PLEASE don't diet!

I've been spending time on Instagram lately, as many of us have, and I keep seeing a million ads or recommendations for diets, keto in particular. Things claiming "lose up to 10lbs a week!" or "I lost 200 pounds in three months!". I'm not a dietitian, but I have at least taken a university level health course, and all I can say is please do not fall for these diets. I know we all want fast results and these can be tempting, but they are bad for many reasons.
1) They aren't healthy for your body. Ever notice how MFP only lets you choose between 1-2 lbs of weight loss a week? This is because too much too fast isn't good for the body. Putting it in a rapid starvation mode is only going to make you gain it all back that much faster.
2)They aren't long term. Sure, cutting carbs or chocolate or fats seems like the way to lose weight, but are you really never going to eat sugar for the rest of your life? If no, then don't do it. It's about tiny lifestyle changes, and even though it is tempting to rush it, it doesn't work that way. Not if you want to keep it off. This journey doesn't stop once you reach your goal weight, which is why it's best to take it slow and see what works for you.
3) You are going to gain the weight back as fast as you lost it, if not faster. Once, I gained 14 pounds in a week and a half. How? Well I decided to restrict myself like crazy before, thinking I could lose some weight, and when I gave into my cravings BAM it was back.
4) I've seen this first person. My mom's best friend has dieted basically her whole life, and has tried everything in the books. Her weight constantly yoyos and she wonders why she can never keep it where she wants it.
Fall in love with healthy choices, take your time. Every little bit counts. Don't say "I don't eat this or I don't eat that". That will make you crave it more. Say "I like x but today I'm going to choose y." I hope this helps some of you all, sorry for the long rant. Good luck everyone!

Replies

  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    edited January 2021
    You're preaching to the choir and I say that with understanding, and complete agreement!! :) Well said BTW.
    People sign up for all those promises and spend millions of dollars every year, following their dreams of thin and beautiful.
    Course it doesn't help to have celebrities endorse different programs. :( 'I wanna look like her!' But how many times has Kristie Ally or Valerie Bertinelli lost and gained? It's not the program that works or doesn't work; it's the effort a person is willing to put forth plus if the new lifestyle is sustainable for that particular person.
    Tat's why forums such as this one, is so successful. It's real, can be adapted to each person's needs and(unless you invest in premium) is free!! Not to mention the wonderful people and their great advice. <3
    FWIW, I spent years trying stuff that never worked for me, liquid only diets, drugs, very restrictive diet plans, even as healthy as WW can be it wasn't something I could do long term.
    One of my ds's friends lost 100# with Nutrisystem. Yay! But it came back. :/
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    kds10 wrote: »
    Absolutely my doctor always tells me losing it slowly over a long period of time is the right way. I still have chips, ice cream, etc. But in small amounts , I can keep those foods in my house now without binging on them and that is powerful to me.

    always fantastic when you control the food and the food doesn't control you <3
  • gigius72
    gigius72 Posts: 183 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    msalicia07 wrote: »
    7rainbow wrote: »
    I've been spending time on Instagram lately, as many of us have, and I keep seeing a million ads or recommendations for diets, keto in particular. Things claiming "lose up to 10lbs a week!" or "I lost 200 pounds in three months!". I'm not a dietitian, but I have at least taken a university level health course, and all I can say is please do not fall for these diets. I know we all want fast results and these can be tempting, but they are bad for many reasons.
    1) They aren't healthy for your body. Ever notice how MFP only lets you choose between 1-2 lbs of weight loss a week? This is because too much too fast isn't good for the body. Putting it in a rapid starvation mode is only going to make you gain it all back that much faster.
    2)They aren't long term. Sure, cutting carbs or chocolate or fats seems like the way to lose weight, but are you really never going to eat sugar for the rest of your life? If no, then don't do it. It's about tiny lifestyle changes, and even though it is tempting to rush it, it doesn't work that way. Not if you want to keep it off. This journey doesn't stop once you reach your goal weight, which is why it's best to take it slow and see what works for you.
    3) You are going to gain the weight back as fast as you lost it, if not faster. Once, I gained 14 pounds in a week and a half. How? Well I decided to restrict myself like crazy before, thinking I could lose some weight, and when I gave into my cravings BAM it was back.
    4) I've seen this first person. My mom's best friend has dieted basically her whole life, and has tried everything in the books. Her weight constantly yoyos and she wonders why she can never keep it where she wants it.
    Fall in love with healthy choices, take your time. Every little bit counts. Don't say "I don't eat this or I don't eat that". That will make you crave it more. Say "I like x but today I'm going to choose y." I hope this helps some of you all, sorry for the long rant. Good luck everyone!

    Great message! Apart from what I bolded, which is a myth, there is no starvation mode. But the rest is 👏🏻

    FWIW, I didn't read the OP's "This is because too much too fast isn't good for the body. Putting it in a rapid starvation mode is only going to make you gain it all back that much faster." as referring to starvation mode in the sense that if you cut calories too far, your body will "hold onto fat". That would be the starvation mode myth.

    I read the OP as meaning that when one loses weight very fast, one's body, wired as it is via natural selection through many food shortage eras, can respond as if one actually is starving, and start slowing down hair growth, reducing optional movement, and that sort of thing, and, eventually, appetite hormones are likely to spike at some point (or one reaches the goal weight "finish line" and simply relaxes eating limits), potentially leading to bouts of overeating that result in rapid regain. That's not a myth.

    "Starvation mode" (body holds onto fat despite ultra low calories) is a myth. Bodies have mechanisms to fight *actual* starvation, and those mechanisms can potentially affect weight-management success? Not a myth, IMO.

    In fact I think the definition starvation is misleading. It's more an "addressing" your body to what type of fuel to use.
  • 7rainbow
    7rainbow Posts: 161 Member
    Hi all! Sorry about the "starvation mode" confusion. By this I mean when one is depriving their body of food (not eating healthy, but actually nearly starving your body to lose weight), at least I have personally found, you not only crave food a ton but when you go back to eating "normally" your body wants to quickly gain that weight to get back to its normal. Like I mentioned, I've never gained 14 lbs so quickly other than when I upped my calories after "starving" (whichever word you want to use) my body. I apologize if I'm wrong or if this isn't exact science, just something I found with my own personal experience. Hope this clarifies! :)
  • fattmatt2021
    fattmatt2021 Posts: 1 Member
    All this advice is wrong. Sorry but its frustrating to hear people spout doctors advice and main steam media ideas. For 70 years the government has put out healthy eating guidelines. Things like "eat less move more". Saturated fat and cholesterol causes athrosclerosis and heart disease. Meat causes colon cancer. I have followed the guidelines and listened to the message for 37 years. I did the supplements. I did the broccoli sprouts because rhonda patrick said they promote longevity. I did the tomatoe and mushrooms together because they make complete proteins. I did the six meals a day to increase metabolism. I did the weetbix because "9 out of 10 nutritionists recommend kids eat weetbix". I did the raw vegan. I did the oats and greek yogurt. I did the "post workout window". It is driven by food corporations and so is literally all rubbish. Pure marketing to get your dollars.
    Educate yourselves as i did. Now i fast. I run on ketones. I eat for the micro nutrients and i get them from the most dense most bio-available form. I no longer weigh food i just eat. It is cheaper because i eat less. It is better for the planet and i feel tens years younger. I reversed arthritis, anxiety, depression and chronic pain from 20 years of military service, four joint reconstructions, three broken bones, bulginging discs in cervical spine, thorasic spine and lumbar fractures.

    Classic red pill blue pill moment really...
  • bubus05
    bubus05 Posts: 121 Member
    Losing 10 lbs a week is probably not very sustainable or healthy, not long term anyway, but then these guys want to sell a product. IMHO why pay for something that you can research and do for free anyway.
    If your starting weight is 400 lbs no doubt with keto or any decent diet you will lose -in all likelihood- 10 lbs a week, at least in the beginning. Honestly I dont really understand all the negativity that surrounds keto, it works, I have lost over 80 lbs in ten months doing keto. Certainly not by losing 10 lbs a week though. Keto is one of many that can work alongside other strategies. I have found it the best most effective for me, but we are different, it may be great for me not so much for others, it is one of many ways to lose weight. By the way regarding the original post, with keto you can eat carbs or sugar, it is not forbidden, you just eat less of them.
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
    edited January 2021
    All this advice is wrong. Sorry but its frustrating to hear people spout doctors advice and main steam media ideas. For 70 years the government has put out healthy eating guidelines. Things like "eat less move more". Saturated fat and cholesterol causes athrosclerosis and heart disease. Meat causes colon cancer. I have followed the guidelines and listened to the message for 37 years. I did the supplements. I did the broccoli sprouts because rhonda patrick said they promote longevity. I did the tomatoe and mushrooms together because they make complete proteins. I did the six meals a day to increase metabolism. I did the weetbix because "9 out of 10 nutritionists recommend kids eat weetbix". I did the raw vegan. I did the oats and greek yogurt. I did the "post workout window". It is driven by food corporations and so is literally all rubbish. Pure marketing to get your dollars.
    Educate yourselves as i did. Now i fast. I run on ketones. I eat for the micro nutrients and i get them from the most dense most bio-available form. I no longer weigh food i just eat. It is cheaper because i eat less. It is better for the planet and i feel tens years younger. I reversed arthritis, anxiety, depression and chronic pain from 20 years of military service, four joint reconstructions, three broken bones, bulginging discs in cervical spine, thorasic spine and lumbar fractures.

    Classic red pill blue pill moment really...

    I am an advocate of fasting myself, lost my first 20 lbs by doing an 18:10 fast. Then I switched to an 14:10 and over a year later that is my daily routine., it is ingrained in my daily habits....I eat dinner by 5:30 and nothing until 7 :30 or 8 a.m. many benefits to a controlled eating window at least to me, it really helped me get control over food.