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Why Diets Fail and What Actually Works: (Part 2)- What Diets Really Do to Your Body

• Adam Kelley • Episode 39

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Tired of feeling like your body betrays you every time you try to lose weight? You're not alone, and it's not your fault.

The second installment of our "Why Diets Fail" series dives deep into the biological reality behind weight loss struggles. When you drastically cut calories, your body doesn't celebrate – it compensates. This isn't a lack of willpower; it's survival physiology at work.

We examine eye-opening research, including how Biggest Loser contestants still had metabolisms suppressed by 500 calories daily six years after the show ended. The science reveals why up to 35% of diet-induced weight loss can come from muscle rather than fat, creating the perfect storm for weight regain. Your hormones undergo profound changes too – leptin drops, ghrelin rises, cortisol spikes, and thyroid function decreases – all conspiring to make you hungrier, more tired, and primed to store fat.

This explains why over 80% of dieters regain their weight within two years, but there's a better way forward. I share the evidence-based strategies we use with our THI Rebuild clients: modest deficits that don't trigger survival mode, strength training to preserve muscle, adequate protein, strategic diet breaks, and lifestyle support. The 2017 MATADOR study confirms this approach works better than continuous restriction.

Ready to stop fighting your body and start working with it? Join us next episode as we explore sustainable habits for long-term success, or visit transformhealthcoach.com to apply for our elite coaching program that's helping people in their 40s and 50s transform their health for good.


Show Study References:

  1. Fothergill, E., Guo, J., Howard, L., et al. (2016). Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity, 24(8), 1612–1619.


  2. Weinheimer, E. M., Sands, L. P., & Campbell, W. W. (2010). A systematic review of the separate and combined effects of energy restriction and exercise on fat-free mass in middle-aged and older adults. Nutrition Reviews, 68(7), 375–388.


  3. Leibel, R. L., Rosenbaum, M., & Hirsch, J. (1995). Changes in energy expenditure resulting from altered body weight. New England Journal of Medicine, 332(10), 621–628.


  4. MacLean, P. S., et al. (2015). Biological control of appetite: a daunting complexity. Obesity, 23(3), 490–497.


  5. Byrne, N. M., et al. (2017). Intermittent energy restriction improves weight loss efficiency in obese men: the MATADOR study. International Journal of Obesity, 41(12), 1672–1679.


     6.  Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., et al. (2007). Medicare’s search              for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. American                    Psychologist, 62(3), 220–233.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Win On Purpose podcast, where we cut through the fitness fads and health myths to reveal evidence, real talk, real results. I'm your host, coach Adam Kelly, and this is episode two in our series why Diets Fail and what Actually Works. Last time, we exposed the psychological traps behind dieting, why willpower alone isn't enough and how diet culture keeps people stuck in cycles of guilt, restriction and failure. Today, we're going to go a little bit deeper, because it's not just your mindset that suffers on restrictive diets. It's your body, from your metabolism and muscle mass to your hormones and hunger signals. Chronic dieting can cause real psychological and physiological damage. So if you've ever thought, why does my body fight against me every time I try to lose weight, then this one is for you. Let's start by looking at how your body actually reacts to restriction. We'll see you on the other side.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast From health and fitness, business, personal development, relationships and more. We promise you will find inspiration to help you win on purpose in all areas of your life journey. Now for your host, adam Kelly.

Speaker 1:

What is going on everybody? Welcome back to the Win On Purpose podcast with Coach Adam Kelly, hosted by Transform Health Initiative, our elite coaching program that is here to help people in their 40s and 50s who are exhausted and tired of the yo-yo, dieting, the back and forth, the misinformation and just failing at feeling better, and finally want the true solution that's going to last them for the rest of their lives. All right, guys, thank you for tuning back in. We are picking up on our four-part series. All right, this is episode number four and we are talking about what diets really do to your body. All right.

Speaker 1:

So episode one, we looked at more of the psychological side of things. This one, we're going to look at more of a physical aspect of what's actually happening with your body when we are over restricting in our dieting experience, okay, so this first part we're going to look at is the survival response, how your body adapts. Okay, and it's probably not what you think, because a lot of people have heard of starvation mode and all that, which is complete lies, but their survival response does appear to be a real thing, all right. So when you cut calories hard and fast, your body doesn't celebrate. It compensates. This is known as adaptive thermogenesis, which is your body's built-in way of conserving energy when food becomes scarce. So a 2016 study published in Obesity followed contestants from the Biggest Loser you guys probably remember that show. It was huge. If you don't know, look it up the Biggest Loser and they found their metabolic rate stayed suppressed by 500 calories per day, even six years after the weight loss. Their bodies had adapted to dieting. By slowing down aggressively, your body lowers energy output, ramps up hunger hormones and burns fewer calories when this happens. So it's not sabotage, though. It's survival, and this survival response doesn't just impact how many calories you burn. It also affects what kind of tissue you lose. All right, so let's talk about muscle Muscle loss versus fat loss. Hey guys, real quick. Sorry to interrupt the episode, but I have a little question for you. What if this was the last time you ever had to start over?

Speaker 1:

The THI Rebuild is an elite 90-day transformation experience built for high-performing men and women in their 40s and 50s who are done with the crash diets, the quick fixes and waking up feeling tired, frustrated and just simply stuck in a body that doesn't match who they know that they could be. This isn't a meal plan and a few workouts. This is a total rebuild of your energy, your strength, your identity, backed by real coaching, real accountability and a step-by-step system designed to fit your life, not take it over. We combine high-level strategy with personal support, so you never have to guess again. Our clients don't just lose weight. They become unrecognizable to the version of themselves that once settled for trying and when you're ready to stop trying and start transforming, here's what you do Go to transformhealthcoachcom, click apply and tell us why you're ready. Spots are limited, guys, and we only accept those who are actually ready for serious change, because this time it's not about trying harder, it's about doing it differently. This is the THI Rebuild, and it could be the last program you ever need.

Speaker 1:

All right back to the episode when most people say that they want to lose weight. What they really mean is that they want to lose fat. Right, but extreme diets do not make that distinction. When you're in a calorie deficit, meaning you're eating less calories and your body's burning, especially without resistance training or enough protein, your body breaks down muscle tissue for energy, right along with fat. So a 2018 meta-analysis and nutrition reviews showed that up to 35% of total weight loss during dieting can be lean body mass, particularly without strength training. So without strength training added in, we're not getting adequate protein. We can see up to 35 percent of total weight loss coming from your muscle, not your fat, and this is a problem. Muscle is crucial for not only aesthetics and strength. Okay, it's not just about having a nice body, but for keeping your metabolism elevated, amongst many other things. But it's not just about having a nice body, but for keeping your metabolism elevated, amongst many other things. But it's not just your muscle mass that takes a hit.

Speaker 1:

Let's look inside. What's happening to your hormones. When you're chronically dieting, hormone fallout, what diets do to your internal signals. So food isn't just fuel, it's information. And when you drastically reduce intake, your body responds hormonally to preserve balance. And when you drastically reduce intake, your body responds hormonally to preserve balance.

Speaker 1:

Key hormones like one leptin. So this is your fullness hormone. It tends to go down. Ghrelin, which is your hunger hormone, tends to go up. Cortisol, which is a stress hormone, tends to rise. Also, and our thyroid hormones, such as T3 and T4, tend to drop, which slows our metabolism.

Speaker 1:

A 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism confirmed that 10 weeks of calorie restriction significantly decreases leptin and thyroid hormones, making fat loss harder. To here. These shifts make you hungrier, more tired and more prone to weight gain, even when eating modestly Sorry, guys, I can't speak Even when eating modestly. Okay, so now you've lost some weight, but at the cost of muscle metabolism and hormonal balance. So what happens next?

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about the regain cycle. Okay, many of us have been in the regain cycle, the weight regain trap. All right, this is what most people experience post-diet the weight starts creeping back up. You haven't changed that much, but the scale says otherwise. Why? Because your body has adapted to less food and less muscle. Now, when you return to normal eating, the surplus calories are more likely to be stored, often as body fat. A 2007 review in American Psychologists found that over 80% of dieters regain the weight within two years, often gaining back more than they lost initially. And I would beg to argue that that number is way higher than 80%. But that's just from my experience. From working with dozens and dozens of people and being in gyms for years and years, and all the conversations I've had, I would bet that that's a lot higher than we realize.

Speaker 1:

And this is not failure, guys. This is psychology. No, sorry, this is not failure. This is physiology, not psychology, physiology. Your body fights to return to its former weight set point and without muscle and metabolic support, it gets there very quickly.

Speaker 1:

So if extreme dieting does more harm than good, then what's the alternative? Let's talk about what actually works, all right, so what you should do. The solution isn't giving up all right, that's never the answer. It's to shift your strategy to one that works with your body, not against it. Okay, to one that works with your body, not against it okay. So here's what we focus on with our clients inside the THI Rebuild, which is our 90-day Transform your Health project system service that we offer okay.

Speaker 1:

Number one modest calorie deficits that avoid triggering survival mode. Okay, not dieting too hard, too aggressively at any given point. Number two strength training to preserve and build muscle, which is super important for our metabolism, the way we look, the way we feel, the way we move, all of that. Number three high protein intake, which helps support metabolism and recovery. Okay, super important. Number four strategic diet breaks to reset hormones and reduce metabolic slowdown. This is something we typically work with with our long-term clients who have been through fat loss phases with us, that have went through our program transform their health, and now they're figuring out how to go to the next, bigger, more challenging goal. And this is where we start implementing more strategies like diet breaks and so on, so forth.

Speaker 1:

And number five sleep and stress support to stabilize cortisol and insulin, which also helps with hunger cravings, with not being productive so many different things that regular, consistent sleep and stress support benefit. A 2017 Matador study showed that participants who took two week diet breaks every other week lost more fat and preserved more lean mass than those who restricted continuously. So it's not always about doing more, it's about doing it smarter. Ok, so now let's bring it all together with some practical takeaways that you can apply, starting right now, because that's what we want to do is empower you and all that you do, and that's why we do what we do. So some practical takeaways.

Speaker 1:

If you're thinking about dieting, or you've done it in the past, then you want to keep these few things in mind. All right. Number one metabolic slowdown is real. Your body adapts fast. Keep that in mind. Number two muscle loss is avoidable, but only if you train and eat smart. I'm going to couple that with getting adequate sleep, stress control, stress management things like that your lifestyle is going to help you avoid muscle loss. Number three hormones respond to restriction and not in your favor, all right, so restriction is not always a good thing. Number four weight regain isn't just about habit. It's a biological rebound. Your body is wired to try to get you back to the certain amount of body effect, the certain body weight that it became comfortable with that you lived in for so long. Number five sustainable fat loss is built on respect for your biology, not just restriction, understanding what works best for you, your circumstances, your life and your lifestyle. You do not have to suffer to change. Okay, but you do have to be strategic, all right.

Speaker 1:

So thank you, guys, for tuning in to this second part. In our why Diets Fail series, we've talked about how restrictive dieting impacts your body, but next time we'll shift towards the solution how to build sustainable habits that actually create long-term success. So if you're done playing the weight loss game and you want a proven, personalized strategy to finally rebuild your health, strength and energy the right way, then it's time to apply for our elite coaching program, the THI Rebuild. Just go to transformhealthcoachcom. Click apply now to submit your application. If you're a good fit, we'll connect and map out a custom plan that actually works. All right, guys, until next time, do something good for your health, something good for those you care about and, whatever you do, make sure you win on purpose. Talk to you next time, thank you.