Why Diets Fail

Keto? Intermittent Fasting? And what about some of those plant-based diets?
#dieting #weightloss #weightstigma
Let’s talk about the science behind some of these popular diets. Social Psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Hunger (a name that suits his specialty!) joins us to break down why dieting doesn’t work, take a critical look at the link between weight and health, and debunk common assumptions about weight and weight stigma. We’ll give you some science-backed tips that will tell you more about staying healthy than the scale ever could!
🩺🥼 Vitals is a series that’s taking a new approach to health and medicine. Hosts Alok Patel, MD, and Sheena Williams RN are going beyond the headlines to answer your questions on the latest health topics. No judgment, no taboos. Just 100% science-based information.
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Find our experts and hosts:
:: Dr. Alok Patel ::
Website: alokpatelmd.com/
Twitter: @AlokPatelMD
Instagram: @alokpatelmd
:: Sheena William, RN ::
Twitter: @Keepingitkinky1
Instagram: @keepingitkinky
:: Jeffrey Hunger, Ph.D. ::
Twitter: @drhunger
Instagram: @drhunger
👓 Fascinating reads if you want to learn more:
More about Ketosis
www.livescience.com/44364-wha...
More about Intermittent fasting
theconversation.com/intermitt...
The Racist and Problematic History of the Body Mass Index:
www.goodhousekeeping.com/heal...
How Weight Shaming Is Literally Sickening:
www.sciencenewsforstudents.or...
The Biggest Loser Study (Metabolic Adaptation):
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
How Health Is Misclassified By Weight
www.nature.com/articles/ijo20...

[@wholegrainvideos]

I gotta say this does make me rethink how I'm changing my diet. Possibly the most positive take on being healthy, not just weight loss. 🙂

[@elenayee3093]

Thank you for this! Over 2 years ago I had to tell my doctor how her asking about my weight was a problem for me in that I was seeing her about my knee! BTW, I'm metabolically healthy even as I'm 10 -20 lbs over the BMI yet I will range from size 12-14. She kept telling me I was obese and that I need to avoid future problems yet she admitted that my blood pressure was low, my cholestral was low, etc, etc. I ended up going to a different doctor...

[@One.Zero.One101]

Junk food is the biggest factor on how I lost weight. I exercised for 6 months and maybe lost 2 pounds because I still ate unhealthy food. As soon as I replaced junk food with fruits and vegetables I dropped a lot of weight immediately.

[@koepisking]

The way I have been tracking my eating this year is limit myself to a serving by grams. I will limit myself to a serving of each thing that my wife and I make, with a minimum of 3 servings in mind. This has helped me limit myself while also not cutting anything out of my diet. I have lost 20 pounds since Christmas doing this!

[@pbsvitals]

Congratulations! There's actually research to show that just making a point of thinking about whether you want something before you eat it - not "mindless eating" - can dramatically change what you eat. A simple limit like "one serving" is another way to do it. You don't have to think too hard, to stick to it!

[@CarxV_one]

Gosh I loved this video, so much confusion around self image and food nowadays. Thanks for bringing up some clarity to the topic.

[@pbsvitals]

Glad it was helpful!

[@belindavandeventerqueenb3045]

Preach! I love that medical professionals are saying this. It’s okay to love your body no matter it’s size, and being healthy doesn’t mean being thin.

[@florentbarale6233]

I tried a few diets. One I liked was a detox one, for 3 weeks. The aim was not to lose weight, but to eat healthy. It gave me more energy throughout the day and make for better sleep. I still kept to this day my morning routine with berries I love from this detox diet. Another one I tried was intermittent fasting combined with counting calories. While it worked for a while, it became tedious to count calories for every single meal I had. I stopped because of that. Now what I do is exercise 3-4 times a week to a sport I love (judo). I don’t lose weight but I feel much better in my body and mind.

[@pbsvitals]

How long did you last with intermittent fasting?

[@florentbarale6233]

Probably a month and a half.

[@bramnet]

Gotta love all of the ad breaks being about various "alternative" diets.

[@pbsvitals]

It's test. Now you know not to fall for it. 😉

[@nervigeanmeldung5101]

Great video, but a small tip on communication. Dont tell someone what not to think of. Its like telling someone not to think of an pink elephant. So if you want to bring someone not to feel guilty about the snack they might eat, tell them that the may enjoy it or so, but dont tell them not to feel guilty about it, that will only leed to a feeling of guilt.

[@pbsvitals]

Great tip!

[@schnuder]

I’ve found that just logging my food and exercise with a guide of total caloric intake is what works for me; but it needs to be quick and easy. This wouldn’t be possible without my smartphone where I use an app that I can simply and easily log what I eat and how much exercise I get. This means I can check in when I have a moment when planning out a meal or considering a snack to see where I am, including if I’ve eaten too little, which I do often while working. I don’t stress out about getting the logs exactly right. I can use my phone’s camera to scan barcodes of items from snacks and other packed foods or of items I’m using to cook with. If I don’t have that info I just search I the app and pick a good enough match. Because of published menus a lot of restaurants and fast food, especially chains, end up with an exact match. Physical activity plays a part too. The app I use can sync up with other exercise apps but I mostly use the built in step count from my phone and enter in any exercise with a quick rough estimate. Having the ability to log things that aren’t traditional “exercise” is also very helpful, especially when the app has these as pre-existing options. This includes things like house cleaning, laundry, playing with young kids, and carrying an infant or toddler while doing normal activities.

[@dianet3994]

So informative!!! Thank you 💓💓

[@JoePatterson]

I hate the names of BMI ranges. Broadly speaking, the lowest all-cause mortality is associated with the "overweight" BMI range. So what is quite possibly the "healthiest" range is named in a way that implies that it's too high. Then there's "normal", which may have been normal for a white male in the 1940's, but isn't so normal now, and even if it were, normality isn't really a useful metric. It definitely feels like the BMI ranges need a re-branding.

[@jadesnowdee8221]

I get curious about the studies that after cutting so many calories (=losing a lot of weight) and returning, people gain even more weight and their metabolism slowed down - but are these results similar for people with for e.g. anorexia? They also drastically cut their calorie intake, so does it mean that after recovering they'll be more susceptible to have slower metabolism and gaining weight in the future? I'm just curious - because I'm working with such people and this question is one from those that are worrying them.

[@pbsvitals]

Great question, and it is really complicated. Metabolism shifts dramatically in people with severe eating disorders, but in general, metabolism actually INCREASES - not what you would expect - when someone in starvation mode starts to gain weight. Over the long-term (like several months to years at a healthy weight), most people's metabolism will return to normal - or what it was before the eating disorder. That said, it will vary a lot by individual so this is definitely an issue to take up with your doctor (or your clients' doctors) if they need concrete advice. Here's one relevant piece of research: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19107831/

[@EllieInCaracas]

Looooveeeed this video too!

[@paul4067]

Perhaps less commonly talked about is a healthy diet for those into weight lifting for a hobby, I lift weights for strength building and I am vegan, most people say it can't work, the proteins from a vegan diet aren't as good as animal protein etc. yet for me it seems to work just fine using meat substitutes and a vegan protein powder with Soy milk. My struggle to get a balance was the opposite, the diet advice I was getting was to eat more and more but actually it led to eating too much and I had to bring it in a bit using trial and error to find the line between being bloated or too lethargic. Back to the protein differences though I would be interested to know if protein from a vegan diet vs protein from meat and dairy actually makes that much of a noticeable difference from a scientific point of view as I seem to get the same gains as a meat eater on the same amount of protein.

[@pbsvitals]

You probably need to be very systematic to advance with heavy strength training on a plant-based diet, but absolutely yes, it can be done. Congrats!

[@FirstRisingSouI]

The instant after I clicked on this video, I was very confused for about 10 seconds.

[@shawnb2636]

Great video

[@pbsvitals]

Thank you Shawn! Glad you enjoyed it. If you have any question let us know.

[@neyedol]

Explore healthy options within your means - try new things from a beneficial perspective. Find new ways to reduce salt and "the bad fats." Don't drink your sweets if you eat your sweets - pick one or the other.

[@JoePatterson]

The one really frustrating thing about this video is saying "we need to focus less on weight and more on actual indicators of health, and there are plenty of them"... and then you don't mention any of them. What are these actual indicators of health? I'd really like to know...

[@pbsvitals]

Sorry about that Joe! With so much to include we always have to leave something out. But we try to make ourselves available on social so we can connect with our Vitals community and answer any questions or continue the conversation. There are a number of health indicators. Some of them are more lifestyle-oriented, like getting enough sleep and having a mindful relationship with food. Others are more analytical. For example, combining a number of tests like blood pressure, resting heart rate, and insulin resistance could give a doctor a fuller picture of a person’s health aside from weight. Even something as simple as measuring waist circumference provides more value than BMI or just looking at the scale. Thanks for asking, because if you had the question, we're sure others had it as well.

[@jasminebellon93]

Great video, Just wish they gave more solutions. I learned that you can be different weights and BMIs and still be healthy depending on your race and genetics.

[@pbsvitals]

Thanks for the feedback. What would you have liked to hear more about? We often follow up our vids with posts that go into more details. Since the video just came out, there's plenty of time to still answer questions or go deeper on a point. We're still trying to figure out the balance of offering info without a video being too long. ⚖️ Appreciate you weighing in!

[@franciscotorres4321]

Being "metabolically healthy" means "digest well everything you eat"?

[@pbsvitals]

yes, but "digest" well in the sense of efficient energy production. "Metabolically healthy" means NOT being on track to developing diabetes or heart disease. Here is an article which explains the concept better. www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/met.2018.0105

[@JoePatterson]

It's my understanding ketogenic diets can have a dramatic effect on certain specific health conditions (notably cancer and diabetes), regardless of their potential (or lack thereof) for weight loss.

[@LynHannan]

Over a year ago I was told by my GP that I was Insulin Resistant/Pre-Diabetic and that my BP was too high to ignore anymore. He gave me 3 months to seriously do something about it, suggesting I cut down on all junk and convenience "foods" and high calourie drinks and to eat more whole foods along with more exercise. He threatened me with meds, saying once I was on them there was no turning back; he knew I didn't want to become my grandmother (looong story about ignorance, apathy, illness, heartache and despair). Within two weeks, I'd found a number of websites and KZbinrs who taught me so much about Keto, as well as the science behind it and showcasing the studies (linking them in the description box so we could read them in full if we wished) they referenced when talking about different aspects of Keto. In that first 3 months, I'd lost a few kilos, enough to hold off my GP for a while longer - but he did say I needed to get into it deeper. I was still learning, and feeding an extended family as well made it so much harder for me. Hubby got a job requiring him to go interstate, but Covid caused a 6 week job to turn into a 19 week and 3 day job. When he finally got home, he rushed up to me for a hug and immediately said "WOW! I can touch both my elbows at the same time while hugging you!" He hadn't been around to tempt me ("you gotta live a little, darl") - I knew he meant well, but it was hindering rather than helping; and him being away gave me more impetus to surprise him on his return! I'd lost 29cm from my waist and 15kg of weight. My BP is normal. My BSL is normal. My triglycerides are normal. My Arthritis has improved. My dry skin has improved. I'm sure that if I weren't Peri-menopausal, my PCOS would have been greatly improved as well. I'm still losing weight (I think 5 more kilos would be neat!), but it's not the real issue. I'm not only healthier in my body but in my mind as well, I feel happier in myself (as if I were back on meds for depression and anxiety like I was about a decade ago. I know which foods to substitute out so I can eat almost the same meal as I serve up to everyone else - Spaghetti Bolognese for me is the meat sauce on steamed vegies rather than pasta - AND I NO LONGER MISS THE PASTA! Pasta was my biggest hurdle - but no longer!! This is not a diet for me, it is a lifestyle. Anyone with full type 2 diabetes can turn it around, it will simply take more work initially and close supervision of a Dr. I managed to do it fairly easily because I was only PRE-Diabetic, once I had learned that carbs are literally hiding in everything that is prepackaged and convenient. Looking back, I feel that I've been insulin resistant for the last 30 years. I'd been feeling so blah (not necessarily sick) for so long, I forgot what feeling well felt like. I'm sticking with this lifestyle, I know what my alternative is. Diabetes is rampant in my family (both parents' sides) and I haven't forgotten what my grandmother went through - she didn't see 70. Eat REAL FOOD that you can see the ingredients of, just like what was served 4 or 5 generations ago. Treat treats like treats again and keep them for parties. Convenience foods are not convenient for your body, especially if you have Diabetes or it's in your family. It may be in your genes, but you can wear other pants that will fit better!

[@pbsvitals]

Congrats! Sounds like you have come a long way and put a lot of work into this.

[@LynHannan]

@@pbsvitals Yes, it certainly feels like it. Its such a steep learning curve, and for me, that was the hardest and longest part of my journey. If I had followed Keto absolutely from the start, I would have had immediate results. Yet I didn't really understand what I was doing for many months and that did hold me back. The weight-loss itself has been practically effortless - I had lost more than half of my goal before my arthritis allowed me to do more than walking, so its true what they say: eat properly to lose weight and exercise to keep/get fit. In essence, I have turned the food pyramid upside-down for myself. I have learned to treat myself as "carbohydrate intolerant", as it was explained that that is truly what Diabetes is all about. Of course, I have since eased up on the strictness of Keto, but I won't go back to the easy "bunch of packets to make a meal 2 or 3 times a week", pasta twice a week, pizza each week, "fish'n'chips" each week. I do everything from scratch, and I make extra and freeze servings for when my family rebel so I don't get dragged along by them. I've also been surreptitiously cooking healthier for them by trading out worse ingredients for not too bad ones. Baby steps...

[@bazookallamaproductions5280]

the strongest people in the world typically weigh around 450 lbs lol.

[@pbsvitals]

It's a reminder to not judge a book, or a person, by their cover. Sumo wrestlers , for example, are very healthy. They have normal levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, which also means they have a lower risk of heart disease. Studies show their secret may be intense exercise, which prevents the build up of visceral fat, a more problematic type of fat that can cause inflammation. We'll be talking about visceral fat in upcoming posts. You can subscribe here or follow us on Insta if you want to find out more!

[@anastrixnoodles]

being metaboically healthy is great, but it's just one aspect of health. being overweight can put a huge strain on bones and joints and can lead to all sorts of issues.

[@adityaln9361]

first

[@Fungus_Piglet]

yes

[@user-hi6tw8be1c]

Congratulations! It's always good to be first at something. I am sure that even greater achievements lie ahead on your path