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
How Much Weight Can You Actually Lose on a Diet?
Weight loss conversations should start out like this: weight loss is a lot harder than you think it is and it is a lot harder than you’ve been told it is. You’re going to lose less weight than you think you should and you’re going to lose less weight than everyone has told you that you will lose.
Let’s set that all aside for a minute and talk about how much weight you can actually expect to lose on a diet and let’s talk about how much weight you can expect to lose by increasing your nutrition knowledge, exercise, diet and exercise, meal replacements, low calorie diets, very low calorie diets, intensive lifestyle modification, weight loss medications, and weight loss surgery.
Now that you know what you’re up against and what to expect, let’s see if you’re open to resetting your expectations and what method of weight loss (if any) you would like to commit to. Because if you decide to do it, you need to go “all in” and do it, that is if you want to be successful.
It’s going to take a considerable amount of effort, but it’s worth it. Start living by design, and not by default.
Some of the topics in today’s episode include:
- Who cares if you lose 14.6 lbs. or 12 lbs. on a diet, they’re both underwhelming (2:31)
- What really pisses me off about people being lied to (6:42))
- Even if you know it is too good to be true, it’s difficult to not fall for it (7:55)
- There’s no number of reviews, degrees, or testimonials to filter out the good from the bad (8:42)
- The weight loss doctor who didn’t want to “start a war” with me (9:40)
- Why I don’t really care about diets lasting less than 6 months (15:05)
- Weight loss success is really the study of weight maintenance, not weight loss (17:25)
- The first 3 months of a weight loss diet are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!! (19:41)
- The “J” shaped or “flattened J shaped” weight loss curve that every diet follows (19:41)
- What a Rodney Atkins’ country song and weight loss have in common (22:26)
- The more restrictive and intense the diet, the greater the transition danger is (23:35)
- The 3500 calorie rule is not 100% fat loss, you lose lean tissue too (27:24)
- Weight loss is NOT linear, it’s just not that predictable (28:44)
- Why weight loss is expressed as a percentage and not as total pounds lost (29:57)
- Extreme variability in weight lost in dieting; why every diet can work and fail (32:14)
- The myth of finding “the right” diet for your body type or physiology (33:53)
- Finding “the right” diet type is not the same as playing the lottery (35:21)
- Live by design, not by default (35:59)
- Can knowing more about nutrition (education) help you lose weight? (36:49)
- How much weight can you lose through exercise? (39:14)
- How much weight can you lose on a diet? (43:09)
- How much weight can you lose through diet AND exercise? (44:15)
- How much weight can you lose with meal replacements? (45:45)
- How much weight can you lose with very low calorie diets (VLCDs)? (46:36)
- How much weight can you lose with intensive lifestyle modification? (46:36)
- How much weight can you lose with weight loss medications? (49:09)
- Is microdosing weight loss medications an effective strategy? (53:29)
- How much weight can you lose with bariatric surgery? (54:42)
- Summary of weight loss with diet, exercise, behavior modification, meds, and surgery (56:25)
- What is your dream weight, goal weight, happy weight, and acceptable weight? (58:15)
- If you have a lot of weight to lose, sorry to say it, but you might be screwed (1:03:12)
- Don’t give up, but you may want to change your expectations (1:03:21)