There are all these articles and books about cutting out this or that food and by the end of the year you lose 10 pounds!! Or eat this instead of that for lunch every week and you will lose 20 pounds!
Except it isn't true.
On paper it looks good, but in reality, the body adjusts. Most of us life long dieters have known this and have been frustrated by this for years.
But bodies don’t gain or lose weight indefinitely. Eventually, a cascade of biological changes kicks in to help the body maintain a new weight. The JAMA study explains, a person who eats an extra cookie a day will gain some weight, but over time, an increasing proportion of the cookie’s calories also goes to taking care of the extra body weight. Eventually, the body adjusts and stops gaining weight, even if the person continues to eat the cookie.
Similar factors come into play when we skip the extra cookie. We may lose a little weight at first, but soon the body adjusts to the new weight and requires fewer calories.
A 2007 study indicated that small changes did set the stage for bigger, more life changing changes to follow. Like starting with "baby steps" you can't get far if you stick with them, but if you start that way and then move on to bigger and bigger steps, then you are on the way to meaningful changes.
“Once you’re trying for weight loss, you’re out of the small-change realm,” said Dr. Hill, the author of the study. “But the small-steps approach can stop weight gain.”
While small steps are unlikely to solve the nation’s obesity crisis, doctors say losing a little weight, eating more heart-healthy foods and increasing exercise can make a meaningful difference in overall health and risks for heart disease and diabetes.
On paper it looks good, but in reality, the body adjusts. Most of us life long dieters have known this and have been frustrated by this for years.
But bodies don’t gain or lose weight indefinitely. Eventually, a cascade of biological changes kicks in to help the body maintain a new weight. The JAMA study explains, a person who eats an extra cookie a day will gain some weight, but over time, an increasing proportion of the cookie’s calories also goes to taking care of the extra body weight. Eventually, the body adjusts and stops gaining weight, even if the person continues to eat the cookie.
Similar factors come into play when we skip the extra cookie. We may lose a little weight at first, but soon the body adjusts to the new weight and requires fewer calories.
A 2007 study indicated that small changes did set the stage for bigger, more life changing changes to follow. Like starting with "baby steps" you can't get far if you stick with them, but if you start that way and then move on to bigger and bigger steps, then you are on the way to meaningful changes.
“Once you’re trying for weight loss, you’re out of the small-change realm,” said Dr. Hill, the author of the study. “But the small-steps approach can stop weight gain.”
While small steps are unlikely to solve the nation’s obesity crisis, doctors say losing a little weight, eating more heart-healthy foods and increasing exercise can make a meaningful difference in overall health and risks for heart disease and diabetes.
No comments:
Post a Comment