To ask if you know diets very rarely work in the long term?

[purplefig]

Lately I've heard so many people (on here and offline) beating themselves up about not being able to lose weight.

It's led me to wonder: do most people still think that diets work?

If so, this talk by a neuroscientist is well worth a watch: https://www.ted.com/talks/sandraaamodttwhydietinggdoesnttusuallywork/details

Intuitive eating I think would not help me /I would consider a diet.
I like eating, I like the social aspect and I eat more if I am not busy. If I am stressed I can’t tolerate hunger and so even eat when I am not very hungry incase happens later. What stops me eating is conscious decision - and to me that is a diet!

We’re surrounded by food, and less built in activity to most people’s lives, no wonder we get fat, no wonder diets don’t work long term. It’s not news or surprising to me, I am still going to diet.

I'm not convinced that the diet/binge cycle is healthier to be honest.

It's definitely healthier than continuing to gain and gain until you are 1000 pounds. I'm not one to stress over being overweight, I think it's fine, but even I agree that isn't healthy.

Nor is it necessarily dieting vs binging. Just an extra 100 or so calories a day (that's like a slice of bread, basically nothing) can add 10-20 pounds per year.

I'm just going on what the research seems to indicate and my lived experience of miserable, unsuccessful dieting.

"Intuitive eating" is a diet though. A weight loss diet is eating less than you normally do. Intuitive eating is eating just until you are full, the goal being to eat less than normal. Exactly the same.

Sorry I don't want to critisize you as I hope this works for you, but lots of people discover a diet and start telling everyone how great it is. Whether it be low carb, no sugar, intermittent fasting, intuitive eating, the description is the same - "diets don't work, but this isn't a diet, you'll never feel hungry, its natural, it's science, this is so easy I'll eat this way for life". A year later check back in with them... "huh? intuitive what now?" eats big mac

Intuitive eating is another diet. It just happens to be the one that worked for you OP! Didn’t work for me, intuitively id eat shit loads of sugar.
What worked for me was cutting my portions, not drinking alcohol and limiting to one small snack a day. Lost the weight and have kept it off for years. That was/is a diet too.

It all depends how overweight you are

If you've a BMI of over 35 you've a 1 in 925 chance of getting to a healthy BMI and a 1 in 10,000 of keeping it off

I think it's horrific that so many diets, plans and meetings are aimed at the obese - it's just money making

The treatment for obesity over BMI 35 is surgery

Those statistics are so sad laurie :(

Intuitive eating isn't a diet, at least not if you're referring to the original Intuitive Eating book (it's ancient and written by nutritionists), it's also been around for donkeys years but as there's no money to be made from it as it really isn't a diet it's been under the radar. I'm sure there are people/companies that badge up diets as intuitive eating but that is something different. Funnily enough people I know with healthy regular attitudes to food just seem to eat this way, or have a relaxed attitude to food (offered mars bar - no thanks not hungry/yes please, whatever, vs OMG I'm so naughty blah blah).

Initially I ate a lot of sugar (sweets) after reading IE and the F*uck it Diet h because it had been forbidden body craved it (btw body hard wired to crave what is in short supply). That just settled over time and now I'm not fussed about sweets either way. IE is hard though, you genuinely have to give your body permission to eat, and some people can't do that (fear of never stopping etc)

People with healthy regular attitudes to food are a healthy weight.

Whatever they are doing isn’t going to help people who need to lose weight.

It’s like someone who has never taken heroin advising addicts on how to go through rehab, despite never having done so and having no relevant experience.

Well yea not called chunky for nothing

Bit of a cop out. You may not get down to 8 stone 5 or whatever you were at 25 before kids, but just keep an eye on your weight. Dont call it a diet.
You can eat what you want if you are prepared to not be slim. Do your best. Create your own plan and dont buy in to a cop out!!

I lost 2+ stone and kept it off, 4 years along. I lost it slowly and completely reformed my eating habits. Some viglience is required to maintain success and I can drift up a few pounds eg after Christmas but then I bring it back down. For some of us, to be slim requires ongoing diligence! The weight will come back if we revert to former habits.

@LaurieFairyCake

It all depends how overweight you are

If you've a BMI of over 35 you've a 1 in 925 chance of getting to a healthy BMI and a 1 in 10,000 of keeping it off

I think it's horrific that so many diets, plans and meetings are aimed at the obese - it's just money making

The treatment for obesity over BMI 35 is surgery

Powerful stats! I'd love to know source if available?

@LaurieFairyCake

It all depends how overweight you are

If you've a BMI of over 35 you've a 1 in 925 chance of getting to a healthy BMI and a 1 in 10,000 of keeping it off

I think it's horrific that so many diets, plans and meetings are aimed at the obese - it's just money making

The treatment for obesity over BMI 35 is surgery

What’s the source for that?

I've just cut out the snacking to be honest. It's amazing how much you snack when you're bored, stressed etc. I've stopped that and only have 3 meals. Making myself exercise more too. I've lost half a stone in just over a month.

I still eat carbs, still eat fatty food, pizza etc. I just don't snack on crisps, chocolate etc. Stopping myself from having a sandwich, yoghurt, crisps and chocolate/biscuit for lunch too. Just a sandwich and yoghurt now.

Places like slimming world telling you to count all those chocolate bars as syns are doing you no favours. It's a lie. I actually saw someone with a massive box of chocolates with numbers against them, and she ate like 5/6 a day. That's never going to help you lose weight. But she was told to use all syns.

Stats are NHS

UCL centre for obesity research to be more precise

I ate a chocolate bar on slimming world every day and lost 2-3lb a week.

And you don’t have to eat chocolate. She could have had olives, alcohol, extra cheese or a hundred and one other things.

I don’t think it’s in the diet industries best interest (which includes the multitude of writers/publishers) for “diets” to work long term.
All food groups and types have benefits so in all honesty it’s about moderation. Which for some is incredibly hard.

I ate a chocolate bar on slimming world every day and lost 2-3lb a week.

You ate one. She ate 5/6. Try that instead and see if you still lose 2-3lbs a week.

And you don’t have to eat chocolate. She could have had olives, alcohol, extra cheese or a hundred and one other things.

Never having seen her full diet, I have no idea if she changed it up or not. But encouraging 5-6 chocolate bars a day is not a healthy suggestion, it's just plain stupid. People are paying for that kind of advice.

There is a difference between being on a diet and fad diets. I'm calorie counting and slowly losing weight which is non restrictive and has educated me about nutrition so I know how to keep it off. That's not the same as a juice diet that deprives your body of all the macros you need.

Healthy lifestyle versus diet? Well, that's a bit of semantics, really. A healthy lifestyle includes a diet which is healthy for you and if you desperately need to lose body fat this will be a diet that optimises this.

Tbh, I believe the reason most people put weight back on after a diet is that they start to eat more than they need to maintain their weight.

I have plateaued and put weight on before but if I analyse what I eat and my activity levels I can usually determine why. Nobody is magic. You can't have a calorie deficit but still put weight on.

I run and walk everyday, monitor what I eat using an app. I am a healthy BMI.

@LaurieFairyCake

UCL centre for obesity research to be more precise

Is it the one referenced here? If so, it’s really relevant that the people recorded in the study weren’t necessarily trying to lose weight- obviously your odds of weight loss will increase substantially if you’re actually actively working on it.

www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/weight-loss

Not diets, no, but cutting down definitely sorts out weight problems (unless of course there are other health problems).

To be clear, intuitive eating is NOT a diet. I wish people would watch the video to the talk I linked (I know that sounds a bit diva-y of me).

The woman who gives the speech is a neuroscientist and it is a research led talk.