Is any type of dieting just addictive and doomed to failure?

This topic contains 15 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by sivasankar 10 years, 8 months ago.

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Mike Hall

10:07 am
9 Aug 13
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Last night on British TV channel BBC2 a programme called “The Men Who Made Us Thin” explored whether dieting was always doomed to failure and those that diet never maintain a perfect weight. It claimed that certain weight loss diets were only successful because people failed and then tried again boosting the company profits and only a tiny fraction about 10 in 1000 actually achieved their goals after five years.

From personal experience I’ve tried all sorts of diets with yo-yoing weight, low carb, fasting and so on and the only one I found that works long term is to be young, not yet have bought a car, being poor with no money/food and having to walk/cycle everywhere. A sure way to cut the calories when you don’t eat because you can’t eat…

Entlover

3:20 am
10 Aug 13
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You’re right about being young and thin. My BMI was 19.5 for years, until I had an operation & got a less active job, now it’s 25.
However, the 5:2 way of eating is not really a diet, it’s just fasting 2 days a week, which gives you the benefits of fasting, which are many, including slow weight loss.
Unfortunately they haven’t yet come up with a time machine so youth is not an option for many of us.

Mike Hall

10:13 am
10 Aug 13
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Entlover, until I was about 23 my weight was 10.5 stones (147lbs, 67kg) and so my BMI with a height of 6ft (1.83m) was 20. I’d say I have been up to 50% more than that at various times in the last 20 years. You just cannot maintain the low weight. Food is cheaper in real terms and all around us. Just add up how many adverts you are subjected to for food in one day and you will be shocked. Food is addictive, especially the fatty sugary stuff. When you go in the supermarket what’s usually on offer? Meat and veg? No, it’s the factory made sugary items. You know, buy one, get one free – even get two free! The manufacturers know that these foods release dopamine and endorphins in your brain when you eat them. That’s when you are hooked. Pure sugar has only been around for 100 years but just think how much you eat of it every day. In the western world weight control is almost impossible unless you have a will of steel. The gov and manufacturers know this of course but too much money and jobs are at stake to do anything “real” about it.

NeillMac

11:28 am
10 Aug 13
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Mike, yes, I watched that TV programme too and I thought it was great. The big players in the diet industry all seemed to say that the products they were promoting didn’t fail – it was the dieters that failed. And because the dieters failed the people went back to the diet producers for more products. Success bred on failure.

I fall into the camp that says a diet isn’t something you do, it is a way of life. I am now in my late 50s and have always been far too big – I just love my food and drink – but could never bring myself to “do” a diet. But when my doctor actually recommended the Fast Diet to me I had to take a look and I have to say that so far I haven’t looked back.

I have now lost just over a stone in 11 weeks and I’m still enjoying copious amounts of food (and alcohol!!). I beleive that when I get back to a “normal” weight (target date April 2014 – yes, I am big) I will be able to continue on the Fast Diet with the maintenance mode of 6:1 – at the moment I actually ENJOY my first fast day which is a Monday

Your post about sugar is smack on to. I watched a TV programme some time ago which made clear the dangers of processed sugar and what damage it has caused to the health of nations. The programme mentioned a book called “White Death” which is about processed sugar – you can guess what the slant is. I haven’t read it yet but will surely get round to it one day.

All the best and hope you have success with thge Fast DIet

Serenity

3:54 pm
10 Aug 13
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NeillMac congratulations on your weight loss so far. I enjoyed reading your blog also. Good luck with your goal. 🙂

Mike Hall

8:32 pm
10 Aug 13
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NeillMac, I am glad you are getting your weight down. Power to your elbow mate. What I did not mention is that I (and the missus) were on the Atkins diet in about 2000. I lost about 5 stone over about 6 months and we were featured on TV on Sky (and the same programme went on air continuously for about 18 months). If there was the archetypal evangelist for this it was me. As you can guess it failed but I did manage to keep the weight down for about two or three years, but the diet became so boring and we both noticed that something changed in us and we think that some form of adaptation occurred that allowed our bodies to convert some of the proteins to energy thus we started gaining weight even though we faithfully stuck to it.

I’ve tried this fasting diet almost at the same time Mike put his programme out (I still have it on my Sky box!) and I did lose a lot. After about two months though and because we had a death in the family, I just couldn’t face the first fast day any more although I am trying again. One of the most important things when dieting is to have a partner or friend to encourage you or else it is as socially limiting as the low carb diet was.

Anyhow best of luck and I would look at Mike’s programme from time to time for inspiration. Mike, when are you going to make a follow up programme? We would all like to see that…

Bluecat

8:12 pm
23 Aug 13
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Have just started watching this programme and find the whole diet industry and their low-fat food cohorts quite sinister. Having been down that route for the past 40-odd years, I now realise what a waste of time it’s all been. 20 years ago, I lost over 6 stone but could not achieve the diet club’s target weight and ended up putting 8 stone back on. The club’s target weight (I eventually realised) was unachievable with me no longer being 15 and having had 2 children.

I often became angry when I saw women (including myself) telling the group leader that we’d not had a good week because we’d eaten this that and the other (through no fault of our own you understand!)only to be told “oh well dear, try again next week.” Take the money and run attitude.

Eventually, something had to change and the 5:2 is it.

dlroseberry

8:42 pm
23 Aug 13
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I had the advantage of watching my mother go thru the lose and gain cycles, so I never did any calorie restriction type of diet. But think about it, to make calorie restriction work, you have to count accurately every calorie every day. You might be able to do that for a while, but it’s not sustainable for very many of us. Most, I think, are not even doing it for the low number of calories on the two days it’s required on the fast diet.

I’ve tried eliminating foods, like ice cream, milk, red meat, mayonnaise, butter, white bread. It works for awhile. It disrupts your eating for awhile and then you recover. I can remember when dry whole wheat toast was unpalatable to me but now I love it and have to be careful or I’ll eat too much of it.

I’ve been doing fasting for more than 2 1/2 years now and I believe it will work. I’ve heard expressed on this forum that fasting has made it easier to not overeat on the non-fast days. I think that might be true but I can’t really tell for sure about that yet.

aniann

8:15 am
24 Aug 13
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I’ve also followed numerous diets and the result is always the same. Fast weight loss is followed by fast weight gain. I’ve known for years that the diet industry is all about failure because it’s failure that brings in the money but I still held some belief that there was a diet that would work. I now realise that these diets won’t change a thing. What has to change for me is attitude to food and lifestyle. In addition it is interesting to note that feast and famine is not a new concept and Michael’s programme made so much sense to me. I’m still relatively new to the 5:2 but after 2 weeks I’m still feeling positive because I’ve lost 2kg and 1 inch off my waist.

Although I’m not planning to religiously count calories on feast days, I have noticed that I am a lot more aware of what I’m putting into my mouth, as well as being more aware of whether I’m actually hungry or not.

Bluecat

9:18 pm
24 Aug 13
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My friends from Germany introduced me to this documentary about Russian laboratory testing of fasting which has taken place for over 60 years and had only been published in Russia. Unfortunately, this is just a taster as it’s an ARTE subscription only but it was fascinating.

http://www.buchinger.com/en/news-stories/news-archive/newsinhalt/detail/2012/april/24/Scientific-documentary-on-fasting8232.html

Puny

9:31 pm
24 Aug 13
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I’ve done various diets and I’m one of those who is guilty of putting all back on afterwards. Often extra weight too. None of the diets have ever felt like a way of life. All diets work as long as you stick to them but as soon as you start living life again it can all go horribly wrong.

I have high hopes for this eating plan due to it’s simplicity and how little I have to change. However time will tell.

Ninna

9:50 pm
24 Aug 13
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Hi Puny,
I do not consider this a diet but a new way of eating. You eat what you want and do not count calories, points or carbohydrates (what a relief!) but two days (and later on one day) a week you let your body rest. It is a fantastic way of living! You can eat what you want without getting fat!
Ninna

Puny

4:03 pm
25 Aug 13
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Yeah it sounds great, I’ve only just started and am really looking forward to my first weigh in. I really hope this works for me.

annette52

6:51 am
26 Aug 13
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I think that this is all about a change of mind set.

I was stunned to find that if I missed breakfast I was not going to collapse in a heap, but could carry on my day quite OK.

My portion sizes have got smaller. I am eating more healthily. I am addicted to salad now, must have my daily fix.

Fasting was tough when I started but is absolutely fine now.

Seeing my body shape change for the better and shrink is rather fabulous, and keeps motivated.

Best of all though was my high blood pressure come down to normal.

I feel so much better. I eat what I like, but just less of it.

I never want to go back to how I felt and looked before.

Success may be measured on the tape measure as well as the scales.Also on how clothes that are too tight suddenly become too big and hang off you.

PapaMax

1:27 pm
26 Aug 13
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After four months on the fast diet, 3 inches off my waist, a stone lighter, blood pressure down 10 points both systolic and diastolic, BMI 25 to 22, a new set of clothes (expensive…) and a boost in wellbeing, mental concentration and energy, a week on a cruise happened. The diet suspended and round the clock food, this was going to be a real test.

In the event, the return to the scales once home revealed no weight change at all. Rock steady. This despite bigger breakfasts, lunch, afternoon tea (yes, scones, tea bread, cakes, cream), drinks, dinner and pudding every day.

So how did this work. I think it was because although the meal sizes were bigger, I quickly hit the ‘I couldn’t eat another thing’ feeling of being absolutely stuffed. Often I simply left the potato portion as being too much to cope with.

I don’t know what a gastric band feels like, or stomach stapling, but I do know the fast diet shrinks and tames my stomach in what I’d expect to be much the same way but without the hideous surgery.

Also the surcharge of calories meant I was bouncing around with energy. Three days out of seven were ashore with 5 hour hikes. Every day a good long session in the gym (1k calories). No lifts, stairs only – and with 14 floors, this added a lot of extra grunt.

A month on from return, and on a maintenance 6:1 fast, weight has eased down another pound or so as I am really at my target weight. I had no trouble picking up the fast routine, and happily treat myself to sinful treats from time to time, knowing they are treats because they are not frequent. Also I have shifted towards savoury treats and prefer to avoid sugared foods – just too sweet for my palate.

I actually don’t feel addicted to anything, and the fast diet works because it is gentle and trains the stomach to accept it has a smaller role to play, and actually does become smaller. This seems to have a conditioning effect on mental attitude to hunger, as well as toning the entire metabolism.

sivasankar

4:34 pm
26 Aug 13
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@papamax – Great job. Glad to hear.

I can attest to the fact that stomach does seem to have shrunk and nowadays, after a smaller portion I feel full and I can’t eat like before. If I try, I feel like stuffing myself. This seems correct since when we gain weight we don’t gain them in a day and our stomach does not get bigger in a day.

I have been IF’ing since March and have lost 16 pounds so far. Even though my weight has not changed much last 2 months, my waistline is shrinking. I still have another 10 pounds to go and I am sure I will get there one way or another. I may have to start exercising regularly to kick start weight loss.