Diet – truths and myths
First I’ll start off by saying everybody is different when it comes to diets. The most recent research shows that there really isn’t a “one size fits all” diet which works for all overweight people. See, for example, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/a-personalized-diet-better-suited-to-you/.
If you see a diet (particularly a proprietary, paid one) which claims it works for everybody, then be skeptical.
My list of “diet truths and myths” is what I’ve discovered over years of dieting, and does apply to me at least. I know it also applies to some others I’ve spoken with. But I won’t claim it applies universally. I want to be as objective about this as I can.
I’ve successfully lost 100+ pounds and regained it multiple times over many years. As recently as 2012-2014 I lost 100 lb and have slowly, since then, regained half of what I lost, and I’m trying to prevent a complete rebound, and have been trying various methods.
Here is my take on what is true and what are myths about dieting, and the effects of diet on overall health.
Vegan diets and control of high cholesterol.
Premise: If you have high cholesterol and go vegan (e.g. the Ornish Spectrum heart-disease reversal program) your high blood cholesterol will drop to normal since only animal products contain cholesterol and you would be eating a completely cholesterol free diet.
True or Myth: MYTH.
I started out with very high bad cholesterol (LDL) in 2012 and went on a strict vegan + no oil + no nuts diets, as recommended by the Ornish program, and also by others such as Caldwell Esselstyn. After several months my cholesterol did not change, even as I lost a lot of weight. It was only after my doctor prescribed a daily statin that my cholesterol came down to excellent, normal range values.
Most recently, new U.S. research has shown there is no real cause and effect between the cholesterol you eat and your blood cholesterol, which is produced by your body. In fact, after I went off vegan and began consuming animal products, including eggs, my cholesterol did not go up again, and I continue to take a daily statin.
High blood sugar and high glycemic foods.
Premise: If you have high blood sugar, and you eat high glycemic foods like refined rice and bananas and you will have trouble reducing your blood sugar.
True or Myth: MYTH.
As somebody who needs to be careful about high blood sugar, as measured with HbA1c, I have found it makes absolutely no difference what I eat as long as I keep my weight under control. As I lose weight, my blood sugar comes down to a normal range without additional medication. This is true even if I eat lots of fruits, including bananas, and processed grains such as white rice. If I gain weight, my HbA1c goes up again and blood sugar medication is required.
Low carb diets and weight loss.
Premise: If you eat very low-carb (e.g. Atkins, Protein Power, Gary Taubes) then your body reduces insulin output so food can’t be easily absorbed and stored as fat. Thus you can ignore calories because your body has no means of storing the food you eat as fat. In addition your blood pressure will naturally drop.
True or Myth: MYTH.
This one can’t be further from the truth. If people lose weight it is because low-carb foods are simply more likely to curb hunger, so for some people it reduces appetite so they lose weight. It by no means works for everybody. I’ve tried multiple versions of this diet over the years, including Atkins, and most recently Protein Power. In my most recent test I stuck strictly within the carb limit and over 12 days I gained 4 lb. In addition, my blood pressure, which had been a perfectly fine 116/69 went up to 132/70. This diet never has and never will make any sense. Ask yourself this: you are hungry, so which makes most sense as a snack? The choices are (1) a salad made from cucumber, tomato and mushroom with a non-oil dressing – but a total of 10.5 net carbs, or (2) a couple of pork chops, with zero carbs. This diet would say the pork chops are a better choice. No wonder I gained weight!
Vegan, no oils and no nuts diets and weight loss.
Premise: If you eat vegan, with no added oils , and no nuts, and no added sugars (e.g. Ornish, Esselstyn), you don’t have to count calories to lose weight.
True or Myth: MYTH.
Low calorie eating and weight loss.
Premise: If you eat fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight then you will lose weight.
True or Myth: TRUE.
Exercise and weight loss.
Premise: If you do cardio exercise, then it is possible to eat more and still lose weight.
True or Myth: TRUE.
Exercise burns calories. The more you burn, the more you can eat and still continue to lose weight – or maintain your current weight if that’s what you want. Exercise is also good for your overall health. It keeps the blood flowing, it keeps up your strength and is generally good for you. Despite what some of the low-carb people say, cardio exercise does not simply cause you to get hungry so you eat more. If anything, it has the opposite effect. Resistance training is also good for weight loss because increasing muscle mass increases your personal metabolism. Exercise is good for you.
Diet versus “Lifestyle change.”
Premise: Many weight-loss programs claim they are not a “diet” but a “lifestyle.”
True or MYTH: FALSE.
Any regimen which has rules about what you eat, or don’t eat, or how much you eat is a diet. Saying it’s not a diet but a “lifestyle” is just advertising mumbo jumbo.
So what’s the solution to losing weight and permanently keeping it off?
Answer: For losing weight, the answer is to eat less calories. To keep it off? I don’t know. Nobody seems to know.
I can’t disagree with your bottom line – in my experience as well, losing weight is all about eating less.
One of the problems for any diet plan is that different people have different metabolisms. Jeanne can be satisfied all morning with a high-carb food like corn flakes, while while that same breakfast just makes me want more food an hour later.
The only thing I have found that works consistently for me is to diligently document what I eat and stay within a budget.
I do diligently log everything, using MyFitnessPal. Today is day 1,342. Things would have been worse without continually tracking.
Thanks guys.
I’m sticking with steamed veggies for lunch, a mandarin early AM (with meds), and a Granny apple at ten.
Lost 2 kg’s last month, probably just because being conscious about what we are talking about here.
Eating Spaghetti with meatballs tonight, simply, because that dish is so quick n easy to make.
No more. No more meatballs in fridge either.
🙂
Very good, Lars!
doug
Energy is only a concept, a property. Energy , itself, is not anything. It is merely a very abstract and nebulous mathematical construct. Nothing is “made of energy.”
Calories are not ANYTHING. Setting foods on fire and having this big flame heating up the water atop has nothing at all to do with human cellular respiration. HORRIBLE ANALOGUE.
Fat tissue is made of ATOMS. ATOMS cannot be burned off or burned away or melted. Calories (merely a property, a comcept, nothing more) have NOTHING to do with the causal physical mechanisms of what puts MATTER (tissue bone etc.)g on a human body, nor what causes the loss of matter.
Many doctors cannot even grasp this.
Fire is Not energy. Photons are NOT energy. Rather, these things HAVE the PROPERTY of energy. It is WRONG to say burning calorie causes matter loss. That expression does not even make scientific sense. Calorie or
CONCEPT deficits have NOTHING to do with how,fat tissue is lost.
We need to lose,the talk of IRRELEVAMT things confusing the public. FORGET “CALORIES”. Energy is a PROPERTY and CANNOT be converted into ANYTHING that is not energy. Fat tissue is MATTER. NOT A SI GLE person EVER ate a calorie, nor did a single calorie EVER trun into tissue….. Calories do,not,exist in reality and are NOT how this works.
Energy itself is NOT ANYTHING as FEYNMAN NOTED. Energy and matter are as different as toasters and kangaroos.