Have fad diets and the need for quick fixes complicated weight loss

TimPo40

Please bear with me and I will try not to rant too much.

I am 40 years old. In my adult life my weight has been as low as 210 pounds, and as high as 310 lbs. I am currently 260 pounds and have been somewhere between 245 and 265 for the last 2-3 years. As far as diet and exercise, over the last 15 years I have tried just about everything. I have been as guilty as anyone trying to find quick fixes and putting too much focus on weight loss, as opposed to health and long term life changes.

I just spent the last couple of hours watching several videos on youtube about a variety of things from diet, exercise, health, specific diets, etc. For those who are doing Keto and it's working for you, I applaud you and you should keep doing what works for you. However, in my youtube rabbit hole I came across Jillian Michaels comments on weight loss and Keto. If you aren't aware, she basically said it's about balance, portion control, and exercise. Do that and use common sense and you will have success that is sustainable.

This got me to really analyze my messed up journey over the last 5-10 years. I have lost and gained weight, even significant amounts several times. When I had my best success it was doing basically what Jillian said. It was drinking a lot of waters. Eating fruits and vegetables. Limiting but not elimination fat, sugar, and carbs. Regular exercise. Not getting extreme and eliminating this, or only doing that, which makes sustainability much more challenging.

So I guess I was just curious what other people thought. Doesn't keeping things simple and trying to change your health and life as opposed to going on the new fad diet and trying to lose a bunch of weight as quickly as possible make things more simple. I feel like anyone battling weight problems, health problems, body image issues, just want to fix everything today so badly that we forget that it honestly just comes down to hard work, commitment, and keeping things simple. I also think it makes the entire process less stressful and obsessive. Curious as to what others thoughts and experiences are on all of this.

CorineJN

Fad diets have always been around. I remember in the 80s my mum's friends being on bread diets for instance.

There's just a lot more "making money off people's insecurities" going on these days than there used to be then.

Lillymoo01

I have lost all of my weight and maintained that loss by keeping it simple. I didn't make any changes I knew I could not adhere to long term and I did not eliminate foods that I really enjoy. I just made sure I was eating less than I was burning. Slow and steady wins the race.

missysippy930

I don’t necessarily think fads complicate dieting for weight loss, but it does indeed appeal to people’s hope for quick and easy solutions for losing weight. Makes big money for the industry. I guess the saying, “if it’s too good to be true” applies here.

ReenieHJ

I turned 66 in 2019 and I just figured that out and accepted it. Sustainable way of life and moderation being the key terms. It doesn't make any sense living on cottage cheese and grapefruit to lose weight if you don't plan on eating that way forever. But being impatient to get to GW is difficult at best, and that's why fad diets are still making so much money off people hoping to lose weight quickly. Looking back throughout my life, I know that now. I used Dexatrim way back when it was the rage, I was on a liquid diet for a week and lost 10 lbs. I've done low carb, low fat, WW, eliminated entire food groups or subsisted on just a couple specific foods. None of it worked FOR ME. Some swear by using some of those methods and if it turns into a healthy lifestyle, then that's great. But it sure isn't what worked for me.
Counting calories, exercise, allowing for occasional treats, creating new habits, and a positive outlook has been helpful for me. I think the worst thing any body can do is give up and think negatively. No matter which method you use, telling yourself you just cannot do it is the ultimate deal breaker. Keep searching for YOUR path to health and tell yourself IT WILL BE DONE, YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
Plus, you can try every health fad out there, listen to every so-called expert article, doctor, specialist out there, and it all boils down to what most of us already have learned.

nighthawk584

calorie counting with food scale, and staying within my calorie deficit, combined with daily exercise, helped me lose 91 lbs since last April and completely change my health from the worst to the best in over 25 years. it really doesn't have to be complicated.

snowflake954

It really is that simple, but it's also boring and takes time. No one today wants to hear that.

TimPo40

I appreciate all of the feedback and insights. I think in my long winded post I forgot the most important reason for my question.

I wont say what it was but over the last month I went "back on the stick" with a fad diet. Probably the biggest fad diet there is right now. I only lost 5 pounds and quite honestly I didnt find it practical, sustainable or enjoyable. I have had better results and a more enjoyable sustained experience by just keeping things simple.

I know I need to get back to that and be willing to put in the work and focus on the long game again. Hearing others reinforce that ultimately that is what it takes and miracle diets and quick fixes are BS is very helpful.

nutmegoreo

I think you'll find most people who have had long-term success here will say that they didn't follow fad diets (at least not in their final successful attempts at loss and then maintenance). They did have to take time to figure out what would work for them. For some, low carb/keto was valuable for its satiety effects (or helpful due to medical conditions). Others find carbs more filling. Others find that IF is helpful in limiting their intake. One of the keys seems to be that by taking things slow, they learned what was filling, they had time to develop a better understanding of what works for them. Exercise patterns, eating patterns, work-life balance.... all need to fit together and work for the individual. Fad diets are intended to be fast and temporary and don't really teach us how to manage once that diet period is over. I think a valuable question to ask oneself is "is this a change I can live with?" And if the answer is no, then "how do I anticipate changing this will impact me down the road?" I think too many people think once the weight is lost their work is over.

FoodBodyChanges

Totally agree that fad diets make things complicated. Most are not sustainable. And some are actually dangerous. But I'd argue that nutrient dense plant based isn't a fad, nor is IF. These, like veganism, are long term lifestyle choices.

RelCanonical

I have been working on framing weight loss as "practice for maintenance". In other words, every choice I make for weight loss must be a long-term choice. There's no "pushing through" because there's no end, so my goal is to figure out ways to not have to push through.

xGreatWhiteNorthx

I can see many getting overwhelmed with all the options, but personally I just think that they offer many different ways to many different people to accomplish their goals.

Just because something doesnt work for you or I doesnt mean it wont be the miracle for someone else, everyone is different.

GeminiLady159

Emotionally the “quick fix” or plans with rapid loss help people see results and feel like they’re doing something and taking action. Of course this often sets up a cycle where you “succeed” then “fail” which then takes an emotional toll itself. Ugh.

I do think most people, at some point, come to see the pattern and (hopefully) think about sustainability.

AnnPT77

FoodBodyChanges wrote: »

Totally agree that fad diets make things complicated. Most are not sustainable. And some are actually dangerous. But I'd argue that nutrient dense plant based isn't a fad, nor is IF. These, like veganism, are long term lifestyle choices.

Lots of different ways of eating can be "not a fad" in that sense, as long as it's sustainable and enjoyable for a particular person, and overall nutritious.

But on the flip side, pretty much any method can be "a fad" if it's spread all over the tabloid headlines at the grocery check-out, trumpeted by fitness blogs and IG-ers as the best solution for all (using exaggerations of benefits, and cherry-picked "evidence"), etc.

There's always some approach(es) that's the current fad. Being a fad doesn't inherently make them bad (though some are objectively bad), nor does not being a fad make an approach good.

I think the OP has had a great insight here:

Doesn't keeping things simple and trying to change your health and life as opposed to going on the new fad diet and trying to lose a bunch of weight as quickly as possible make things more simple. I feel like anyone battling weight problems, health problems, body image issues, just want to fix everything today so badly that we forget that it honestly just comes down to hard work, commitment, and keeping things simple. I also think it makes the entire process less stressful and obsessive.

Sustainable changes for the win: Working gradually toward better nutrition, improved fitness, and overall good health, with an eating approach and exercise modalities that you personally enjoy and that help you accomplish your larger goals.

For me, that's calorie counting, balanced macros ovo-lacto vegetarian eating, and on the activity front, mostly rowing (on water when I can, machine when I must). 2020 will begin year 5 of weight maintenance.

For others, it will be something completely different. As long as the outcome is better nutrition, fitness and health, it's a good thing.

Best wishes, OP & all!

lgfrie

The problem with *most* fad diets isn't that they don't work (they will, anytime they cause you to be in a calorie deficit. otherwise not), it's that they're unsustainable. It's one thing to *start* a super-low-carb or paleo or whatever diet, it's another thing to stay on it. It's pretty unsatisfying to be boxed into a corner by all the rules and off-limits foods that go with most of the fad diets, which is why people give up on them. Eating generally healthy and varied foods to a calorie target and getting more exercise, is an intuitive, sensible way to get the job done and is something you can do forever if need be.

lemurcat2

FoodBodyChanges wrote: »

Totally agree that fad diets make things complicated. Most are not sustainable. And some are actually dangerous. But I'd argue that nutrient dense plant based isn't a fad, nor is IF. These, like veganism, are long term lifestyle choices.

Eh, I don't necessarily disagree, but I think the way those diets, and keto, get talked by those pushing them is part of what makes it harder and more complicated. There are all these claims about what the best diet is and the real true way to lose weight and be healthy such that it's easy to feel like you must pick the right approach or not be doing it right, and the sheer number of claims and competing ideas makes it easy for someone looking for some quick fix (after all, everyone else seems to lose 20 lbs and go from feeling blah to amazing in 2 weeks, right?) to give up to quickly and jump to something else.

I think OP has it exactly right -- weight loss is really quite simple (if more boring than magically transforming everything immediately through diet and slower than one might like). Eat fewer cals than you burn and if you want to be healthy and want it to be sustainable, focus on a generally healthy diet with lots of veg, some fruit, enough protein, healthy fats, whole food and less processed carbs, ideally including sufficient fiber, and in the room left, whatever else you want. Don't worry if the schedule that happens to work best for you isn't the trendy one of the day (whether it be 6 mini meals or the new "IF is the best"). Don't worry about those claiming that keto is the best way or WFPB is the only way to prevent death or whatnot. Put protein at a reasonable level and figure out what feels best for YOU on the other macros, if you even feel like paying attention to them.

Can someone who otherwise WANTS to do 100% plant-based do well with it? Sure, it's an ethical choice I respect and obviously can be a good way to eat (as well as a nutrition-lacking way to eat if you do it wrong, and there are many examples of that on YouTube, as well as some of people doing it right). I'd say the same (absent the ethical choice bit) about keto, low carb, IF, whatever. Many of these strategies may well work for some or even many, but the way they are pushed as the OneTrueWay creates a dieting and health climate that makes it more difficult for people than it should be.

Personally, for health, I like this: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/science-compared-every-diet-and-the-winner-is-real-food/284595/

For weight loss, it's really about calories and figuring out for oneself what led to the overeating in the first place and what is a sustainable diet on one's calorie goal.

psychod787

lemurcat2 wrote: »

FoodBodyChanges wrote: »

Totally agree that fad diets make things complicated. Most are not sustainable. And some are actually dangerous. But I'd argue that nutrient dense plant based isn't a fad, nor is IF. These, like veganism, are long term lifestyle choices.

Eh, I don't necessarily disagree, but I think the way those diets, and keto, get talked by those pushing them is part of what makes it harder and more complicated. There are all these claims about what the best diet is and the real true way to lose weight and be healthy such that it's easy to feel like you must pick the right approach or not be doing it right, and the sheer number of claims and competing ideas makes it easy for someone looking for some quick fix (after all, everyone else seems to lose 20 lbs and go from feeling blah to amazing in 2 weeks, right?) to give up to quickly and jump to something else.

I think OP has it exactly right -- weight loss is really quite simple (if more boring than magically transforming everything immediately through diet and slower than one might like). Eat fewer cals than you burn and if you want to be healthy and want it to be sustainable, focus on a generally healthy diet with lots of veg, some fruit, enough protein, healthy fats, whole food and less processed carbs, ideally including sufficient fiber, and in the room left, whatever else you want. Don't worry if the schedule that happens to work best for you isn't the trendy one of the day (whether it be 6 mini meals or the new "IF is the best"). Don't worry about those claiming that keto is the best way or WFPB is the only way to prevent death or whatnot. Put protein at a reasonable level and figure out what feels best for YOU on the other macros, if you even feel like paying attention to them.

Can someone who otherwise WANTS to do 100% plant-based do well with it? Sure, it's an ethical choice I respect and obviously can be a good way to eat (as well as a nutrition-lacking way to eat if you do it wrong, and there are many examples of that on YouTube, as well as some of people doing it right). I'd say the same (absent the ethical choice bit) about keto, low carb, IF, whatever. Many of these strategies may well work for some or even many, but the way they are pushed as the OneTrueWay creates a dieting and health climate that makes it more difficult for people than it should be.

Personally, for health, I like this: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/science-compared-every-diet-and-the-winner-is-real-food/284595/

For weight loss, it's really about calories and figuring out for oneself what led to the overeating in the first place and what is a sustainable diet on one's calorie goal.

Wait... HOLD THE PRESSES! A diet that promotes high plant intake, whole natural foods, reduced added sugar intake, reduced added fat intake, emphasis on leaner protein, limits hyperprocessed foods, leads to a lower adipose level over time and generally promotes weight loss? 😳 Wow.... who would have thunk it... lol... on a serious note. Protein intake per kilo in your opinion?

MonaLisainCT

FWIW: According to this article, the max amount of protein that can be absorbed from a meal is about 35 grams at a time.

mmapags

MonaLisainCT wrote: »

FWIW: According to this article, the max amount of protein that can be absorbed from a meal is about 35 grams at a time.

These kinds of articles can be misleading. Better to read what study data you can on PubMed. One of the things that influences this kind of recommendation is that, for control purposes, most protein uptake studies used liquid whey, which has a rapid transit time through the digestive system.

Due to the obvious problems with control when studying other kinds of protein sources like meat, or fish, there is little information but it is thought that protein uptake can be significantly higher and over a longer period of time from these sources. Anecdotally, there are body builders who practice IF when cutting and see no obvious ill effects.

In an ideal world for a trained subject trying to maximize muscle protein synthesis, ingesting 35 or so grams of protein at a time might be a good strategy but that only applies to the <1%. I am of the opinion that getting adequate protein (.8 grams per lb of body weight is a good ballpark) from mostly whole food sources is a smart strategy and it is not significant whether you ingest that in 1 or 2 meals per day or 4 or 5.

mmapags

mmapags wrote: »

MonaLisainCT wrote: »

FWIW: According to this article, the max amount of protein that can be absorbed from a meal is about 35 grams at a time.

These kinds of articles can be misleading. Better to read what study data you can on PubMed. One of the things that influences this kind of recommendation is that, for control purposes, most protein uptake studies used liquid whey, which has a rapid transit time through the digestive system.

Due to the obvious problems with control when studying other kinds of protein sources like meat, or fish, there is little information but it is thought that protein uptake can be significantly higher and over a longer period of time from these sources. Anecdotally, there are body builders who practice IF when cutting and see no obvious ill effects.

In an ideal world for a trained subject trying to maximize muscle protein synthesis, ingesting 35 or so grams of protein at a time might be a good strategy but that only applies to the <1%. I am of the opinion that getting adequate protein (.8 grams per lb of body weight is a good ballpark) from mostly whole food sources is a smart strategy and it is not significant whether you ingest that in 1 or 2 meals per day or 4 or 5.

BTW, a couple of very knowledgeable people who have published many scholarly articles, studies and meta-analyses on the subject of protein and muscle growth are Eric Helms and Brad Shoenfeld. Both hold PHDs. Their research and articles are very easy to find via google.