In thinking that diets don't work?

[Alfieisnoisy]

Okay this post is a bit of an obvious question because the science backs up the fact that n 95% of cases diets fail. The 95% figure is about how many will gain back all their weight and some will gain more in top.

This is relevant to me as I have lost three stones since January and have found a new love of exercise....am very slow but setting goals and achieving them.

If the science shows that diets don't work...and that the goal should instead be fitness I wonder why the NHS etc is still advocating calorie deficit diets which put the Brain into starvation mode and ensures it has a hissy fit which sends you to the biscuit tin.

Most of all I wonder if anyone here can tell me they have lost a large amount of weight and maintained that loss. As someone who has lost weight...and is an apple shape this is important to me.

I am running 3-4 times a week....unthinkable back in January. I do a yoga class once a week too plus fitting in a swim as well sometimes.

Am I going to keep this weight off?

I am still overweight....I want to lose another stone at least bit am wondering g if I am doomed to failure.

Starvation mode is the biggest pile of shit going. Can't believe people still believe that one.

Wright loss/gain is basic science - burn more than you take in. Once you get that bit sussed, you can focus on macro (carbs, protein and fat) intake for nutritional purposes but the very foundation of weight loss is in vs out.

I personally think the only way to lose weight long term, is to do it slowly. To accept it may take months/years.

Then to eat in such a way that you don't feel deprived and you know you can sustain it.

So aiming to lose a couple of pounds a month will mean you don't have to cut too much out.

Almost all diets work - if you stick to them. The problem is that most are far too hard to stick to or unhealthy to do long term. So yes, faddy diets work, but you can't live off cabbage soup or maple syrup long term.

So only long term adjustments work long term. And that's a long hard slog. It's doable -but it's hard. Keep going :)

Dieting is simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Climbing Mount Everest is simple, just keep going up; but it's not easy. If it was easy we'd all have done it and there'd be no overweight people.

I have lost significant amounts of weight twice. The first time I lost after gaining four stone during pregnancy. I lost through a combination of calorie counting and running. I maintained very easily just by continuing to run but then had an accident, couldn't run and comfort ate my way through a depressive phase while stuck in a wheelchair. I gained that four stone over two years. When I could walk a bit again I lost a stone. Two years ago I lost another two stone purely through calorie counting. I can't exercise the way I used to and just do pilates and a bit of walking. I stopped calorie counting in October 2015 and have lost a further 10lbs without any effort. I certainly don't feel like I have to watch what I eat. I weigh myself every 2-3 weeks just to keep it in check and if I have put anything on I suppose it does make me more conscious of my food intake that week. That is sufficient to lose that pound or two again.
I believe that learning about food and also your eating triggers is what works long term. I am an emotional eater. Cake and chocolate used to make me happy. I have since found other things that make me happy and although I still buy what are deemed to be "treats", I can leave them in the cupboard for dp.

I lost over a stone 2 years ago by following the 5:2 diet and I've kept it off, but only because I still follow it! If I went back to my old eating habits, the weight would pile back on within weeks. I fully expect to be doing this for the rest of my life.

Thank you again.

Yes I guess I have lost a lot of weight quickly. The rate of loss is slower now but that's okay with me as I am focusing on other stuff.

Yes to the idea of analysing my relationship with food. I am an emotional eater but I am aware of that.

I do give in sometimes still but crucially I now FORGIVE myself ...draw a line and move on.

It's that attitude which I think will see me through.

I think '95% of diets' is a useless statistic, and I'm not the only one.

Let me quote Yoni Freedhoff
I’m sure you’ve heard that stat bandied about – I even included a version of it in my book "The Diet Fix," but where my book and I diverge from the general zeitgeist on dieting failure is that I don’t think 95 percent of people fail diets. I believe that 95 percent of diets fail people.

He goes on to say:

As far as the source of that 95 percent statistic, the medical literature isn’t much help. While there have been a few small studies showing dramatic regain rates in line with the 95 percent mark, that number really doesn’t have an identifiable and conclusive origin. But even if it had, even if there were some massive meta-analysis that analyzed the weight regain rates of huge numbers of weight loss studies, I still wouldn’t believe it, because lumping together huge numbers of studies involving crappy, non-personalized diets would really only illuminate the rather obvious fact that crappy, non-personalized diets aren’t sustainable.

For at least the past 100 years (and likely many more), dieting has been synonymous with suffering. It’s been “die” with a “t,” where adherents to diets have been instructed to either suffer through hunger and cultivate the skill of white-knuckled willpower, or to consider food to simply be fuel and deny themselves either the dietary indulgences they love the most or eliminate entire food groups.

But food isn’t just fuel. As each and every one of us knows, food truly is comfort – it actually has a direct effect on our bodies’ stress hormone levels. And food is as well assuredly celebration – you find me an event that doesn’t revolve around food. No doubt, too, food plays a starring role as the world’s oldest and most profound social network.

So really no surprise whatsoever when studies of wholly impersonal diets, diets often far lower in calories than would be enjoyable for a lifetime, or replete of foods or food groups that adherents enjoyed, fail. The more weight a person wants to permanently lose, the more of their lives they’ll need to permanently change, so go figure that weight lost through suffering comes back – who among us is willing to suffer forever more with something as important to the human condition and culture as food?

I watched a BBC doc on this very question (how the majority of people who lose weight put it back on again and why). Shame it's not on iPlayer still and that I can't remember more of it.

But I remember one interesting bit. They said many people who put on weight very easily have this gene which makes them predisposed (great centuries ago in famine conditions - not so great now). And that in studies on people with that predisposition gene, exercise had a much bigger impact on weight loss success than in people without the gene. So it's really important that, having lost weight successfully, even if those people then transition onto a maintenance level of calories, they still keep up any exercise regime they have going.

Watching with interest. I'm now at the point I was when I last lost a lot of weight but still have some way to go. I've realised that to keep the weight off longterm I'm going to need to record calories so I know where I'm at. I used to work in research so like seeing hard figures of ins and outs, they appeal to my mindset. I get now I can eat out etc but have to balance and compensate for it /make good choices from menu. Not banning anything as I need this to be long term and don't want to feel deprived.

DH and I have realised that we'll need to get another dog when the time sadly comes that ours dies. We were thinking we wouldn't as wanted the freedom to go away etc but realised having to get out in all weathers to walk a dog as we get older is more important. I'm finding that more of my friends are turning to exercise as we get older so trying to make sure social life involves exercise and I think that's important long term, being with people with the same long term goals.

In his latest book Michael Mosley says the 95% of diets fail line is an invented statistic.

He has found evidence that if you maintain a healthy weight for a year you are likely to succeed.

Starvation mode isn't complete bollocks - it's a bit misleading though. Putting yourself in a calorie deficit results in your metabolism slowing down, and your body sending out the message 'move less and eat more'. Which is obviously not ideal. I was an overweight child, teen and lost weight in my early twenties. My weight has crept up slightly from time to time, but overall, I have maintained a relatively low weight. I find the more muscle I have in my body, the easier it is to maintain my weight. I don't focus on food too much - but I do try to aim for a mainly healthy diet. If I worry about numbers, then I can become obsessed. I think putting effort in training for something - running, weights, swimming, pole fitness, surfing, doesn't matter what it is, just something with goals and a way to measure progress - makes you focus on food for fuel.

Some people have more muscle because they move, lift, and are active in their day to day lives AS well as not overeating/making healthy choices. Those people don't need to diet until their activity stops for whatever reason (hence why a lot of naturally slim people gain weight with illness/old age).

People who aren't naturally slim (like me) have to work hard to maintain their weight. That means working hard to maintain a calorie deficit and thinking about food/portions etc for the rest of your life. No getting around that.

I lost 3 stone 3 years ago and have kept it all off.
But I have had a massive lifestyle overhaul. I run 3 times a week, play netball, walk dog more, and horse ride. Am much more active and I also eat a lot healthier.
I still have the odd day where I over eat but on balance what I eat doesn't outweigh my energy expenditure.
Getting a Fitbit has really helped motivate me to be more active, keep the weight off and monitor calories burnt.