Jeffrey Salazar
Dieting is often seen as a temporary solution to a long-term problem. The idea of dieting is to eat less food with the intention of losing weight. However, this can be unsustainable and unhealthy in the long run. Many people fall into the trap of yo-yo dieting, where they lose weight only to gain it back and often gain even more body fat than they originally had. This is because the body compensates physically, psychologically, and hormonally to maintain its current weight. In addition, being in a constant calorie deficit can be stressful on the body, and lead to a lack of nutrients to fuel and sustain organs. A good alternative to dieting is to focus on nutrition and making permanent, healthy lifestyle changes. This includes eating a balanced diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and natural, unprocessed foods. It's also important to be mindful of portion sizes and to indulge in moderation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time limit | Between 8-12 weeks |
| Calorie deficit | Not sustainable in the long term |
| Metabolism | Slows down over time |
| Appetite | Drops off with a slower metabolism |
| Intermittent fasting | Not necessarily more effective than a normal eating schedule |
| Food choices | Plant-based, healthy fats, no simple sugars, low sodium, natural foods |
| Drinks | Water, tea, coffee |
| Snacks | Almonds, pistachios, string cheese with an apple, Greek yogurt, banana with peanut butter |
| Maintenance calories | Consistency is key |
| Exercise | Important for overall health |
| Weight gain | Can be due to age, hormones, or other health conditions |
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What You'll Learn
Calorie deficit and maintenance
Calorie deficit is when you consume fewer calories than you burn. A calorie is a unit of energy, with 1 cal = 4.184 joules. Our body receives energy from what we eat and drink and spends this energy to perform every function essential to keep us alive, like breathing, digestion, blood circulation, etc. We also spend energy on every physical activity that we perform.
To calculate your calorie deficit, you will first need to calculate your maintenance calories. These are the number of calories your body needs to support energy expenditure. You can calculate your maintenance calories in a few different ways. One way is to use the Mifflin St Jeor equation to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and then calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by taking into account your physical activity levels. Your BMR is the minimum amount of calories your body needs to perform basic functions, such as breathing.
Once you know your maintenance calories, you can create a calorie deficit by reducing your calorie intake, increasing your physical activity, or a combination of both. A healthy weight loss is typically achieved with a calorie deficit of 300 to 500 calories per day. This may vary depending on individual factors such as sex, age, height, weight, body composition, and physical activity level.
It is important to note that a prolonged calorie deficit may affect your metabolism. Therefore, it is not advisable to lower your calorie intake by more than 1000 calories per day, as losing more than 2 pounds per week can be unhealthy. Additionally, maintaining a good diet is crucial, as the body needs a sufficient amount of nutrients to support its metabolic processes and replenish itself. Depriving the body of essential nutrients can have detrimental effects, and weight lost through extreme calorie restriction is often regained in the form of fat.
After achieving your desired weight, it is important to maintain a balanced diet and physical activity level to sustain your progress. This maintenance phase is crucial to prevent weight regain and promote overall health.
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Intermittent fasting
There are several ways to practice IF, and they all involve splitting the day or week into eating and fasting periods. The most common method is fasting for 16 hours and having an 8-hour eating window, known as the 16:8 method. Some people opt for 24-hour fasts once or twice a week, while others follow the 5:2 diet, eating only 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days and normally for the remaining five days.
IF is popular because it is easy to do and does not require tracking meals or counting calories. It is also flexible, as different styles will suit different people. However, it is not a magic cure for losing weight, and it is not suitable for everyone. For example, people with certain health conditions, such as diabetes, should speak with a doctor before attempting IF. Additionally, a recent study found that people who restricted their eating to an 8-hour eating schedule had a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
IF may also have side effects such as hunger, weakness, and reduced brain performance. However, these may only be temporary as the body adjusts to the new meal schedule. It is important to eat healthily during the eating window and not overcompensate by gorging, as this will not work as a weight-loss strategy. Pairing IF with resistance training is advised to prevent the loss of lean muscle mass, which is important for keeping your metabolic rate high and regulating blood sugar.
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Healthy eating and snacks
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and can help you feel your best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Healthy eating
A healthy diet comprises a combination of different foods. These include:
- Staples like cereals (wheat, barley, rye, maize or rice) or starchy tubers or roots (potato, yam, taro or cassava)
- Whole grain foods such as whole grain bread and crackers, brown or wild rice, quinoa, oatmeal and hulled barley
- Legumes (lentils and beans)
- Fruits and vegetables
- Foods from animal sources (meat, fish, eggs and milk)
- Protein foods such as legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, fortified soy beverage, fish, shellfish, eggs, poultry, lean red meats, lower-fat milk, lower-fat yogurts, lower-fat kefir and cheeses lower in fat and sodium
It is also important to consume the right types of fats and oils. Eating too much, particularly the wrong kinds of fat, like saturated and industrially-produced trans-fat, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Using unsaturated vegetable oils (olive, soy, sunflower or corn oil) rather than animal fats or oils high in saturated fats (butter, ghee, lard, coconut and palm oil) will help consume healthier fats. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, consumption of total fat should not exceed 30% of a person's overall energy intake.
Sugar consumption should also be limited. For a healthy diet, sugars should represent less than 10% of your total energy intake. Reducing even further to under 5% has additional health benefits. Choosing fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes and chocolate helps reduce consumption of sugars. Limiting intake of soft drinks, soda and other drinks high in sugars (fruit juices, cordials and syrups, flavoured milks and yogurt drinks) also helps reduce intake of sugars.
Healthy snacks
You don't have to cut out snacks to eat a healthy diet. Healthy snacks include:
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Greek yoghurt
- String cheese with an apple
- Almonds or pistachios
- Banana with peanut butter
- Legumes
- Seeds
- Tofu
- Fortified soy beverage
Tips for healthy eating
- Planning ahead can make changing your dietary habits easier. Make a shopping list before you shop and plan what meals you’re going to eat and when.
- Keep a filled fruit bowl at home for fast, low-kilojoule snacks.
- Vary your meals. You may get bored and lose motivation if you don’t try different ingredients and recipes.
- Eat smaller meals more often. Eat at least three meals a day with snacks in between. When you wait too long to eat you are more likely to make unhealthy food choices.
- Eat breakfast every day so you’re less likely to snack on occasional foods at morning tea.
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Exercise and weight loss
Weight loss is a common goal, but it is not always an easy one to achieve. It is a slow process, and many people lose patience before reaching their goals. It is often possible to lose weight quickly at first, but this rate of weight loss is rarely sustained. Weight loss is not always a linear process, and it is common to hit a plateau.
Exercise is an important factor in weight loss. Aerobic exercise and resistance training have been shown to be effective in helping with weight loss, but exercise is less effective when not combined with the right diet. A healthy diet that includes whole foods and fewer processed foods is recommended. Sugary drinks, in particular, are linked to weight gain. It is also important to be mindful of your calorie intake and the number of calories you are burning through exercise.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is particularly effective in reducing visceral fat. In addition, intermittent fasting and eating more protein can help with this. Strength exercises are also recommended.
It is important to find an approach to weight loss that works for you and keeps you motivated. Setting realistic, personalized goals and introducing gradual lifestyle changes can help you lose weight and keep it off.
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Hormones and hunger
Dieting can be tough, and maintaining weight after a diet can be even harder. Research shows that a large percentage of dieters regain all the weight they've lost within a year. This weight regain is due, in part, to appetite and weight-regulating hormones, which encourage the body to maintain and regain fat.
Ghrelin and Leptin
The two key hormones involved in regulating the body's appetite are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is often referred to as the "hunger hormone" as it increases appetite and plays a role in body weight. Leptin, on the other hand, is sometimes called the "satiety hormone" as it inhibits hunger and helps regulate energy. Leptin is produced by fat cells, and its levels are higher when an individual is fat and lower when they are thin.
Ghrelin levels tend to increase during dieting, which can make it harder to lose weight and maintain weight loss. Within a day of starting a weight-loss diet, ghrelin levels begin to rise, and this change continues over the course of weeks. This increase in ghrelin levels can lead to increased hunger and food cravings, making it more challenging for individuals to stick to their diet and maintain weight loss.
Hormonal Changes and Hunger
Hormonal fluctuations can also affect hunger levels and cravings. For example, during the menopausal transition, changing hormone levels can trigger various symptoms, including an increased desire for food. Additionally, aging is associated with lower levels of leptin, which may lead to increased hunger.
Strategies for Managing Hunger Hormones
While ghrelin levels cannot be directly controlled with drugs or supplements, there are strategies that may help to manage them:
- Maintaining a moderate and stable weight: Drastic weight changes and yo-yo dieting can disrupt key hormones, including ghrelin.
- Prioritizing sleep: Poor sleep increases ghrelin levels and has been linked to increased hunger and weight gain.
- Increasing muscle mass: Higher amounts of muscle are associated with lower levels of ghrelin.
- Eating a high-protein diet: Protein increases fullness and reduces hunger by lowering ghrelin levels.
- Avoiding high-fat foods: Eating fat tends to lead to increased calorie consumption and weight gain.
- Incorporating fiber: A high-fiber intake slows digestion and releases fullness hormones.
- Practicing mindful eating: Slowing down the pace at which you eat can help curb the tendency to overeat.
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Frequently asked questions
No, dieting is not something you have to do forever. Research suggests that there is a time limit on how long you should be dieting or restricting calories for weight loss. This time limit is between 8-12 weeks. After this, it is recommended to have a maintenance phase to make fat loss permanent.
A maintenance phase involves eating at maintenance calories. This means eating enough calories to maintain your current weight. This phase is important to prevent falling back into old eating habits and gaining the weight back.
To maintain your weight, it is important to eat a balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and natural, unprocessed foods. It is also important to stay hydrated by drinking water and limiting milk. In addition, healthy snacks such as almonds, pistachios, and Greek yogurt can be incorporated.
One common challenge when dieting is the feeling of restriction, which can lead to overeating or binging. It is important to be mindful of your body's hunger cues and not ignore them. Another challenge is the time and effort required to plan and prepare meals, which can be overcome by learning new skills such as meal prepping and making nutritious choices.
