Weight loss is hard -- why we wrote it

Genetics-based diet books, revolutionary eating plans, appetite-quelling supplements, metabolism-boosting drinks. ... The Health section could churn out a story every week about the newest products or theories to help readers lose weight. And those would be legitimate stories - useful and relevant and, sometimes, just a snapshot of the consumption-obsessed world in which we live. But an overemphasis on this type of weight-loss story would be doing readers a disservice.

Because losing weight isn't the problem. Almost anybody can do that  - with pretty much any diet plan. High protein. Low fat. It doesn't especially matter. But keeping the weight off. ... That's almost impossible. And that's the true problem.

It's so difficult that former dieters either beat themselves up when they regain those pounds, feeling like weak-willed failures, or they give up their weight loss struggle completely.

What we wanted to do is explain why sustained weight loss is so hard, to give context and explanation for the losing battle that so many people face. And what we found, as researchers are learning, is bleak. In short, our bodies are sabotaging us. It wants those pounds back - now. The brain, the metabolism, the hormones and the fat storage system all know the weight was there and they are absolutely desperate to regain it. 

This is not an issue of aesthetics. If it were, we wouldn't care that a shocking percentage of the population bears a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. There's a body type to fit every preference and who are we to say which is the most fetching. Mrs. Claus probably thinks Santa's pretty hot, come to think of it. But the flab-related health risks are real - heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and some cancers. And that's just for starters. The likelihood of all these conditions increases with weight.

That's why we wrote the story.  All these stories. It's time to understand what we're doing to our bodies with the daily handful of peanut-butter-filled pretzels, the occasional dish of ice cream, the extra slice of pizza or that slice of a co-worker's birthday cake. (Office workers, I'm convinced, age faster than the general population. Everyone seems to get two or three cakes a year.) That type of mindless, casual eating exacts a price for years to come.

If you've been able to overcome that price and thwarted your body's desperate attempts to put the weight back on, tell us, please, how you did it. You're rare. And next week, we'll share some of those stories. 

But if, more likely, you encounter the same roadblocks or pitfalls every time you lose weight, ones that cause you to start climbing again, ones that prevent you from ever cleaning the fat clothes from your closet, share your struggles with us. Maybe together we can find a solution.

- Tami Dennis

Photo: Corbis

Comments

[Jere Krischel]

Weight loss is easy, if you don't listen to the low-fat, calorie restriction dogma of the past 30 years.

Carbohydrates are the key. They drive insulin, and insulin drives fat accumulation. Obesity is a hormonal disorder brought upon by high insulin levels, and the only thing that drives insulin up is, you guessed it, carbohydrates.

Check out Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories". He also has a lecture online that he gave at berkeley that is a fairly good synopsis of the book.

[DR]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The info in the story was refreshing. Most diet/nutrition/health stories like to sell the sizzle. This article was all steak.

This 2 part blog post takes a similar 'no B.S.' point of view

http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/dieting-what-a-tangled-web/
http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/dieting-what-a-tangled-web-pt2/

[Daniel Dempkey]

Talk is easy. I lost fifty pounds and that was eight years ago. Diets are not the answer, diet is part of the answer. Forget carbs are bad or fats are bad. There are good carbs and good fats. There are bad carbs and bad fats. Most of the food in the supermarket is bad for you. However, diet is only part of the answer. Without exercise, forget it. Most people today aren't going to do the one to two hours a day of exercise that is necessary. They are looking for a pill or a surgical prodecure. Cars, TVs, soft jobs, and processed foods are the reason for obesity, and very few people are going to address that problem.

[Sarah]

It's possible-- but hard. I think the media needs to promote more stories about people who have changed their lives. Losing weight was easy compared to maintenance. I must remain fairly vigilant to keep the weight off, but three years later and almost 190 pounds lighter still, I can't imagine any other way to live my life.

[Emily Booth]

I don't believe in diets. I don't believe in good food or bad food. Diets are based on deprivation and deprivation thinking is harmful for our bodies.

I believe in eating when I am truly hungry, eating when I feel relaxed, eating and drinking only the foods my body truly loves, eating in a calm environment with no distractions, eating when I sit, eating slowly and stopping before I am full. When I eat this way, I am naturally thin. When I don't eat this way, I gain weight.

[Tommy]

I read the article closely, checking off the sources, and I think you fell victim to the problem of citing "experts" who were indeed trained in medicine or nutrition, but who are only too willing to comment on stuff they aren't really experts on.

The general idea that the body has a set point that increases and to which the body rebounds is well known among medical people as well as anyone who's spent time on nutrition related web sites. So, yeah, your experts have heard that theory and were more than happy to regurgitate it if it gets their names in print.

But there are several other equally likely explanations for what we see with obese people. You should have asked your experts to give you the citations for the research behind their opinions. That would have shut down 90 percent of them. But for the ones who responded to you, you should have tracked down the original researchers, and gotten their take on the significance of what they have found. Then you should have found qualified experts who have actually read all the research and asked them for their take, and what they see as the weaknesses to the theory.

Of course, I realize this is just too much work, and you probably don't care.

[Andrea Edwards]

I enjoyed this story. For a long while I have felt that obesity is a bad habit gone out of control. And once you've lost control it's seemingly impossible to regain it. I feel better solutions and programs could be created if we really looked at obesity as a disease in itself.

When it comes to other addictions, like alcohol or drugs, they have rehab programs (covered by insurance in many cases), and lifetime continuing support programs like alcholics anonymous and narcotics anonymous. I feel people who actually try to do something about their weight should have some of the same benefits,

[Best diet pills]

Nice post,good summary.I think we need diet plan to keep our body fit and healthier.Take the food in small,but more frequently.Do the exercises regularly,keep the muscles strong