New article on why dieting makes you fat

[halcyon]

Why dieting makes you fat

Interesting article but as it says in the comments, nowhere does it mention exercise, I'm sure regular exercise has an effect on whether you can keep the weight off. And there are plenty of people who gave dieted and kept the weight off.

Edited to add: I will continue to diet and I will add exercise to that as soon as my hip is better.

 

[TracyGWill]

Why dieting makes you fat

Interesting article but as it says in the comments, nowhere does it mention exercise, I'm sure regular exercise has an effect on whether you can keep the weight off. And there are plenty of people who gave dieted and kept the weight off.

Edited to add: I will continue to diet and I will add exercise to that as soon as my hip is better.

Unfortunately, I can't disagree with this article in the slightest! 30 years of personal experience is in complete accord with it. Everyone I've ever known who lost weight, myself included, always puts it back on, and more. Doesn't stop us trying though, does it? x

 

[southwestgirl]

I too agree with it all.

I've been struggling with my weight now for 30 years, I've lost the same 10 lb so many times that I'd have disappeared completely by now except that it always goes back on again. I used to be a runner, and believe me, exercise is not the key. What is the key, is understanding how your body works, and realising that it is not about diets, but about changing the way we eat. Otherwise the weight comes back on again, every single time, long term.

Dr John Briffa has a new book out, Escape The Diet Trap, which is all about this, and how to get round it. I've just finished reading it, it is excellent.

 

[Bastet]

I pretty much agree with it too. When I went on my first diet. I was 8st7lb and wanted to lose 4 pounds. I've spent 30 plus years of my life dieting my way up to my current weight which is 15st. I absolutely believe now that if I'd just accepted my weight and shape when I was 18 and never dieted, I'd probably be no more than 9st 7lb now, at 50. When I started dieting I didn't have any issues with food. I ate when I was hungry, I stopped eating when I felt full. Sometimes I overate, but that was very rare. Now I've got massive issues with food, huge lists in my head of 'banned' food, I binge on those banned foods, and I've got a weight problem that is a health problem too.

 

[elle_moon]

For me it has to be about a healthy eating plan, one for life as opposed to just until I get the the weight I want to be. Otherwise going 'on' a diet indicates that I would be going 'off' said diet later on, which will only result in my body playing catch up and storing the extra food - generally in the form of bum, thighs and hips in my case. So whatever my healthy eating plan is, is needs to be SUSTAINABLE - otherwise I'll just fail at it and binge in my frustration at myself. By sustainable I mean where Im not setting myself up for failure by setting unrealistic goals and expectations. I can be my own worst enemy though, so I'm nowhere near perfect at this by the way, I strive for progress, not perfection....

Sent from my iPad using MiniMins

 

[Nettee]

Oh dear that is a bit depressing

 

[southwestgirl]

I don't think it is depressing really - it is fact. Much better to know about it, don't you think? With the right information, we can make the right choices.

 

[BigBurd]

I would disagree that its not the diet that made me fat... it was the lack of exercise. I had hormone issues before I ever went on any diet so again dieting didnt create that. I lost all my muscle tone and really paid the price when a hip injury imobilised me and took 2 years to recover from. When you understand that our bodies break down muscles in favour of fat and the initial loss is nothing more than glycogen in the liver which makes it crave more (cos it doesnt like to be empty). The odds are against fat loss, but if I had maintained my muscle I wouldnt have gained so much. It took 20 years to learn this, because other than "being healthy" exercise isnt sold to us for the right reasons. If there is one thing I am teaching my kids to do differently from me its to exercise and keep toned to ensure your body needs the calories you are eating. Without muscle tone you are overeating.

 

[bethanierox1]

you just have to keep working out and eat healthily and dont over induldge all the time

 

[mrstaylor]

It would be easy to get depressed reading an article like this, but it is all based on possible reasons rather than proven facts based on long term studies. Unfortunately some journalists take information out of context and the write these articles which scare us all silly! I am not saying that dieting does or doesn't make you fatter, but I am saying these kind of articles are extremely unhelpful in what is becoming a National crises.

Anyway rant over. Have a great weekend

 

[Emma!]

i believe that yes, dieting makes you fat. if you cut down your calories extremely, you will just binge and gain weight. this is what lead to my bulimia.

however, it is possible to keep the weight off if you make a LIFESTYLE CHANGE! don't think "oh, i'll drop a few lbs by not eating enough". you need to change your habits, change everything really, until you're healthy.

 

[SophiaF]

I think its true to a certain extent. I was always skinny till I was 30 then I got a car (got lazy) and got fat. Ive been struggling with a few stone for 8 years now, dieting on and off.

I am doing slimming world, trying to lose it slowly that way I hope it wont pile on after-Im not on an extreme diet of 500cals or anything its basically healthy eating plus I am trying to be more active to counteract the slowing down of my metabolism that dieting causes.

I think its important to think of it as a lifestyle change for good rather than try and punish yourself with a too-restrictive regime then have a backlash of bingeing after. I think my mum had an eating disorder she never had a meal with us just picked at sweets and bad stuff all the time and she is much more overweight than me, even when she was my age she was a lot bigger. I used to say to her "would you like a sandwich" when she came round my house and she would say "no Im being good, I havent eaten breakfast, Im not eating lunch I will only eat at dinnertime" So Id eat my sandwich and after she would pull a pack of biscuits and half a lb of sweets out of her bag and eat the lot and she thought that was "being good" No wonder she has always struggled with her weight, she's about 8 stone overweight. I am scared of getting like that.

So I think be sensible, eat in a way that is sustainable over time and increase activity to keep metabolism up, thats the best hope we have got!

 

[Dominoid]

Sophia puts it perfectly there. If your aim is to eat a certain way until you lose the weight as so many people do, then you're probably already doomed to fail when you stop eating that way.