Why Diets Don't Work

Diet: to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition

A diet needs to be a lifestyle, not an event

1. Diets can be negative, most people look down on it
2. The word “diet” can be depressing to most of us, it means giving up your favorite foods and comfort foods
3. Many say, “ this is just for the diet” and don’t take the time or effort to replace old food with good healthier foods.


-Diets can be downers (mentally they can hurt you)
-Yo-yo dieting makes immune system weak
-Control issue not being able to stay on the diet. Start cheating and soon go back to old habits

Solutions:

-Find ways to be active for an hour a day
-Make simple eating changes. Find 100 calories you don’t need and change them for the week

http://walking.about.com/cs/diet/a/dietsdontwork.htm

The finding also suggests that obesity in adulthood is at least partly determined by diet and exercise in childhood.

The idea is that if the number of fat cells is capped by age 20, then the smart approach is to prevent their formation in children.

Obesity prevention in the early years could have "a lifetime impact," Gimble said.

http://www.livescience.com/health/080530-fat-cells.html

Why don't diets work? Mann says there are two issues. The first is that it's just plain hard for people to change their eating behaviors. And the second reason is that even if you do succeed at a diet, the rule of diminishing returns comes into play.

"When you keep to a reduced-calorie diet, your body makes metabolic adjustments that make it harder and harder for you to lose weight," Mann says. "Your body becomes very efficient, and you have to eat less and less to continue to lose weight. If you had the will to go on a diet, the fact that it steadily becomes less and less effective makes it even harder to stick to it."

"'Diets don't work' is only half the story," Fernstrom tells WebMD. "Lifestyle change will work if you have realistic expectations, good support, and choose a plan that you can stick with -- a plan that will give you moderate change over a long time."

"Diet is affected by social issues, by what you do when you are with your family and your friends," van Dam says. "In the current American setting, which really encourages unhealthy eating and dietary patterns, it is difficult to keep these lifestyle changes going."

Elements of this lifestyle change, she says, include moderating food intake, increasing physical activity, managing stress without food, and getting treatment for depression and other illnesses that get in the way.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20070411/diets-dont-work-long-term

Study

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/359/3/229

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/womenshealth/features/dietsdontwork.htm


Make sure you:
-reward yourself
-revel in progress instead of long-term goal
-be turtle not the hare
-make big changes in small steps
-keep records
-pace yourself
-enlist support for your efforts
-share your tips

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45499-2005Jan3.html

http://www.imwr.com/issues/articles/2007-03_44.asp


Healthy Eating

-Eating healthily is important for overall quality of life
-When deciding what a healthy diet is one should use the Word of Wisdom as a guide (D+C 89)
- It recommends eating greens,herbs,meat sparingly and of course it prohibits the intake of alcohol,tobacco, coffee and tea
-Another good resource is the "Canada Food Guide"
- it provides the recommended daily intake depending on age and sex
- Health Canada says, "Having the amount and type of food recommended and following the tips included in Canada's Food Guide will help:
* Meet your needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
* Reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis.
* Contribute to your overall health and vitality."

Using the Guide is simple,
For example:
If you are a 35 year old woman you should aim to have:
* 7-8 vegetables and fruit
* 6-7 grain products
* 2 milk and alternatives
* 2 meat and alternatives
* 30 - 45 mL (2 to 3 Tbsp) of unsaturated oils and fats


http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/index-eng.php