stuck in pedaling the news of the day, disconnected factoids and tidbits, overly reductionist, cliché, idealistic, magic cures, easy fixes, secrets, tips, tricks, hacks, fads, gimmicks, cherry-picked, binary, good/bad, flashy, insanely optimistic, exaggerated, fantasy land, sunshine and rainbows, theoretical, testimonial based weight loss information -- let’s come up with a more comprehensive, systematic, sustainable, realistic, semi-automated, results-oriented, pragmatic approach to weight loss with a slice of common sense.
I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time (years and decades) thinking about the thousands of nuances of weight loss (just Google Energy Balance Nutrition Consulting, The Paper Database, or The Science of Dieting). I’ve also spent thousands of hours trying to understand why the health & wellness field isn’t actually science based despite the information being readily available.
I am so fed up and exhausted by it all. It is so broken that on many days I want to say forget it. I’m done with this. It can’t be fixed. I’m a smart motivated guy that can take my talents elsewhere (LeBron). But something keeps drawing me back. It’s like a sickness or a bad relationship. I just can’t get out of it. At my core, it’s who I am. In this podcast I want to offer you truly science-based weight loss advice, critiques of the weight loss industry/diet culture, and thoughts on my experiences and failings in the profession. And with that, I bring you The Nutrition Grouch.
The Nutrition Grouch
Hunger Actually has Very Little to Do with Weight Loss
Hunger is often reported as one of the biggest reasons why a weight loss diet fails. And yet, dietary strategies to reduce hunger, such as drinking more water, eating more protein, fiber, fruits, and vegetables, and even going on a ketogenic diet are no more effective than diets without a hunger reducing emphasis.
In today's podcast The Nutrition Grouch provides an overview for why he believes that hunger actually doesn't have that much to do with weight loss or weight gain. Some research studies seem to indicate that not all people on a diet will have increased hunger and that some peoples' hunger will only increase to that of a lean, non-dieting control.
People with obesity appear to be no more or no less hungry during the fasted state or after a test meal than their lean counterparts, and in fact, their lean counterparts may actually be hungrier after a test meal.
Hunger isn't comfortable but rather than focusing on dietary strategies to control hunger, I argue that we need to lean in and embrace it, or employ other cognitive, non diet strategies. And if that doesn't work, I think you may want to consider a GLP-1 weight loss medication, because unlike fad diets and other dietary strategies to reduce hunger, GLP-1's actually work.
Some of the topics in today's podcast include:
Three disclaimers on my views of hunger (1:49)
Hunger is a super complex topic under the umbrella of appetite (3:23)
The Triad of Appetite: hunger, food choice, and the amount of food eaten (4:57)
The two types of hunger: physical and hedonic (5:40)
Food choice: an apple or a bag of potato chips? (7:47)
Dietary restraint, willpower, inhibition, and the amount of food eaten (10:22)
Four types of eater, which one are you? (12:19)
How many apples can you eat in one sitting? (14:41)
The appetite triad and overeating to reach obesity (15:26)
Do small plates help you with portion control? (18:42)
The blunted food reward response: more isn’t always better (20:19)
Cigarettes, beer, gambling, climbing mountains, and lifting weights (20:55)
Look in the fridge, look in the pantry, repeat, don’t eat (21:49)
Losing weight begins with food choice, not hunger (22:45)
Protein, fat, and carbohydrate, which one keeps you the fullest, the longest? (24:59)
Why I hate short-term feeding studies on hunger (26:56)
Individual variations in hunger are wildly astounding! (29:46)
We spend too much time, energy, and effort on hunger (33:16)
The more we pay attention to hunger, the more power and control it has over us (33:16)
The weight loss maintenance behavioral strategies that work (35:44)
Tried and true, boring, cliché behaviors are in your control, hunger is not (40:06)
Are people with obesity just hungrier than those without obesity? (41:44)
Four papers on hunger during weight loss (44:32)
Hunger increases during refeeding (50:01)
Population hunger versus case study hunger (52:22)
Eating food to control hunger is a stupid idea (52:55)