About a week ago I received a call from a client. He reported that since last year he had lost 30 pounds and his father lost 50 pounds. This same client also asked me in our initial consult, “What diet do you follow.” The only answer I could honestly give was, “None, I don’t follow a diet, I lead my lifestyle.” He truly took this answer and my guidance to heart, not his waistline.
The idea of a dieting is oversimplified as just a way to lose weight. However, the idea of dieting, in my opinion, is to develop a healthy, appropriate, lifestyle to maintain or improve a person’s quality of life for the duration of their life. With all the “easy button” diets we here about developing a healthy lifestyle can be confusing and overwhelming Many diet plans we see in the media promise fast weight loss, metabolic training, spot reduction, all the bacon you can eat, effective kick off periods, or a magical fat melting pill. Unfortunately, the reality is not as simple.
The appealing promise of rapid and effortless weight loss comes with the decreased chance of success, decreased long-term success rates, and added health risks. Achieving drastic weight loss would require radical changes in diet and lifestyle habits, making these diets less feasible to maintain and increases the risk of weight re-gain. Rapid weight loss causes a greater loss of lean mass (muscle) than would occur with more conservative weight loss. This poses particular risk to the heart because, as it is a muscle, it is not spared in the loss of lean mass. As a rule of thumb weight loss is safe at 1%-2% of a person’s body weigh per week. So if a person weighs 200 pounds they could safely loose 2-4 pounds per week. Losing weight slowly is healthier and leads to more success.
You cannot predict or target certain areas it is a false promise. Generally, weight loss at appropriate rates will result in about a 75/25 ratio of fat mass to lean mass over the entire body. If a person loses 4 pounds, about 3 of those pounds will be fat.
The media paints a picture that it is possible to lose large amounts of weight. Some diets will exclude a whole food group or nutrient (i.e. carbohydrates or dairy) to achieve results. These ideas are misleading, unnecessary, and can pose greater health risks later in life. A study by the National Institute of Health concluded that weight loss is a result of a calorie reduction and not the manipulation of carbohydrate, fat, or protein ratios. In the study, people on low carb diets did not lose more weight than those on well balanced, calorie controlled diets. In addition, if a low carb, high protein and fat diet is maintained for a long period of time there is an increase in health risks like coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, etc. When whole food groups are eliminated, such as the dairy group, there is risk of nutrient deficiencies if alternatives are not eaten.
What about the pills that melt fat away or claim to increase metabolism? Dietary and herbal supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry. While some products claim to produce amazing results, there is limited research into the long-term health effects and efficacy of such products. The potential interactions between dietary or herbal supplements and a person’s medications must also be taken into account. In truth, there is not a pill or food or drink that increases metabolism. To do this you have to exercise. However, don’t let increases muscle mass mislead you into thinking that your calorie needs are the same as Andre The Giant. Yes, more muscle = higher metabolic rates, but it is not the increase we hope for. And what about nutrient claims?
Often times consumers will perceive products as safe when they are labeled as “natural”. Mercury is natural but that does not mean we should consume it. Some of the “natural” products, Ephedra for example, did produce some weight loss, however, Ephedra was then banned in 2004 after it was found to cause serious adverse health issues.
When working with clients my goal is teach them what they need to do to be healthy, not just look “good” for short period of time. The goal is to create a healthy lifestyle so as to avoid a “diet.” In short, cleanses or food group elimination or fad diets or 21 day jump start diets have yet to prove even a 1/100 their claimed worth. Basically, a well-balanced diet combined with self-monitoring and behavior modification is the most effective way to manage weight and develop a healthy lifestyle. That and it more fun and tastes better.