Why are restrictive diets so popular?
Replies
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »
TLDR: your way isn't the only way.
Of course not. Eek. If I came across as “why aren’t they doing it my way?” that wasn’t my intentional at all. The way they were both talking about their diets, they sounded miserable, which made me reflect on the many “magical” diets I’ve tried in the past, and my lack of understanding that it’s all about calories.
ok, well, that puts it in a somewhat different light - you didnt mention them being miserable in your OP.
and, sorry, yes it did come across as bit of 'why aren't they doing it my way'
which is why people like me responded saying there is more than one way and calorie counting isnt the be all and end all for everyone.2 -
Some people are looking for a magical quick fix which are the real crazy fad diets like the egg diet, etc.
I'd say for the most part though, a lot of people just do better with some kind of structure in place and I know a lot of people who would never stick with calorie counting (like me).
When my wife and I started losing weight years ago, we tried different things. My wife tried keto and that was too restrictive for her (I knew there was no way in hell for myself)...tried South Beach and that stuck (and phase III is pretty much how we eat in maintenance now most of the time).
I basically lost my first 20ish Lbs doing SB with her, though I never did phase I...just started with phase II. I started calorie counting when I became more interested in nutrition on the whole and also started doing more fitness wise. It was fine but certainly not anything I could have stuck with very long term as I found it pretty tedious, but educational...the educational part kept me going for the time I needed. My wife tried calorie counting and was done with it in a matter of a couple of weeks.
I haven't counted calories in almost 6 years of maintenance. I don't count when I want to cut my winter fluff either...I just kinda go back to that phase II of SB and have a few other rules in place for myself that I don't mind.1 -
I have not read the thread, but the original question called to mind this article I read the other day:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/diet-fast-weight-loss-pipe-dream-so-why-do-we-ncna9722662 -
I am one whose diet is often called restrictive: I'm a celiac and I eat keto. I don't think of my diet as any more restrictive than any other diet though. If any one wants to regulate their weight, they are going to need to restrict something. I choose to restrict foods that negatively impact my health and focus on protein and fat, whereas other people may restrict a little bit of everything. Moderators restrict a little of everything. Abstainers restrict a few specific things. Restriction is restriction.
I find weight management effortless when I eat this way. My nutrition is top notch so concerns like nutrient deficiency or protein dilution are completely a non-issue. I eat when I am hungry. I eat a variety of foods, although I skip some commonly eaten foods (but that does not make my diet limited). I do not need to count calories or cling to will power in order to maintain or lose, I just focus on what I am eating and it takes care of itself. I rarely worry about what I can eat unless I am traveling and need to be concerned with gluten contamination.
I do find it insulting that so many people seem to think that eating what they see as a restrictive diet is a lack of will power. Technically, if you think my diet is overly restrictive, that would indicate greater will power.
Calling my restriction harder than it needs to be, or my need for rules, or a bonding thing or a superiority thing is just a wild guess. And in my case, it's wrong. I eat my way (which is almost a carnivore ketogenic diet) because it greatly improved my health in multiple ways. I'm not miserable either.
When I did try to just moderate my calories without changing my foods - just restricting a little bit of everything - I was miserable. Very hungry. More mood and energy swings. I could do that for a few months but to feel that way for life? Yuck. No way! No thank you. And because I could not maintain that (fad) I would regain my weight. Now? I'm about 4 years into keto, over 3.5 of it on maintenance. I can't see going back to restricting everything.12 -
I think it's a bonding experience for a lot of women. I've never understood it. But I have watched it play out in countless offices & other work environments. They go through all of the fad diets and some do have success but most do not. Mostly it's like a group activity for them.8
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Honestly...I've tried several fads.. sometimes it easier....I've lost weight just cutting calories and eating what I want within.....but over time, I've found reducing carbs, or at least what I consider Bad carbs (soda, pasta, bread) works for me. I try to cut out the bad stuff (obvious junk) and eat healthier and higher protein, healthy fat, lower carb. It actually is changing my body comp and I can see it, even if the scale doesn't move fast. That's more important to me. To each their own.8
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paperpudding wrote: »witchaywoman81 wrote: »
TLDR: your way isn't the only way.
Of course not. Eek. If I came across as “why aren’t they doing it my way?” that wasn’t my intentional at all. The way they were both talking about their diets, they sounded miserable, which made me reflect on the many “magical” diets I’ve tried in the past, and my lack of understanding that it’s all about calories.
ok, well, that puts it in a somewhat different light - you didnt mention them being miserable in your OP.
and, sorry, yes it did come across as bit of 'why aren't they doing it my way'
which is why people like me responded saying there is more than one way and calorie counting isnt the be all and end all for everyone.
Yeah, sorry about that. I blame trying to type something meaningful on my phone while putting a small child to bed. Bad, bad multitasking on my part. 🌈2 -
witchaywoman81 wrote: »I have 2 good friends who are on diets at the moment. One is doing something called “carb cycling” and the other is doing what she calls “lazy keto.” I told them both I’m eating what I want and tracking my calories here, and I’ve lost 7 pounds since the beginning of the year, which didn’t seem to deter them from their plans. Not that I was trying to at all, but it got me thinking about why “we” feel like we need to torture ourselves to lose weight. We don’t (generally) gain weight quickly, so why do we feel the need to lose it so quickly? I ask all of these hypothetical questions as someone who has tried my own share of quick fixes...with little success.
They are popular because it can be hard to have to cut back in any way on the amount of food you eat when you've been eating that way for a long time. So a short term diet, a quick fix, however tortorous seems better because you just want to get the weight out the way and get back to life. But the latter part is tricky because you really haven't worked on sustainable eating habits that make you feel good physically and psychologically. You have the body that you want but you don't know how to maintain it. And to maintain it takes building new habits, which will take some time--more time than the quick fix diet. So one way or another, no diet that produces long-lasting results really happens overnight. For long-lasting results, you need to be in it for longhaul--you need to make it a life-habit.1 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »I think it's a bonding experience for a lot of women. I've never understood it. But I have watched it play out in countless offices & other work environments. They go through all of the fad diets and some do have success but most do not. Mostly it's like a group activity for them.
So true! I have seen a lot of this behavior in a workplace environment, amongst both men and women. Who can lose weight the fastest, and, especially, who’s suffering the most. When I was pregnant with my first child, I was actually the official weigh-in person for my office’s weight loss competition. One team would bring in donuts to try to sabotage the other team.
Ugh...now I kind of want a donut. 😂2 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »I think it's a bonding experience for a lot of women. I've never understood it. But I have watched it play out in countless offices & other work environments. They go through all of the fad diets and some do have success but most do not. Mostly it's like a group activity for them.
Yes I've experienced the same. Say the word "diet " around some of my coworkers and watch their eyes light up. And the more restrictive it is the more virtuous it seems.7 -
I have not read the thread, but the original question called to mind this article I read the other day:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/diet-fast-weight-loss-pipe-dream-so-why-do-we-ncna972266
This is brilliant! And exactly the point I was trying to get at. Thanks for sharing. 😀
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I have not read the thread, but the original question called to mind this article I read the other day:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/diet-fast-weight-loss-pipe-dream-so-why-do-we-ncna972266
So funny to read this. I was just thinking about the green smoothie cleanse: 10 days of under 1000 calories of smoothies, water, high protein foods, plus being encouraged to use kidney, liver, and bowel flushes. Yeah no wonder there's rapid weight loss.0 -
New_Heavens_Earth wrote: »I have not read the thread, but the original question called to mind this article I read the other day:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/diet-fast-weight-loss-pipe-dream-so-why-do-we-ncna972266
So funny to read this. I was just thinking about the green smoothie cleanse: 10 days of under 1000 calories of smoothies, water, high protein foods, plus being encouraged to use kidney, liver, and bowel flushes. Yeah no wonder there's rapid weight loss.
Do they advise a person to stay near the bathroom during this cleanse? Sounds delightful. 🧐
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I am guilty of trying a few of the restrictive/fad/trendy diets, and it's so hard to pinpoint WHY I wanted to do them and what convinced me. I don't know if it's the novelty of doing what other people are doing, being in denial about how simplistic CICO actually is, or just wanting to be part of a diet community.
But I CAN say that 99% of the time when I attempted one, it was because I heard about someone I like or a friend doing it. It makes you want to join them and support each other in doing it.
And it took a looooong time to realize those "diets" were making my binge eating disorder MUCH worse and just damaging my body and mind.9 -
melaniedscott wrote: »I think restrictive diets are popular because we live in a society that values punishment. You're fat, therefore you must deserve to be punished. You should deprive yourself to be a better (thinner) person. I think it is crap, but there you go.
If you have weight to lose you might feel better about the process if you remind yourself you're overindulged, not deprived. Dieting isn't punishment it's just what needs to be done to restore balance. And maintaining a healthy weight isn't a virtue but it is better than the alternative - an unhealthy weight.
I do understand where you're coming from with your post but it doesn't hurt to keep those truths in mind.5 -
Aren't all diets restrictive? Anyway, some foods stimulate my appetite. I try to avoid such foods.1
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This frustrates me so much. I know that calorie counting works. I’ve previously lost a lot of weight calorie counting and gained most of it back after stopping. I’m now losing weight again by calorie counting. I told a friend what I was doing and she started preaching to me that weight loss is not about calories but about the quality of food you eat... She would have me eat organic/no grains etc etc. I have to sit and listen to not be rude but it just annoys me so much. I could gain weight on most fad diets because I love eating and I’ll just eat a tonne of what I’m ‘allowed’
The only thing that works for me is counting calories because i have my limit and I’m in a deficit and that is that.
Fad diets are such a pet hate of mine!8 -
Aren't all diets restrictive? Anyway, some foods stimulate my appetite. I try to avoid such foods.
Some diets are more or less restrictive than others. I'm a kosher vegetarian. There are some foods I restrict myself from eating because they are not certified kosher and/or used to be animals. But that still leaves me with a wide array of choices. Because I'm trying to lose weight, there are a number of foods I don't eat as often as I used to—or, in practice, don't eat anymore. But that's about having a finite amount of calories and choosing for myself where I want to spend them, knowing what foods will make me feel full longer, and when an indulgence is worth it to me.
What I think most people mean by restrictive diets are diets that eliminate/drastically reduce macros or major food groups (example: something like the military diet, that pretty much has you subsisting on hot dogs, cottage cheese, and ice cream. Or the stereotypical sit-com diet of grapefruit, salad, steamed chicken breast, and steamed brown rice with just about anything else that tastes good being forbidden).
My weight-loss diet restricts calories, but not the foods I eat (being veg and kosher have nothing to do with my weight loss, apart from my being spared the temptation of deep-fried shrimp; I do think it smells amazing...) Within my calories, I can theoretically eat anything. Practically speaking, I'm eating a lot of lower-calorie, filling foods with some room set aside for indulgences. I don't feel deprived, I'm not miserable with this way of eating, and when I have a dessert that I planned for and fits my calories, I don't feel guilty or think, 'there goes the diet'. Because desserts aren't anything forbidden for me.7 -
Aren't all diets restrictive? Anyway, some foods stimulate my appetite. I try to avoid such foods.
I assumed that "restrictive diets" meant identifying specific foods that must or must not be eaten. IIFYM is restrictive only in terms of adhering to caloric and macros thresholds, without requiring or prohibiting any particular foods.2 -
When I started out with losing weight, I looked into the popular diets. Now, I started out in 2017, so it was paleo and all of that. I quickly concluded that none were really for me because they cut out food groups and more than a few were rather costly. I have found that calorie counting works spectacularly well for me because there are no restrictions and I can eat what I want and have my treats and I’m fine as long as I don’t go over my allotment for the day.
I’m not generally a fan of fad diets because many, though not all, aren’t sustainable long term and one is more likely to fail.
I’ve always firmly believed that dieting is a highly personal thing and that one size does not fit all. As long as one’s chosen diet is healthy and sustainable long term, have at it as far as I’m concerned.4 -
Well for me, I have gone through stages of extreme restriction e.g. cutting "bad" foods and not using oil, or trying to just eat salad. When I started a new programme and realised I was full all the time i felt so guilty. Like how am I losing weight if I feel perfectly satisfied. My brain was messing with me. But as I've seen the weight dropping and my body changing right before my eyes it's starting to dawn on me that food was never the enemy and that being hapoy and satisfied is possible whilst still losing weight2
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We know the food industry and how we were brought up to eat is tainted. We all just don't know the answer yet.7
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People just dont want to admit that losing weight is as easy as putting down the damn fork. I believe most overweight people could lose weight by simply reducing portion sizes without even doing the calorie counting. But no, keto, paleo, and the celery juice cleanse are better choices12
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beast_kitty89 wrote: »We know the food industry and how we were brought up to eat is tainted. We all just don't know the answer yet.
Do we??
I don't think the food industry is tainted nor is the way I was brought up to eat.
The way I was brought up to eat was perfectly fine - as I got older, I just ate too much for my activity level.
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People just dont want to admit that losing weight is as easy as putting down the damn fork. I believe most overweight people could lose weight by simply reducing portion sizes without even doing the calorie counting. But no, keto, paleo, and the celery juice cleanse are better choices
Everyone can lose weight by reducing portion sizes. Calorie counting is just a tool to eliminate the guesswork and help a person achieve the most consistent results.4 -
Well for me, I have gone through stages of extreme restriction e.g. cutting "bad" foods and not using oil, or trying to just eat salad. When I started a new programme and realised I was full all the time i felt so guilty. Like how am I losing weight if I feel perfectly satisfied. My brain was messing with me. But as I've seen the weight dropping and my body changing right before my eyes it's starting to dawn on me that food was never the enemy and that being happy and satisfied is possible whilst still losing weight
One of my friends feels this way. She doesn't understand how a person could eat a controlled amount of calories for weight loss but feel satisfied and comfortable. She lost a lot of weight by essentially starving herself and had constant hunger pangs that she "just got used to". When her lifestyle changed a bit, she reverted to old habits of overeating. I wish she would understand what you have come to grasp, too.
I can't even talk with her about anything related to nutrition/weight any more because it is too frustrating for both of us. She will watch me eat some guacamole with six chips I have counted out and then an a la carte enchilada and say, "I don't know how you can maintain your weight loss eating Mexican food and carbs, you must have a thyroid condition!" Meanwhile she is sipping on an iced tea and not eating.3
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