Why Diets Don’t Work

why

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Don't work

BY COURTNEY HAMMONS BUTTS

An estimated 45 million Americans begin a diet plan each year to lose weight, but many gain the weight back, sometimes more than when they started the

diet. Popular fad diet programs help individuals lose weight, but why do people struggle to keep the weight off?

How to spot a fad diet

Fad diets are popular plans not based on long-term results, sustainability, or other regulated dietary recommendations. They usually don’t take into consideration health promotion and disease prevention. If the results sound too good to be true, they probably are.

Characteristics of fad diet plans:

Fast unsustainable results Rapid weight loss Specific food combinations Rigid menus Restriction Cutting out whole food groups

The cycle of fad diets

Restricting food choices or cutting out whole food groups will decrease the total calories consumed. Therefore, you can expect to lose weight due to reduced calorie intake. Initially, your body will lose weight relatively quickly. After that, however, your body will adapt to the reduced calorie intake, removal of food groups, reduction in muscle mass, and initial diuretic effect. Your body adapts by decreasing metabolism to compensate for the reduced calories consumed. Your body’s adaptation to the diet will decrease the initial effects of a diet, which is why a diet may have worked for you initially, but the effects of the diet may not continue over an extended period. When the diet stops producing results, is too restrictive, or becomes unsustainable, it is easy to abandon the diet, resume normal eating, and increase calorie intake—sometimes in excess due to the strict restrictions diets place on consumers. All of this causes a quick increase and rebound in weight, sometimes gaining back more than when you initially began the diet. Sure, fad diets do work. You often will see desirable weight loss results. However, the long-term effects of fad diets are often not discussed. In the long term, fad diets may cause a decrease in metabolism, digestive issues, and a distorted relationship between food and body image.

The solution? Create balance in your life and on your plate. 1. Consume balanced meals while allowing room for fun.

Focus on consuming fiber and protein at every meal, as both protein and fiber keep you full for longer. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are excellent sources of dietary fiber, which helps keep you full from fewer calories and has many digestive benefits. In addition, lean protein sources have less saturated fat and help regulate appetite and blood sugar. Lastly, anti-inflammatory fats help you feel satisfied after meals and are heart-protective.

How to create a balanced plate:

Make ½ of your plate colorful from fruits/vegetables Make ¼ of your plate from whole grains Make ¼ of your plate from lean protein Sprinkle in 3-4 servings of anti-inflammatory fats throughout the day Incorporate your favorite fun foods daily It is important to focus on what you can add to your plate, not what you need to take away from it. Having an abundance mindset with food can help you trust yourself with foods you may not feel in control around. In other words, normalize foods by intentionally incorporating them into your lifestyle. For example, do you feel out of control when around pizza? Start making pizza at home, add more fiber from vegetables and protein from lean meat, and pair it with a side salad. Or what about ice cream? Keep single-serving ice cream pops in your freezer to prioritize portion control. When these foods make regular appearances in your daily diet, it is less overwhelming when they are in social settings.

2. Go for sustainable weight loss. A healthy rate of weight loss is half a pound to two pounds per week. This steady rate of weight loss helps you keep the weight off. However, if you lose more than two pounds per week, you may risk losing muscle mass, thus lowering your metabolism and making it challenging to achieve sustainable weight loss.

3. Prioritize strength training.

Prioritize strength, or resistance, training. Strength training with weights, like dumbbells or barbells, or resistance training with bodyweight exercises, like squats and pushups, can help an individual gain lean muscle mass, which will help increase metabolism by increasing the number of calories burned at rest. An added benefit of strength training is that it helps decrease bone loss and increase bone density—helping you prevent osteoporosis. 4. Try low-intensity cardio. Prioritize low-intensity cardio over high-intensity cardio, as excessive amounts of highintensity cardio can be perceived as stress to the body, which causes a spike in cortisol levels. A chronic increase in cortisol can negatively affect metabolism and weight loss, so focus on exercise, like walking, throughout the day. Set a daily step goal to challenge yourself. 5. Work with a dietitian. Registered Dietitians are food and nutrition experts. Fad diets lack an individualized approach, but dietitians have a knowledge base backed by science to give you an individualized, structured plan for your goals and lifestyle. Be careful what information you consume on the Internet. All dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians. Check your source.

Bottom Line

Fad diets aren’t inherently wrong, especially if they promote increased intake of foods that help prevent diseases or promote exercise, but they may not be suitable or sustainable for everyone. Talk with a dietitian to find the best-individualized, sustainable eating plan that suits you and your current lifestyle.

Courtney Hammons Butts, MS, RDN, LDN, is a weight loss dietitian at Courtney Butts Nutrition.

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NOT DYSLAZIA: DYSLEXIA

BY DONESA WALKER BY DONESA WALKER

Signs You Might Have Adult Dyslexia

THE NOISE WAS JUST TOO MUCH, and this job was yet another in the long line of jobs another in the long line of jobs where she couldn’t handle the stress of all the voices mixed with all the stress of all the voices mixed with all the demands. She sat with her head in her hands crying yet again, wondering why she couldn’t function, whether she was on meds or not. Nothing seemed to help her be able to process the rapid language and constant demand of the job at the same time as reading the charts.

She had trained and gone to school for this with very demanding days and nights, but now, everything that she had done seemed like a waste. As she sat down as the computer and began to search for solutions yet again, she saw an article describing the same issues she was having describing the same issues she was having and just started reading. Suddenly, she thought, this is me. I’m not broken or lazy. My brain just needs a tune up. The demands of the learning process are ongoing at all ages. These demands do not stop when one steps outside the classroom but rather intensify and spill over into the everyday causing doubt and frustration that is often overlooked and misdiagnosed. Adult dyslexia is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed learning difficulties.

misdiagnosed. Adult dyslexia is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed learning difficulties.

Some common signs are:

→ Extrasensory intuition in judging people and situations, often known as street smart → Easily distracted and annoyed by other things in environment, like people smacking or pens clicking → May often appear to zone out or be unaware of what is happening but able to hyperfocus → Misspeaks, misuses, misspells, or mispronounces words without realizing it → May confuse conversations or often be accused of not listening → Difficulty remembering names of people without tricks but doesn’t forget a face → Difficulty remembering verbal instructions but highly creative → Poor recall of sequence of events but can describe visually in great details → May be perfectionist and overreact when a mistake is made → Out of the box thinker who adheres strictly to their own “rules” → Learns best with hands on experiences, demonstrations and uses a lot of visual aids → Avoids reading in public and other sequential tasks but is great at following others → Tends to thrive in hands on careers or careers where they can have others do the “reading” stuff → Avoids public speaking when reading is required but often is the life of the party when sharing thoughts → Reliance on spell check and often has poor handwriting, abbreviates frequently or uses all capital letters to mask spelling mistakes → Understands higher math but avoids showing it on paper → Relies on calculator, uses fingers → Struggles with directionality of north/south/east/west or even with right/left

to mask spelling mistakes

→ High anxiety in unfamiliar places or situations especially with driving → Gets lost easily but never forgets a place they have been → Easily frustrated and highly anxious Easily frustrated and highly anxious when put on the spot → Easily stressed or overwhelmed in new situations new situations → Low self-esteem or overly selfconscious

Most adult dyslexics will demonstrate 1012 of the above signs but note that many of these seem very similar to those who struggle with attention. So how do you know if it is an attentional issue or dyslexia? The first step is an initial assessment of cognitive skills to see where the underlying struggle is happening in the brain. Because ADHD and Dyslexia are often co-existing in many adults, it is often difficult to tell which is causing the struggle in the workplace or home. Identifying the why behind the struggle is important in the demanding technological environment of today’s workplace because the demands often cause high stress and early burnout. When partnered with things like high demand workplaces and lifestyles, attentional issues compound a dyslexic person’s struggles making it seem insurmountable when in fact there are solutions available to help learners of all ages to become the career minded individual that they desire to be. Brain training is a method that identifies the underlying weak cognitive skills and retrains them into strengths so that an individual who has struggled for a long period of time, perhaps their whole life, can overcome the struggles and gain a new confidence in their own abilities. The causes of dyslexia vary but most times, genetics or a family history are associated. Confidently, she walks towards the building knowing that she is on the right track now. She has spent the time investing in herself through brain training and is now armed with the skills she needs to approach the job. Her career stands before her as an opportunity now instead of the dread of each day. She walks into the office with her head held high because she knows who she is; she has embraced the struggle and come out on top. The noise rushes around her

12 of the above signs but note that many of these seem very similar to those who struggle with attention. So how do you know of cognitive skills to see where the

as she opens the door and she breathes it is often difficult to tell which is causing the struggle in the workplace or deeply, centers herself and strides toward her desk…she knows she’s got this. It was worth the time and effort and knowing herself empowers her to fly high.

attentional issues compound a dyslexic person’s struggles making it seem insurmountable when in fact career minded individual that they desire to be. Brain training is a method that identifies the underlying weak into strengths so that an individual of time, perhaps their whole life, can overcome the struggles and abilities. The causes of dyslexia vary but most times, genetics or a family Confidently, she walks towards the building knowing that she is on the right track now. She has spent the time investing in herself through brain training and is now armed with the skills she needs to approach the job. Her career stands before her as an opportunity now instead of the dread of each day. She walks into the office with her head held high because she knows who she is; she has embraced the struggle and come out on top. The noise rushes around her as she opens the door and she breathes deeply, centers herself and strides toward her desk…she knows she’s got this. It was worth the time and effort and knowing herself empowers her to fly high.

Donesa Walker, M. Ed., BCCS, is the owner Donesa Walker, M. Ed., BCCS, is the owner of LearningRx Shreveport and Brain of LearningRx Shreveport and Brain Train Learning Solutions Educational Train Learning Solutions Educational Consultants. Consultants.

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