Losing Weight is the Easy Part

 

On any given day about 45 million Americans are "on a diet", mostly in order to lose weight. And each year they spend almost $80 Billion on diets, diet plans, programs and memberships. And most of them end up either being diet nomads - wandering from one diet to the next - or just giving up. Do diets really work? Yes. And no.

“People can lose weight on a diet, but usually that weight loss is not sustained,” says Megan Baumler, director of the didactic program in dietetics at St. Catherine University. On average, people regain more than half their lost weight within two years. Within 5 years almost 95% of dieters regain all their lost weight and often more.

But when people say "Diets don't work" they are not technically correct. A more accurate judgement would be to say that 95% of "diets" are ones that people can't or won't stick with. There are hundreds of diet plans –- ketogenic, Atkins, Whole 30, Weight Watchers, low-carb, just to name a few –- and studies have shown they can help people lose weight and lower blood pressure in the short-term. It’s the long-term where people have a hard time keeping the weight off. Keeping the lost weight off requires long term changes to a persons lifestyle and eating behavior and most diets do not succeed in the long term.

Dr. Iesha Galloway-Gilliam, co-director of Hennepin Healthcare’s Comprehensive Weight Management Center says that managing weight is a lifelong process. She points to four categories to think about when it comes to sustainable weight loss:

Nutrition. People should minimize eating ultra-refined processed foods and reduce sugar their intake.

Exercise. While exercise is helpful, it’s not the most potent factor. She says people should exercise because of the health benefits, but have an expectation that is appropriate for their age, health and life situation..

Sleep. Adults need seven to eight hours of restorative sleep. Getting less will make overeating easier.

Stress. Managing stress can better help people change their behaviors like emotional eating.

What this means is that you should think of a "diet" as a noun, not a verb. Your diet is simply the way you eat. Permanently. So the first step towards permanent healthy weight loss is to lose the diet and the diet mindset. Instead think about a Healthy Eating Plan that you can live with and enjoy for the rest of your life. The best answer to permanent weight loss is a lifelong program of everyday healthy, pleasurable eating coupled with regular exercise. To lose weight, eat less and exercise more. How boring. How annoying. How true.