Why Diets Don't Really Work

“I want to lose weight” has become the mantra of the western world. Losing weight is a virtuous goal. It is synonymous with taking control of our health, warding off preventable diseases like diabetes and heart disease, treating our bodies like the temples they are and practicing mindfulness about what we eat. It is the ultimate self-care in a world saturated with temptations towards indulgence and mindless consumption.

The desire to feel better is noble, the route to it, however, is littered with uncertainty and misinformation. Losing weight is not always as simple as it would seem and often, it’s true, some guidance is necessary. The business world, however, heard the cry of the virtuous, took their goal and mutated it into a business model, promising simple solutions with rapid results and packaged it into the formula of diet protocols and regimes.

These quick-fix solutions can sometimes produce rapid results, but they are riddled with downsides when viewed through the lens of whole-body wellness. This is not an unconditional attack on weight loss programmes. Restrictive or extreme diets can sometimes be useful in the short-term; they can allow us the opportunity to step off the precipice of serious health conditions, give us the confidence of seeing numbers vanish from the scale and often give us structure we cannot create ourselves.

There are times when weight loss efforts need a hard nudge to get started and attempts to do so should be applauded. However, once the ball is rolling it is wise to switch focus to overall health as a long-term goal and that is only possible once the limitations of extreme diets become apparent.

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CALORIES

Historically, and it is a belief that has endured somewhat, there was the idea that losing weight was all about calories. That popular belief boiled down to a simple math problem:

Calories consumed needed to be less than calories used.

Then science came along and busted that myth demonstrating to us that calories are, unfortunately, not all created equally.

Two people can consume the exact same number of calories and exercise the same amount but not have the same weight loss results. Why? Because, depending on the type of calories consumed, the body may increase or decrease fat storage. The calories in an avocado, for example, (about 200), may seem excessive, until we look at where those calories are coming from and what they are paired with. Avocados are full of healthy fats. This spikes their calorie count but those healthy fats reduce inflammation, protect the heart and lower cholesterol. Avocados are also high in fibre which slows down how quickly fats enter the bloodstream allowing them to be broken down properly and utlised by the body, rather than being stored as excess weight.

A bottle of soda also contains around 200 calories. However, the impact on the body of these calories is dramatically different. The high-sugar content in soda, and the speed at which it enters the bloodstream, spikes our glucose levels. This, in turn, increases inflammation and encourages the body to store extra sugars in the liver and as fat elsewhere in the body. The calorie content may be the same, but high sugar foods have been shown to damage the organs and systems in the body that support weight-loss and regulate fat storage.

It simply isn’t enough to count calories. Our body’s ability to function well, regulate fat storage and increase metabolism so that we use food effectively is reliant on the type of calories we consume. Yes, a calorie deficit can result in weight loss but it does not necessarily support a healthy functioning body in the long-term. And, it may not benefit continued weight management or supportive muscle mass.

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 NUTRITION

Just as an avocado is full of healthy fats, so is it packed full of essential nutrients – B vitamins, vitamins C, E and K – and has plenty of fibre. Wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, unprocessed meat and fish are all abundant in nutrients that are vital to our health. While it seems obvious that a diet full of essential nutrients is important to a well-functioning body, it is surprising how quickly that can be neglected when weight-loss becomes the primary objective.

Diets that prioritise calorie-counting or limitations on what can be eaten in a day often do not focus on the nutrient density of foods. Worse than that, diet companies sometimes have branded foods deemed “diet friendly” and convenient but whose benefits pale in comparison to the ease and nutrient boosting advantages of eating a handful of blueberries and almonds for example.

Losing weight should not be antithetical to maintaining the other functions of the body. Supporting immune, brain and liver function, lowered inflammation, heart health, healthy digestion, balanced gut bacteria and regulated blood sugar levels are essential for the longevity of good health and living in a body that feels strong. Crucially, supporting these other systems is also necessary for maintaining a healthy weight in the long-term, with healthy metabolism heavily dependent on healthy body systems.

When weight-loss protocols are built on the flimsy structure of a singular aim, rather than whole body wellness, they do a disservice to the body despite their efficacy in the weight loss department.

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THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

Extreme diets and regimented diet protocols have the advantage of creating a structure that simply needs to be adhered to. They can sometimes take the stress out of losing weight and give clear, concise instructions on how to go about achieving a goal. For that reason, they can be very successful.

Sometimes.

Our eating habits are born much more from our history with food than we’d like to believe. The way we ate as children, our parents’ attitudes to food, the examples they set, whether food was a reward or a punishment, whether we were forced to “clear our plates” or to eat things we hated or, in fact, encouraged to avoid food we didn’t like the first time, all feed into our subconscious thoughts and beliefs.

This is why food habits can be so challenging to break. Logically we can know whether we should or should not eat something. Most of us know what is good for us and what is bad for us on a conscious level. However, the subconscious mind is often what drives our behaviour and there is a lot of unnecessary guilt and shame around habits that feel easy to change but are, in fact, not.

It can be a relief to adhere to a diet regiment for a while. We are not asked to think about how we feel about food, simply to do as we are told. But it can become tiresome to work against ourselves in the long term, particularly if there is guilt attached to what we eat. The exhaustion of endlessly viewing food as good or bad or feeling like a failure or a success depending on what we have consumed that say is mentally draining. A healthy mind is part of a healthy life. Battling with ourselves not only makes us more likely to fail at our goals but it creates underlying stress that negatively impacts the body.

Ideally, food should be enjoyable and the choices we make should feel like they align with what we want. Not impulsively or restrictively, but freely. That means working with ourselves to understand our eating habits and reframe beliefs and ideas if necessary to eat in a way that is physically nourishing and mentally rewarding.

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The dieting industry is awash with diets that promise success. And that can be true, up to a point. There’s always a place for an instruction manual when it comes to losing weight. But let’s redefine success as a mind and body that are integrated and where all systems within it function optimally to sustain a happy, healthy you.