WHY DIETS DON’T WORK

Especially for Midlife Women

It is estimated that the UK diet industry is worth £2 billion a year and women spend £25,000 on diets in their lifetime. As a society we are steeped in diet culture. Right now, you could probably name at least two friends or family members that are on a ‘diet’, whether that’s calorie counting, ‘clean’ eating, paleo, keto, or another! I remember my mum on a diet back in the 80’s, eating ‘nimble’ bread as part of her on going dieting!

What is a Diet?

As there is no standard definition for ‘diet’, for the purpose here I am going with Laura Thomas – author in her fantastic book ‘Just Eat It’, she writes ‘a diet is anything that restricts what, how much or when you eat food’.

You may have heard of or tried yourself, the cabbage soup diet, juice diet, weight watchers, slimming world, all restricting either one or more food groups from your diet. An Independent article in Jan 2020 suggests that on average a person will try 126 ‘fad’ diets in their lifetime!

For a diet to be deemed successful weight loss must be 10% of the dieter’s body weight and the weight should be kept off for a year or more. Sustaining our weight loss is the tricky part.

Dieting at Midlife

For midlife women weight gain and the dieting cycle can become quite overwhelming. Hormone fluctuation can lead to increased fat storage, particularly around our middle.

Loss of muscle mass also due to hormonal changes and aging, means our bodies require less energy.

Joint stiffness can lead to a lack of activity which impacts on weight. Inadequate sleep due to anxiety, stress and night sweats can lead to increased snacking. Last but not least, insulin resistance, the bodies inability to use up glucose (energy) can impact at midlife and lead to more weight gain.

Diets Actually Slow Down Weight Loss

Think back to a time that you have decided to lose some weight, we have all been there. Typically for women, a special occasion, bikini holiday, a big birthday, a special event that you want to look and feel your best for. We make a plan; buy the appropriate foods or food replacements and Monday morning we are off….

Everything is great and we’ re polishing our halo, drinking lots of water and sticking to the plan. Tuesday is going well, by Wednesday you start to notice everyone else eating all the time and by Friday you are nose diving into the fridge looking for any leftovers that will not be missed!

Initially we see a drop in weight, which at this stage is mainly water. As energy stores are depleted our bodies use fat and protein stores and a bit more weight is lost.

Our clever, helpful bodies realise their supplies are cut and start to slow down our metabolic rate (the speed our bodies use energy).

Slower metabolic rate = body needs less energy (calories) = weight loss plateaux = Diet is ditched!

Research shows how ‘yo yo’ dieting, the vicious cycle of restricting diets and then returning to previous eating habits, is harmful to our health and wellbeing and leads to a long term lower metabolic rate and increased weight gain.

Diets Increase Food Cravings

When we restrict certain foods or entire food groups, we can exacerbate food cravings. Emma Townsin in Dietician Blog posts puts this beautifully.

‘The forbidden foods beam over you when you feel hungry and hover above every food choice. They now have power over you and are more desirable than ever!’

Instead of putting these foods to the back of our minds, they pop straight to the forefront!

Diets Aren’t Fun

Restricting foods, cutting down, having a ‘no’ list of foods, really isn’t much fun! Diets test our will power and take the joy out of eating. When we are constantly monitoring what we are buying, food and eating there can be a negative tension created around food that makes us pretty grumpy.

Finding Balance

What can we do to lose weight effectively without impacting our metabolic rate, making us feel grumpy, creating food cravings and potentially putting more weight on than before the diet?

A balanced diet – I know, not anything new but most of us have moved so far away from knowing what a ‘balanced’ diet might look and taste like.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/

The NHS Eatwell guide might seem fairly basic and not at all ground-breaking but it’s a good place to start. Remember your mum or grandma saying, ‘a little bit of everything’. Michael Pollan reminds us that the belief ‘there are evil foods and good foods’, is a complete myth!

A balanced diet means including all the different food groups, carbs, protein, and fats. We could think of the 80 / 20 rule, 80 % of the time working towards balance and the rest going off piste.

Not every meal, day or week has to be perfectly balanced, aim for a longer view of what you are eating.

Variety The Spice of Life

Along with balance we need Variety. In my menopause workshops variety around food choice is a key element of discussion and practice. Eating a wide range of foods, using different preparation and cooking methods, not only fuels our bodies with the full range of essential nutrients we need but also adds a variety of textures, tastes and flavours which enrich our lives and wellbeing. When we are on a diet or dieting, we are usually restricting certain food groups and limiting our enjoyment. Balance and variety can prevent cravings, binge eating and food obsessions which can be triggered by dieting.

Energy In V Energy Out

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty…

It’s time to ditch the quick fix weight loss fads and reframe our health objectives. We need to a more long-term approach to food and lifestyle choices.

Research is clear, losing a maximum of 1lb of weight per week is the best path to successful long term weight loss. This slower, steadier way allows our bodies to adjust to the changes, helping to prevent a decrease in metabolic rate, fatigue, cravings, and general grumpiness from dieting. This more sustainable approach is so much kinder and more achievable. When combined with lifestyle changes, including regular exercise, reducing stress, promoting better sleep and self-care midlife woman can reap the benefits.

To lose 1lb each week there does need to be a calorie deficit which means more energy being used than calories consumed. We need to lose roughly 3, 500 calories each week, or 500 calories per day to lose 1 lb in weight.

If we add some movement into our day, gardening, walk with friends, cycle ride or swim perhaps we can move away from restricting and more towards balance. Yes, we will have to make some changes around food choice, but this can very subtle, with a clear focus of enjoyment. A simple choice of an early grey over a takeaway cappuccino! And that’s not every day!

As a nutrition coach, I help women to move away from ‘diets’ and restrictions to exploring their hunger, becoming more in tune with their emotions and establishing regular eating patterns. A lifestyle change with a long-term approach can lead to long lasting weight loss and overall well-being.