Why You Should Not Be Dieting…

 

A good article from the Herald Sun about dieting…

Here are the main bits…..

So how do people keep weight off in the long term? And is improving your diet better than going for a jog?

Australians will fork out more than $827 million on dieting this year, according to IBISWorld research. While counselling services, and diet food and drink make up the bulk of the spending, $60.4 million alone will be spent on diet books.

Yet it’s not only the money spent on weight loss that’s growing. ABS statistics show two-thirds of adult Australians are fat or obese and getting fatter. With that comes a high risk of developing type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Diet books make big promises to those desperate to lose weight. Celebrities spruik them. Diets are made to look easy. It’s no surprise the books become best-sellers.

…… (discussion about all the different diets out there….)

There are countless others. To get some clarity, the Sunday Herald Sun gathered eight health experts to analyse eight different diets. Yet even among this group – which included a GP, a naturopath, nutritionists and dietitians – there was no clear consensus on the best and worst of the list.

…..

All diets have their advocates and detractors – even the ones that are scientifically tested.

At the very basic level, losing weight is about “energy in versus energy out” says Ms Shone, who is Nutrition Australia spokeswoman.

So despite their differences, you will lose weight on any diet if the calories you consume are less than you burn. Ms Shone says diets are attractive because “people want a magic fix” and these regimens don’t address the underlying reasons why they are overweight.

“They are spruced up to look easy and make a lot of promises but in most cases, these diets are not sustainable in the long term,” she says.

…..

Some of the initial weight loss people experience on a strict high-protein diet can be fluid loss, because of the way carbohydrates are stored in the body, Ms Shone says.

“The problem is when you reintroduce carbohydrates you regain that fluid,” she says.

…….

slowing down your metabolic rate means your body reduces the amount of energy it uses to sustain itself.

The worst is to come when you stop the strict diet.

“You will lose weight when you really cut back in calories but you will pay the price later because (when you stop dieting) you will put on weight more quickly because your metabolic rate is slower than it was before you started dieting,” he warns.

“That’s why fad diets and detox diets don’t work long term,” he says.

…………..

A multitude of studies show all diets will work but at the two or five-year mark, people are at square one, says Prof Itsiopoulos.

“People need to seek advice about how to change their diet to a healthy one they can manage in the long term.”

……

“There is a lot of confusion among the public on what is good for you and what isn’t. Fad diets and quick-fix solutions aren’t the answer.”

……..

“You would have to do 20 hours of aerobic walking or 12 hours of running to burn off 1kg of fat, so you can see on its own, it’s not so good at weight loss,” Dr Massage says.

HE says exercise not only burns calories, it boosts your metabolic rate (it also helps prevent it slowing down), and it reduces hunger.

……

“The problem with people who are forever yo-yoing is that the percentage of their body fat increases because when they diet, they lose fat and muscle, and when they stop, they only regain fat.”

And they are slowing down their metabolic rate so they also regain fat more quickly, he says.

…..

There is one thing the experts can all agree on.

Seek advice and pick a diet way of eating and a fun exercise regime you can imagine yourself living with long term, rather than something you can only stick to for a few weeks.

(my 2cents worth in green!)