Intermittent Dieting: Weight Loss that Breaks All the Rules

Intermittent dieting is a popular weight loss tool these days, but wellness experts are a bit sceptical about just how beneficial this way of losing weight is to your wellbeing. Joanne Chen, author of The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair With Our Favourite Treats, details, ‘As a health writer, I’ve always been smug in my nutrition knowledge—and not shy about sharing it. “You need breakfast,” I’d scold my friends. “Consistency is key!” Admittedly, I was a little patronising. So of course I rolled my eyes a few months ago when my friend Emily, visiting from London, told me about 5:2—aka The Fast Diet—developed by health journalists Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. I listened incredulously as Emily described friends shedding weight like crazy by eating what they wanted all week, save for two non-consecutive 500-calorie “fast” days.’

 

However, the 5:2 isn’t the only intermittent diet around. Many Brits have found themselves turning to another on-off diet known as the two-day diet, which was outlined in a book by dietician Michelle Harvie, PhD, and oncologist Dr. Tony Howell. This diet bans you from eating any carbs apart from fruits and vegetables two days a week. There’s another variation to be published next year, entitled The Every Other Day Diet by Krista Varady, PhD. So the question is; Could yo-yo dieting, fasting, and skipping meals actually work? Intermittent fasting is different than regular dieting, making your metabolism improve with short spurts of feast and famine. Valter Longo, PhD, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, explains that this is the way our ancestors had to eat and so returning to this old way of eating can help reverse the modern obesity epidemic.

 

‘Fasting is hard, though,’ notes Chen. ‘And in some sense, non-fast days are harder. Following the rules outlined in The Fast Diet, I eat yogurt and berries, an arugula salad, and a chicken drumstick on my first fast day. The next day, I stuff my face with cake and mac ‘n’ cheese and feel sick. Apparently, there’s a thin line between yo-yo and intermittent dieting. It’s called control—and I don’t have it.’ Susan Roberts, PhD, professor of psychiatry at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, points out that, for this reason, intermittent dieting ‘may not be sustainable.’ However, while those opposed to intermittent dieting argue that it leads to nutrient deficiency, Roberts takes a less critical view: ‘Our bodies are designed to retain vitamins we take in over time, on days we do eat.’

 

This means that, as long as you pay close attention to nutrition on your “good days,” the bad days won’t be too harmful to your wellness. Chen comments, ‘It’s no wonder, then, that after two weeks of very little good food and a lot of very bad food, I shed no weight. Emily, however, fares better. “Really? You lost nothing?” she asks incredulously on our transatlantic call. By doing 5:2 for a month—eating egg whites, smoked salmon, and “lots of cucumber” on fast days and healthy portions of salads, fruits, and protein on non-fast days—she’s lost about six pounds…While I can’t say I’ve become more alert with this new way of eating, I have become more aware of my food. I’ve acquired a deep appreciation for good coffee. I crave chickpeas as if they are a treat. I’ve also gained some humility, and I’m no longer condescending about diet mantras. It seems—at least for some people, like Emily—so-called healthy rules are best broken.’

Categories: 5:2 Diet, control, day diet, days, diet, Dieting, eating, intermittent, intermittent dieting, intermittent fasting, Weight Loss

Dieting: Is fear stopping you from making changes?

For many people, the word diet instills a deep fear – a fear of failure. Around 95 percent of a woman’s self-esteem surrounds her body image, which can greatly affect how they feel about many aspects of their life and their confidence. There are plenty of other aspects which can affect a diet’s success, from hormone imbalances, stress and emotional problems. It is vital before starting something as reliant on dedication as a diet that we change our mindset. Once you tackle the emotional reasons that you overeat and struggle to maintain a healthy eating programme, you’ll find it a lot easier to keep on track. There are six questions you can ask yourself though, before setting off on your weight loss journey.

Question number one

Are you committed to changing your body? Anyone thinking of starting a diet wants to change how they look – but they aren’t always committed to the reality. You need to ensure you’re going to be strong when a sweet treat or a tasty snack tempts you.

Question number two

Does the pain of having more weight feel normal to you? If you’re used to using the extra ten pounds you’d love to lose as a weapon to use against yourself, how will you feel once it’s gone? It can be a tough issue to face but the reality is, there is some part of you that relishes having an excuse to loathe yourself. It’s important that you learn to love and accept the way you are, as it may be a difficult reality to face once you don’t have your weight to hide behind.

Question number three

Are you ready for the changes in your life? Routine is comforting, so how will you feel when the lifestyle you’re used to is upturned. It may seem daunting, but try to focus on the positive elements that will come with weight loss, such as a feeling of vitality and wellbeing, and being able to enjoy other aspects of your life more.

Question number 4

Are you allowing yourself to be distracted? Everything takes priority over your diet…sound familiar? There will always be things which can serve as an excuse for giving up, but in order to lose the weight, you need to be strong and put your efforts first.

Question number 5

Who are you losing weight for? Is it for you or someone else – a partner or to impress friends, perhaps? You won’t get far trying to please others. If you’re going to lose weight successfully, you’ll need to do it for yourself.

Question number 6

Are you realistic about your goals? Losing weight is a slow and steady process, which shouldn’t be rushed. Aim to lose about one to three pounds per week, and focus on being healthy rather than the amount of weight you’re losing – this will come with time. Most importantly, don’t quit at the last hurdle. Make sure that you stay on track and achieve the goal in question.

Categories: Dieting, emotional, Information

Fasting- Does it Really Work?

It’s no great secret that the western world has an obsession with dieting, and it’s wholly understandable. Many of us hold jobs that see us sat in front of a computer 9 hours a day, and these times of economic austerity often mean a costly gym membership cannot be justified as we all begin tightening the purse strings. If we’re finding it increasingly difficult to change our sedentary existence then, predictably, the desire to search for a “quick-fix” dieting solution also rises.

The latest diet to have hit the mainstream is the 5:2, created by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer and popularised in the UK by celebrity advocates such as Phillip Schofield. The premise itself is simple: eat normally five days a week and reduce your calorie count to just 600 (for men) or 500 (women) two days a week.

But is this a healthy option? With the wealth of criticism surrounding the king of 20^th century dieting: Atkins, is it only a matter of time before we discover that the 5:2 and other fasting diets are trading weight-loss for another long-term health problem?

Although by no means a scientifically exhaustive assessment, we spoke to two supporters of fasting with differing motivations in order to gain some insight into fasting diets and their efficiency .

Weight Loss

The most obvious benefit of a fasting diet is weight loss, and Robert Failla, a doctor of chiropractic and integrative healthcare is a recent advocate of fasting to lose weight.

“I have done both intermittent fasting and regular fasting. With intermittent fasting you are allowed to eat during an eight hour window but are not allowed to eat in the remaining 16 hours of the day. Seeing that sleep takes a large part of the day this is actually easy to do.”

From a practical perspective you can see why Dr Failla subscribes to this method of dieting, but there are also clear scientifically based weight-loss benefits. Putting your body through a period of fasting will cause your body to go through its reserves of glucose and into a fat-burning or ketogenic state.

For Dr Fallia the weight loss was initially a dramatic one and he lost around 10lbs in a fortnight. Although this has now slowed down to no more than 1lb a week, he has lost a massive 20lbs in just under two months.

Glowing success stories like Dr Failla’s are gold dust to those who profit from the successes of such diet programmes, and Dr Failla was quick to highlight the realities of the diet and diminish the hype:

“The best diet is the one you can follow for life, won’t harm you, and it is also the one that educates you in how to look after yourself.” 

Dr Failla still exercises regularly, has cut sugars and sweeteners out of his diet and eats plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables meat and fish, simply using fasting as a means of keeping the weight off.

Proposed Health Benefits Beyond Weight Loss

American author Susan Schenck sees the benefits of fasting diets as a means of detoxifying the body rather than as simply a means of dropping unwanted body fat.

An advocate of the raw food diet/lifestyle, her book The Live Food Factor

was an IPPY award-winner upon release, and although she fasts several times a year she identifies the limits of a fasting diet:

“I lost weight quickly but fasting also lowers metabolism so it is not the best weight loss strategy to shred the pounds long term. You can only achieve results long term if you keep up with good eating habits.

“I use it mostly for cleansing my body. After a week or so of fasting I could see several dozen precursors to gall stones leave my body (after using a liver flush). Also my skin was very soft, like a young child’s. My body smelled great. My internal organs were much cleaner. My body has more energy left for internal cleaning. Energy that would have normally been used on digestion.”

The fact that Susan, whose diet appears practically toxin free, can attest to toxins leaving the body after fasting, is a strong testimonial for the benefits of fasting as a cleansing practice.

However, Susan’s approach is not without its critics, and many argue that the body’s natural detoxification processes (sweating and the actions of the kidneys, liver and colon) are sufficient. What is most important is limiting the toxins that enter the body in the first place.

To her credit, Susan acknowledges these criticisms and in no way considers fasting as either a “miracle” diet or bodily purifier.

Predictably, we’ve come full circle: although those on fasting diets may reap health and weight loss benefits in the short-term, in the long run it is a change in lifestyle and eating habits that will keep the weight off and garner the greatest improvement in health.

Everyone’s body is different, and although it’s a shame that there’s no instant recipe for weight-loss and good health, there are a range of diets that offer more realistic benefits over a longer time period. The public needs to recognise that fad diets may be great for losing pounds quickly before a wedding or a holiday, but they’re not a realistic health choice in the long run.

Author Bio:

Jamie Waddell is a medical and pharmaceutical writer from London. Having struggled with yo yo dieting in his teens and early twenties he realised that a combination of exercise, reputable weight loss products and a change of lifestyle were the best methods for slimming and weight management.

Categories: calories, Dieting, Fasting

Yo-Yo Dieters Don’t Lack Weight Loss Willpower

Yo-yo dieting, or weight cycling often makes you think of a lack of willpower, and has multiple wellness risks to your immune system, body esteem, body composition and your metabolic rate, but new research suggests that yo-yo dieters are just as likely to stick with a diet and/or exercise programme as those whose weight hasn’t bounced around over the years.

 

For the study, 439 overweight, postmenopausal women, who were not physically active, were randomly assigned to a weight loss diet and/or moderate or vigorous aerobic exercise for 45 minutes a day, five days a week. Just under one-fifth of the women were classified as ‘severe weight cyclers’, having lost at least 20 pounds 3 times previously and a quarter of the women were moderate weight cyclers, as they’d lost 10 pounds at least 3 times. There was a control group of women who didn’t change their diets or exercise habits for reasons of comparison.

 

The women with a history of yo-yo dieting were heavier and had less favourable metabolic and hormonal profiles than the other women, but these differences did not stem from weight cycling itself, but rather their higher BMI, larger waistlines, and greater percentage of body fat. The results were that, in terms of weight loss and improvements in their metabolic and hormonal profiles, the women with a history of weight cycling had fared at least as well as the other women.

 

However, what does this prove? Surely if a weight-cycler has lost and gained weight before, they’ll just gain this weight back again. According to researcher Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD, and a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre’s Public Health Sciences Division, the team is in the process of analysing the long-term findings of the study as they ‘have been able to follow many of the women out to a couple of years’ says McTiernan. She concluded that if you are a yo-yo dieter, you should keep trying to lose weight nevertheless, because ‘If nothing else, losing weight again gives you a period of time at a lower weight, which improves your health for however long you keep the weight off.’

Yo-Yo Dieters Don’t Lack Weight Loss Willpower

Categories: Dieting, Information, Weight Cycling