Life
Are you a serial dieter?
Karl from Vitruvian Health asks the question.. are you a serial dieter?
So it’s Monday and…
You’ve probably decided to begin your weight loss diet.
The trouble with losing weight is that the traditional diets are seen as a short term, or temporary, way of eating to lose weight ‘quickly’.
Do diets work?
- Most diets result in short term weight loss (6 months);
- In our experience, most people that did lose the weight actually put most, if not all, back on after 12 months;
- The weight gained can be more than up to 2/3 weight gain
Dieting can promote a vicious cycle over many years = restrict > regain > gain extra > restrict > regain > gain extra and so on.
Why do diets fail?
In our experience, ‘diets’ fail because:
- They make the person ‘more hungry’;
- Being hungry affects your mood and the way you deal with your day to day, ie you have less patience or tolerance for things that frustrate you;
- If you turned to comfort eating before your diet, chances are you’ll turn to it again when times get tough during your diet which leads to overeating and weight gain;
- Diets teach a style of eating that is not sustainable in the long term;
- People think you need to go through ‘short term pain’ for ‘long term gain’, i.e. diet for 8 weeks to be at the weight you want to be at, then to revert back to the way you ate before.
Tips for sustainable weight loss
So let’s break the pattern of being a serial dieter and get you losing weight in a sustainable way.
Tip 1 – Be in a consistent calorie deficit
All diets have one thing in common – they promote a calorie deficit. This means you eat less energy than your body expends so your body needs to use energy from its existing fat stores to function.
However some diets are more aggressive than others which can make you feel super hungry and crabby – which means you are less likely to stick to your plan long term.
The trick is to choose a diet (or calorie deficit) you can stick to 7 days a week. If you eat less Monday to Friday but then binge on Saturday and Sunday, then there’s no real point to dieting Monday to Friday.
So the message is, whatever you choose, ensure it’s consistent.
Tip 2 – Set realistic targets
Given you can only lose up to 250g of fat each week, it is unrealistic to say you want to lose 5kg in 4 weeks. If you did lose this amount, you’ve most likely lost fluid, not fat.
Identify how much you want to lose, then acknowledge and accept that it is something that will likely take 6 – 12 months, depending on the number.
Tip 3 – Be consistent
The biggest contributor to weight gain is binge eating. Eating in a way that enables you to be in a calorie deficit without you feeling like you are ‘missing out’ will help you stick to your plan for longer.
You can do this by:
- Eating nutrient dense foods (a range of protein sources, vegetables, eggs, fruit);
- Avoiding processed and sugary foods;
- Eating your meal slowly;
- Eating mindfully (without being distracted by the TV, computer or your phone).
One last point to remember is to maintain portion control because too much of a good thing can be a bad thing too.
This article was provided by Vitruvian Health.