Diets Don’t Work. Give Up.
A farming tool seems like an odd weapon of choice
Death. Taxes. Weight gain. The three certainties of life.
How’s that for a bright and cheery way to start off a health and fitness blog?
Real Talk: Statistics Canada says we’re fat. And not the ‘pudgy baby with cute cheeks’ kind of fat. The kind of fat associated with diabetes, hypertension and a whole host of other unwanted side-effects. In 2014, 20.2% of Canadian men older than 18 and 18.7% of Canadian women over 18 self-reported as obese.
When combining those numbers with those who self-report as overweight, that accounts for 61.8% of Canadian men and 46.2% of Canadian women believed to be at increased health risk because of protruding pot bellies, thunder thighs and chunky cheeks.
The government estimates that as of 2017, a whopping 64% of Canadians over the age of 18 are either measurably overweight or obese, and 30% of Canadian children aged 5-17 are overweight or obese.
Oh…and we’re getting ever fatter. Epic face palm.
Houston…we have a problem.
Given these gloomy stats, it should come as no surprise that the diet market in the U.S. alone was reported at $66 billion dollars in 2017.
Taking the above into consideration, we can conclude three things:
Most of us closely resemble the Michelin Man.
Lots of people are making lots of money trying to make us skinny.
It’s not working.
Number two is easy to explain: capitalism with a capital “C”. Simply put, those within the diet industry will sell anything us suckers will hand over hard earned dollars for. These people are not in the business of helping you lose weight, they are in the business of making money off your weight problem. Quality or effectiveness is not necessary. And here you were thinking Dr. Oz actually was peddling you real facts and magical supplements…
Number one and three have more divisive, convoluted and wholly unsatisfying answers…So we’ll add our two cents to the discussion.
Why you so fat!?!?
Ken Jeong is a medical doctor turned actor. Follow your dreams kids.
Why we’re so lumpy as a nation is a complicated subject with scientists constantly bickering over minutiae and details that may, or may not, matter. Both theories have credence and likely contribute in some way/shape/form. Here they are distilled into the most basic 5 words possible:
Theory Numero Uno: We eat too much stuff
Theory Numero Dos: We eat the wrong stuff
The first theory is believed to be as simple as a math equation:
Calories IN Exceed Calories OUT = Weight gain
Calories OUT Exceed Calories IN = Weight loss
Calories in EQUAL to Calories out = Weight maintenance (homeostasis)
This theory contends that what you eat is important, but how much you eat (quantity of calories) rules the day. Understanding portion control and caloric restriction will ensure healthy weight.
The second theory focuses more on what we eat, and less on how much we eat. The evils of processed foods, refined added sugars and their link to obesity are placed directly in the crosshairs of those that subscribe to this theory. Calorie-dense, artificially sweetened, nutritionally empty foods – think fast food chains and anything in a wrapper – messes with our hormonal signaling and leads to added pounds.
Get Ready To Fail!
So, you ate too much, and too much of what you ate was crap. In very simplified terms, that’s why you now own more blubber than Free Willy.
Sorry about your luck.
But you recognize it, and the latest instagram fitness influencer catches your fancy, inspiring you to sign up and get yo’ diet on.
Mediterranean, South-Beach, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Paleo, Intermittent Fasting, Keto, bulletproof coffee, cleansing and endless other brainless variations.
Take your pick.
“You get a diet, you get a diet, everybody gets a diet!!!”
Every single one of these diets work. Until they don’t. There’s a very unfortunate and real chance that if you lost weight on a diet, you will most likely gain it back, and due to an avalanche of hormonal changes, end up fatter than when you started. Lawwwwd…have mercy…
A recent study concluded that the probability of losing weight and keeping it off was low. In the study, the chances of attaining normal weight in cases of simple obesity was 1 in 210 men and 1 in 124 for women. Not great stats and not very reassuring that the current diet programs out there are working.
Once you factor in every unique individuals’ genetics, environment, willpower, metabolic rates, homeostatic set points, and weight loss becomes a complicated subject. Oh…and gluten.
OH MY GOD WHAT IF I’M ALLERGIC TO GLUTEN!
Why Do Diets Fail?
There is no magic pill, special diet, specific system or ideal program that will help you lose weight and keep it off. There is minimal difference between the long-term results of any diet – they all work under the same principles based on the two theories of weight loss introduced earlier – consume fewer calories and make better food choices. And they all fail for the same reason: hormonal and metabolic changes combined with social pressures and issues of willpower causing you to crumble faster than Jenny McCarthy defending her theory on vaccination.
A Day-in-the-Life of an Intermittent Fasting-Keto Diet Warrior:
Breakfast: 10 giant gulps of air washed down with water.
Lunch: Three avocados, four almonds and a stick of butter.
Dinner: Bacon grease and two licks of an apple.
Many diets are structured around extreme and unsustainable changes: For example, some combination of intermittent fasting and the ketogenic actually may be the key to reducing a number of diseases and increasing longevity. The research behind these diets is fantastic. The issue boils down to motivation and adherence. Good luck explaining your order of coffee black during a lunch meeting while fasting, or ordering anything at a restaurant while on a ketogenic diet. These are real social pressures and uncomfortable situations that can test your resolve. A diet that inflicts feelings of hunger, prevents the ability to socialize over foods due to calorie counting, the meticulous weighing of food and more is simply unsustainable for most people long-term.
Anyone can do almost anything for the duration of a 30-day challenge. It is what occurs after the challenge that is concerning. Stick a pizza lover on a low-carb diet, watch the initial success and then prepare for a massive weight rebound as they succumb to the charms of warm doughy goodness.
The Magic Pill!
So if diets don’t work and are almost impossible to maintain for the general population over a lifetime, then what the heck is the answer? There is no magic pill, and if it does come to fruition, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Which means you’re on your own in your quest for healthy weight.
From our perspective, it boils down to not dieting. The anti-diet, diet if you were. If you do best with the structure of a diet, then have at it, but for the majority of us, a focus on a lifestyle that maintains healthy weight and efficient metabolism through wholesome food choices, portion control and daily activity (that last one is way undervalued) is where it’s at.
Some advice and maxims for maintaining healthy weight status without following trends and fads:
You’re not a monk (if you are, we sincerely apologize), so follow the 80/20 rule: Be a champ 80% of the time, allow a 20% margin for error where you can indulge in your favorite foods. That could be per day, week or month.
Cook for yourself. Reality television has ruined this. You don’t have to be a 5-star Michelin chef to make a salmon/veggie/potato dinner. It’s not complicated. Just try stuff. Make it an activity with your partner.
Eat real food (see next line). Not a lot. Mostly plants.
If it is more than two steps removed from what it looked like in its original form, it’s not food.
If it grew from a tree, vine, ground, or can be killed with a spear – eat it. Otherwise leave it.
If it has a barcode, comes in a package, wrapper or can, leave it.
Shop the periphery of the grocery store (fruits/vegetables/meats/fish). Avoid the aisles (processed foods).
See! That wasn’t so hard! Obesity is a real problem in our society, and everyone needs to tackle it head on. Assess where you’re at, where you’d like to be and start incorporating some of the above changes into your lifestyle!