Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a guy who loves science quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, strength training, and other related topics health / fitness. However, sometimes you have to go back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.
For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It is not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or fat-free? High carbs or no carbs? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will try to change that.
There are some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and ways of viewing a diet program that will allow you to decide, once and for all, whether it is the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and you should be under no illusions this is another quick fix, "lose 100 lbs. In 20 days," guide of some sort. However, if you're sick and tired being confused, tired of taking the weight of the start, and tired of wondering how to take the first steps to deciding the right diet for you that will result in permanent weight loss, then this is the article that could change your life ...
Does your diet pass "The Test"?What is the number one reason diets fail long term; above all? The number one reason is ... drum roll ... a lack of long-term compliance. The numbers do not lie; the vast majority of people who lose weight will regain - and often exceed what they lost. You knew already right?
Yet, what do you do to avoid it? Here's another reality check: virtually any diet you choose which follows the basic concept of "burn" more calories than you consume - the "calories out calories" well accepted mantra - will make you lose weight in one. to some extent, they all work: Atkins-style, no carb diets, low fat diets rich in carbohydrates, all kinds of fad diets - it simply has no short-term importance.
If your goal is to lose weight quickly, then pick one and follow it. I guarantee that you will lose weight. Studies generally show one of the commercial weight loss diets will get approximately the same amount of weight after 6 months to a year. For example, a recent study found the diet, Slim-Fast Plan Atkins, Weight Watchers Pure Points program, and eat you Slim Rosemary Conley diet, were all equally effective. (1)
Other studies comparing other popular diets are essentially came to the same conclusions. For example, a study that compared the Atkins diet, the Ornish diet, Weight Watchers, and the Zone Diet, found them to be essentially the same in their ability to gain weight after one year. (2)
Remember what I said about the number one reason diets fail, which is a lack of respect. The lead researcher of this recent study stated:
"Our study found that the grip level rather than diet type was the primary predictor of weight loss" (3)
Translated, it's not which diet they chose per se, but their ability to actually stick to a diet that predicted the success of their weight loss. I can just see the hands going up now, "but Will, some diets must be better than others, right?" Are some diets better than others? Absolutely. Some diets are healthier then to others, some diets are better at preserving lean body mass, some diets are better at suppressing appetite - there are many differences between the regimes However, while most popular diets work for gaining weight. wide, which is very clear is that membership in the plan is the most important aspect to maintain long-term weight.
What is a diet?A diet is a short term strategy to lose weight. Long long-term loss of weight is the result of a change in lifestyle. We are concerned about managing long-term weight of life, no quick fix weight loss here. I do not like the long-term diet, as it represents a short term attempt to lose weight for a change of lifestyle. Want to lose a lot of weight quickly? Heck, I'll give you the information on how to do it here and now without charge.
For 90 to 120 days eat 12 scrambled egg whites, a grapefruit and a gallon of water twice daily. You will lose a lot of weight. Will it be healthy? Nope. Will the weight stay off once you are done with this diet and are then forced to go back to your "normal" way of eating? No chance. Is the weight you lose come from fat or will it be muscle, water, bone, and (hopefully!) A little fat? The point being, there are many diets that there are perfectly able to get the weight on you, but when considering any diet designed to lose weight, you have to wonder:
"Is this a way of eating I can follow long term?"Which leads me to my test: I call it the "Can I eat this way for the rest of my life" Test I know, it does not exactly roll your tongue, but it gets the point across?..
The lesson here is: any nutritional plan you choose to lose weight must be part of a change of lifestyle, you'll be able to follow - in one form or another - forever. That is, if this is not a way of eating you can comply with indefinitely, even after you get to your target weight, then it is worthless.
Thus, many fad diets you see out there are immediately eliminated, and you do not have to worry about them. The question is not whether the diet is effective in the short term, but if the diet can be followed indefinitely as a permanent way of eating. From "their" way of eating back to "your" way of eating after reaching your target weight is a recipe for disaster and the cause of the yo-yo diet effect syndrome well established. Bottom line: there are no shortcuts, there is no free lunch, and only a commitment to a lifestyle change will keep the long-term fat. I realize that not that what most people want to hear, but it is the truth, like it or not.
The statistics do not lie: getting the weight is not the hardest part, keeping the weight off is! If you take a close look at the many miracles / trade regimes well known there, and you are honest with yourself, and apply my test above, you'll find most of them as you like they once did. It also gives me an example that adds additional clarity: If you diet A that will cause the most weight loss in the shortest amount of time but is unbalanced and essentially impossible to follow long term relation the plan B, which will take the weight off at a slower pace, but it is easier to follow, balanced, healthy, and something you can observe year after year, which is higher? If diet A gets 30 lbs off you in 30 days, but next year you have gained back all 30 pounds, but diet B gets 20 pounds on you in the next 3 months with another 20 lbs 3 months and the weight stays off by the end of this year, what is the best diet?
If you do not know the answer to these questions, you have totally missed the point of this article and the lesson he tries to teach you, and are set up for failure. Go back and read this section again ... By default, diet B is superior.
Teach a man to fish ...A well-known Chinese proverb is - Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.
This expression fits perfectly with the next essential step in how to decide what eating plan you should follow to lose weight permanently. Does the diet you are considering teach you to eat long term, or is it a spoon feeding you information? Will the diet rely on special bars, shakes, supplements or pre-made foods they supply?
Let's do another diet A diet comparison against B. A Diet will provide you with their food and their special drink or bars to eat, and tell you exactly when to eat them. You will lose - say - 30 pounds in two months. Diet B will try to help you learn what foods you should eat, how many calories you need to eat, why you need to eat them, and generally try to help you learn to eat as part of a total lifestyle change that will allow you to make informed decisions about your nutrition. Diet B causes a loss of slow and steady weight of 8 to 10 pounds per month for the next 6 months and the weight stays off because you now know how to eat properly.
Remember the Chinese proverb. Both diets will help you lose weight. Dieting alone, however, you learn to be autonomous in your experience is complete. Diet A is easier, to be sure, and causes loss of weight faster than diet B, and diet B takes longer and requires reflection and learning from you. However, when diet A is over, you're back where you started and was given no skills to fish. Diet companies do not make their profits by teaching you to fish, they make their money by handing you a fish so you must rely on them indefinitely or come back after you gain all the weight back.
Thus, diet B is superior for you to succeed where other diets have failed, with knowledge gained that you can apply long term. Diet programs that you are trying to spoon feed a diet without any attempt to teach you how to eat without their help and / or rely on their shakes, bars, cookies or pre-made foods, is another diet, you can eliminate your list of choices.
Diet plans that offer weight loss by drinking their product for several meals followed by a "sensible dinner;" diets that allow you to eat their special cookies for most meals along with their pre-planned menu; or diets that attempt to have you eating their bars, drinks, or pre-made meals, are supplying a variety covered above. They are easy to follow, but doomed to failure in the long term. They all do the "Can I eat this way for the rest of my life?" Test, unless you really think you can eat cookies and shakes for the rest of your life ... Bottom line here is if the nutritional approach you use to lose weight, be it from a book, a class, clinic or an e-book, does not teach you how to eat, it's a loser for losing weight long term and should be avoided.
The missing link for long term weight lossWe now make our way to another test to help you choose a nutrition program for losing weight long term, and it does not involve nutrition. The missing link for long term weight loss is exercise. Exercise is the essential component of long-term loss of weight. Many diet programs do not contain an exercise component, which means they are losers for losing weight long term from the start. Any program that has its focus on weight loss, but does not include a comprehensive exercise plan is like buying a car without tires, or a plane without wings. People who have successfully kept the weight off overwhelmingly have incorporated exercise into their life and studies that examine successful people lose weight and kept it invariably find these people were consistent with their diet plans and 'exercise. (4)
I will not list all the benefits of regular exercise here, but regular exercise has positive effects on your metabolism, you can eat more calories yet still be in a calorie deficit, and can help preserve the earth lean body (LBM) which is essential for your health and metabolism. The many health benefits of regular exercise are well known, so I will not add them here. The bottom line here is, (a) if you have any intentions of making the most of your goal to lose weight and (b) plan to maintain the long-term, regular exercise should be part of the strategy weightloss. So, you can eliminate any program, be it book, e-book, clinic, etc. that does not offer you direction and help with this essential part of losing weight long term.
Side Bar: A quick note on exercise:Any exercise is better than no exercise. However, like diet plans, exercise, not all are created equal, and many people often choose the wrong form of exercise to maximize their efforts to lose weight. For example, they will do aerobics exclusively and ignore resistance training. Resistance training is an essential component of fat loss because it strengthens muscles essential to your metabolism, increases energy expenditure of 24 hours and has health benefits beyond aerobics.
The reader will also note I said fat loss above not weight loss. Although I use the term "weight loss" in this article, I just do it because it is a familiar term most people understand. However, the real purpose and the objective of a nutrition plan and exercise properly implemented should be on fat loss, not weight loss. A focus on weight loss, which may include a loss essential muscle, water, and even bone, as well as fat, is the wrong approach. Losing fat and keeping the all important lean body mass (LBM), is the goal and the method to achieve this can be found in my ebook (s) on the topic, and is beyond the scope of this article. Bottom line: the type of exercise, intensity of exercise, length of time to do this exercise, etc., are essential variables here when trying to lose fat while retaining (LBM).
Psychology 101 of long term weight lossMany there diet programs do not address the psychological aspect of why people fail to be successful with losing weight long term. However, many studies exist that have looked at this. In many respects, the psychological aspect is the most important for losing weight long term, and probably the single most underestimated.
Studies that compare the psychological characteristics of people who have successfully kept the weight of people who regained the weight, see clear differences between these two groups. For example, a study of 28 obese women who lost weight but regained the weight they had lost, compared to 28 formerly obese women who lost weight and maintained their weight for at least one year and 20 women with a stable weight in the healthy range, found the women who regained the weight:
o There was a tendency to evaluate themselves in terms of weight and shapeo There was a lack of vigilance in weight controlo had a dichotomous thinking style (black and white)o tended to use eating to regulate mood.
The researchers concluded:
"The results suggest that psychological factors may provide an explanation as to why many people with obesity regain weight following successful weight loss."
This particular study was done on women, so it reflects some of the specific psychological issues women have - but make no mistake here - men also have their own psychological issues that can sabotage their weight loss efforts long term. (6)
Additional studies on men and women find psychological characteristics such as "having unrealistic weight goals, poor coping or problem solving and low self-efficacy" often predict failure with long-lost weight term. (7) On the other hand, the common traits to people who have experienced long-term weight loss success include "... an internal motivation to lose weight, social support, better coping strategies and the ability to handle the stresses of life, self-efficacy, autonomy, assuming responsibility in life, and overall more psychological strength and stability. "(8)
The main point of this section is to illustrate that psychology plays a major role in determining if people are successful at losing weight long term. If it is not addressed as part of the overall plan, it may be the factor that makes or breaks your success. This, however, is not an area of the most nutrition programs can adequately tackle and should not have to. However, the better programs do generally attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support. If you see yourself in the above lists the groups that failed to maintain their long-term weight, then know that you will need to address these issues through counseling, support groups, etc. Do not expect any weight loss program to adequately cover this topic but do look for programs that try to offer support, goal setting, and resources that will keep you on track.
"There's a sucker born every minute"So why do not you see this type of honest information about the realities of weight loss usually long term? Let's be honest, tell the truth is not the best way to sell bars, shakes, books, supplements and programs. Hell, if by some miracle everyone who read this article actually followed, and sent to millions of other people who actually followed, officials said products could be in financial trouble quickly. However, they also know - as the man said - "there's a sucker born every minute," so I doubt they will be held at night worrying about the effects that I, or this article, will have on their business.
So let's recap what has been learned here: the great realities of the image of permanent weight loss and how you can look at a weight loss program and decide for yourself if it is for you depending on what which was covered above:
o Permanent weight loss is not finding a quick fix diet, but a commitment to lifestyle changes that include nutrition and exercise
o Any weight loss program you choose must pass the "Can I eat this way for the rest of my life?" test,
o The weight loss program you choose should ultimately teach you how to eat and be self-reliant so you can make informed choices in the long term about your nutrition.
o The weight loss program you choose should not leave you reliant on commercial bars, shakes, supplements or pre-made foods, for your long-term success.
o The weight loss program you choose must have an effective exercise component.
o The weight loss program you choose should attempt to help with motivation, goal setting and support, but can not be a replacement for psychological counseling if necessary.
ConclusionI want to take this final section to add some additional points and clarity. For starters, the above advice is not for everyone. It is not for those who really have their nutrition dialed as competitive bodybuilders and other athletes who benefit from fairly dramatic changes in their diet, such as 'off season' and 'pre-contest' and so after.
The article is not intended not for those who have medical problems that may be on a specific diet to treat or manage a specific medical condition. The article is intended for the average person who wants to get off the Yo-Yo merry-go-round system once and for all. As is probably 99% of the population, it will cover millions of people.
People should not be scared off by my "you have to eat this way forever" advice. This does not mean that you will be dieting for the rest of your life and you have nothing but hunger to hope. What it does not mean, however, is that you will learn to eat properly even after reaching your target weight and that way of eating should not be a huge departure from the way you eating to lose weight first. Once you reach your goal weight - and or your target bodyfat levels - you go on a maintenance phase which generally has more calories and choices of food, even the occasional treat, like a slice of pizza or something else.
maintenance plans are a logical extension of the diet you used to lose weight, but they are not based on the diet you followed that put the weight in the first place!
Whatever program you choose, use the "big picture" approach above that will keep you on track to losing weight long term. See you in the gym!
