Refuse to Regain : Pre-Maintenance & Maintenance Forum : Active Low-Carber Forums

#256 ^

Thu, Nov-10-11, 13:23

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

November 06, 2011

I thought this might be worth a quick post. Here's an answer I wrote on another website to someone who was desperately trying to lose 20 more pounds after a very large weight loss. This topic comes up frequently at the end of a diet. When are you done? I'll probably post a longer entry about the final twenty pounds in the future. But for now, here's my answer to the person who can't get the last weight off:

Hi! I was just looking through this site and found your question. It was posted awhile ago, so I don't know if you are still receiving the answers. I am an obesity specialist who uses primal diet for permanent weight maintenance in my patients. Here's what I would say to you about the last 20 pounds.

In my practice, it is rare that someone achieves exactly the loss they envisioned. This leads to unhappiness at the end of the diet phase. But truly, there is no reason to be unhappy. I believe that people who have been overweight and then lose are "denser" after weight loss and therefore weigh more on the scale. This could easily be because they made millions of new fat cells during weight gain. These cells likely empty during loss, but they do not disintegrate. Think of them as collapsed down. The tissue that supports these cells is still there as well. When you get on the scale, you weigh more or have stubborn areas that remain. On the positive side, you may be in the size of clothes you desire or have good measurements.

If you try to force weight loss at this point, it is likely going to come out of muscle. You will wind up with the Bill Clinton look: he's a dedicated vegan and looks to me like he has cachexia (muscle wasting).

You've done a remarkable thing, but no bodily results are perfect. If you learn to be happy with comfortably maintaining, you may trend downward over time. Or you may not. Such is life! Congratulations on your most amazing and worthwhile achievement.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...ely-trying.html

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#257 ^

Thu, Nov-10-11, 13:28

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

November 09, 2011

The Last Twenty Pounds: A Common Dieter's Dilemma

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

Here's something I can tell you. Pretty much no one is happy at the end of weight loss. And that makes me sad. Of course there is the occasional person who loses 100 pounds easily, never has a bad week, and ends up wearing size 4 jeans. That same person looks as if she had never been overweight, has no hanging skin and no extra pouches of flesh. She's happy alright, but she's also vanishingly rare.

Why is it so tough to get the final pounds off? And should we even try? Let's talk.

The first thing to consider is the fact that a weight loss diet is nothing more than you forcing your body to run an ancient starvation program. For more on this, you can read my earlier post on why weight loss diets stop working. Because weight loss occurs as a protective mechanism (your body burns itself in order to avoid starving in a famine), it triggers other protective responses at the same time. Most importantly, the body turns down its rate of calorie burning in order to keep you alive as long as possible. You become the equivalent of a house in winter whose owner is trying to save money on heating oil. The owner turns down the heat, closes up rooms that aren't essential and battens down for a long cold spell. So too your body. When calories are scarce, the body turns down the heat, stops doing things that aren't essential and generally settles in for a famine of uncertain length. This is an elegant and lifesaving response engineered by your brilliant genes. But it drives dieters crazy. They've all been conditioned to believe an amazing array of nonsense by listening to "experts", watching extreme and unsafe weight loss journeys like those on The BIggest Loser, and reading magazine covers. We're supposed to MELT! Instead, we find that we are more like stubborn wooden sculptures whose outines can be chipped away only through very hard work.

At the end of a weight loss run, the body is at its most efficient...trying hard to keep you from wasting to nothing. At the same time, the dieter is likely at his least efficient. He's tired, sick of it all, and burned out. His dietary rules have gotten a bit broader and he may be doing what one my patients calls, "coloring outside the lines"...in other words, getting creative with the diet plan. This combination leads to a plateau. The weight loss stops.

Another issue with the final twenty is that the last pounds may be relatively unimportant. As I've written in the past, it's been my experience that people who were once overweight are "denser" after they lose. By this I mean that they weigh more on the scale than they might expect at a given size. They may look like a size 8 and fit in size 8 clothes, but still have a scale reading that they consider unacceptably high. When we gain weight, our body is forced to create millions of new fat cells to accommodate the fat that fills them. These cells look just like balloons and they swell when fat stuffs them. They then get smaller when fat is released. The question is whether these fat cells disappear after weight loss. I believe that they don't. They may remain as emptied tissue that is left behind. Perhaps the body will eventually resorb them and then again, it may not. But that empty tissue weighs something and it's my hypothesis that this is the reason that dieters often wind up being 20 pounds heavier than they think they should be.

Here's another important question. What are you using as a reference for goal weight? I don't like BMI charts because they are not based on the weights of people who were once overweight and are now reduced. We don't know what optimal weights for that population look like, so why do we encourage POWs (previously overweight people) to get into the "normal" zone for NOWs (never overweights). In my own case, after gaining 20 pounds and then reducing, I was never able to return to the weight I had been for most of my 30s and 40s. Yet at my current weight I am quite thin. On our recent trip to Asia, my distrust of some of the food sources combined with jet lag caused an 8 pound weight loss. I was back at my "original" weight. I looked really bad. Way, way too thin. Now I've regained to my new normal and this is most certainly the correct weight for me as a POW.

What are our expectations of a weight loss? It's been my experience that they are usually more than a loss in pounds can bring. Even the most physically blessed of us is not perfect and all the evidence points to the fact that most people are tormented by the feeling that there is always something else to correct. All we need to do is look at the gorgeous celebrities who continue to "tweak" themselves with plastic surgery, body contouring and the like. Where do we stop, get comfortable with our imperfections and let out a sigh of acceptance? Lynn and I started our very first blogs with a discussion of this. Basically, we wanted to make the point that the body we come to inhabit after weight loss has its dings, scratches and non-working parts. Like the Velvteen Rabbit, we must come to love it simply because it has lived and bears the marks of living. As we approach the final pounds of weight loss, this is worth considering. If our body is objecting before we reach some "perfect" number, are we perhaps done?

What I've learned is that the biggest problem with weight loss is the perception that it's somehow done when the scale registers a certain number. As this blog has reiterated ad nauseum, initial weight loss is simply the price we pay for admission to the rest of a newly designed life with food. Once your body has stopped losing, it may well be time to start working on maintenance. Since you are going to vastly change the way you eat and move around, and since this is going to be a lifelong project, there is no hurry. Many people continue to lose as they learn to maintain. Perhaps that will be the better way to go. I know that this is anathema to those who want to be done...and for whom done means a particular number on the scale. To them I gently say, "What's the hurry? You've done wonderfully well and you have a lifetime to figure out your final equilibration."

If none of the above convinces you that it's ok to stop active dieting before goal, let me offer a few suggestions for getting the rest of the way:

1. Since you are so efficient at this point, you will have to force your body to give up calories. This means an increased focus on exercise toward the very end of your diet. Aerobic exercise is better for this than weights. Power walk, power swim, run, or do calorie burning activities like intensive yoga, assuming these are safe for you.

2. Take a look at your weight loss plan. Most people have loosened up on the rules by now. Go back to complete adherence. If there are still starches and sugars in your diet, remove them now. You may have been able to get by with weight loss before while eating them, but if you are producing alot of insulin now, your loss will stop. The same goes for salt. Take it out of your diet. You'll find that it's often coming from restaurant meals, so if you're truly serious, you may want to stop eating out until you're at goal. I would also suggest that you eat plenty of non starchy vegetables but that you limit your fruit at this point. You don't need fruit and the sugars may be causing a problem.

3. Many people use a multiple-small-meal approach to dieting. It's my feeling that we don't spend enough time in the non-eating state. It's the time between meals and the hours of sleep that allow our body to switch over to the burning of stored fuels. Try to cut down on frequent snacks and get two to three hours between episodes of eating. This may help to move the scale downwards again.

4. If you are using a calorie approach, make sure you are really getting the calories you think you are. For the last part of your diet, I would suggest using more products that are calorie labeled. As unpopular as this suggestion always seems to be, using meal replacements like shakes and bars is really effective. Its the approach I've used very successfully with hundreds of patients. Remember that you are not doing this for a lifetime, just to get where you want to be. I suggest that you use meal replacers during the day and eat a healthful, Primarian dinner.

And finally, if you are reading this post as someone who is close to goal, I want you to know that you have done an amazing job. Losing weight in the midst of the SAD is much more difficult than anyone leads us to believe. You have had the dedication to do it. You've put in the work. Bravo!! Now.....the only thing I ask of you is that you please, please refuse to regain!

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...rs-dilemma.html

#258 ^

Wed, Nov-16-11, 11:55

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

November 16, 2011

Getting Past the R Word

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

While I don't take as much of a beating on the internet as some diet writers do (thank you for that, readers!), most of the negative comments I get are directed at the fact that my diet recommendations are too restrictive.

Restrictive is the R word.

I think that we often confuse structure with lack of freedom. As our society increases its amount of available choice, we tend to bridle at the idea that any of these options might be taken away. And we particularly hate the idea of any authority regulating choice...most especially the government. But until recently, we never lived in a world with such abundant choice. Life might have been less interesting, but it was certainly easier to negotiate.

I've written in the past about decision fatigue, a state that seems to occur when we are forced to make too many selections. It appears we may only have so much organizational ability and will power. Our constant exposure to choice (mocha or latte? grande or venti? whip or no whip? skim or soy? ...and that's just Starbucks) wears us down and makes us anxious. Certainly this is no more evident than in our exposure to an ever-expanding food menu. Our only defense is to have our own rules and our own plan. We can then approach the market, the restaurant, and the vending machine using those guidelines.

Interestingly, there is little R word push back regarding vegetarian or even vegan diets. By R word standards, these are extremely restrictive. But they are accepted in our society because they've been around for awhile. In addition, most people remain unthreatened by vegetarianism. It has the feeling of an eating style that is chosen by a select few...and vegetarians tend not to be very militant about pushing their diet on others. Lastly, vegans and vegetarians can still eat sugar and starch (grains and other starchy carbs). For most of us, these are the toughest foods to give up. It's more radical to suggest cutting out rice, pasta, corn and potatoes than it is to advocate giving up fish, meat and turkey. And those who do suggest such a change may be subject to R word criticism.

Just as we negotiate buying choice by adhering to a budget, just as we decide which moral choices to make by adhering to religious guidelines, just as we choose from the endless careers available to us by figuring out where we fit...so too should we view how we eat. Prior to the last 30 years, eating was less easy to do and foods with the potential to hurt us far less available. Since the advent of instant eating opportunity throughout the day, we need to apply the same sorts of guidelines to food choice.

People who write about me being too restrictive have not read me very well I think. I have made it clear that I believe in whatever works for YOU. The diet that I propose is one with which I have many years of personal and professional experience. Take that for what it's worth. Explore other possiblities too. Choose, based on who you are and what works best. As long as you are maintaining your weight loss and keeping hypertension, hyperlipidemia and high sugars at bay you are doing a fine job.

Occasionally I am asked to restate what I believe is the most effective diet. With trepidation, I'll do it again here. But please don't view it through the lens of the R word. Eating this way is a choice based on my own guidelines. I have no desire to legislate, push or otherwise force this way of eating on anyone.

I prefer-- and see excellent results from--- a diet that is composed of lean animal proteins, vegetables and smaller amounts of fruits and low fat dairy. I try to stay away from legumes like soy and starchy beans although I personally don't completely exclude them. While dairy is not a part of most paleo style diets, I include it because I have found that it doesn't affect weight in most of my patients and it gives them greater choice. Watch dairy products to make sure that they are low in sugar. Sugar and grains are the two major things I like to keep out of the diet. One other thing that people complain about with my diet is that it's inconsistent with "true" ancient eating. I'm not really about being a purist. I'm about getting the job of weight maintenance done. If this means using sugar substitutes and low fat dairy, I'm ok with it, because in my world keeping weight low is the primary goal. Health follows from that. For those who are uncomfortable with that compromise, there are endless ways to vary such a diet plan.

As you all know, I call this plan a Primarian diet. You can find more detailed information in my book, Refuse to Regain and in the archives of this blog. The degree to which you need to be completely Primarian varies from person to person. I recommend that you use it as your default diet...meaning most of the time. We all "go off' here and there, but it works better if deviation is rare. That's because I remain impressed with the ability of grains, starches and sugars to take over in the brain (or gut). Those who regain their weight have almost always been co-opted by these kind of carbs. I believe them to be a strong drug and one that promotes insulin production and fat storage.

If other variations of eating work for you in maintenance, that's excellent. Please share. Each of us is a different entity and contrary to what some some have written, I don't believe in a one-approach-fits-all. What I do believe, however, is that having rules and plans for eating is vital for healthy survival in our current environment. None of these plans is about Restriction. Each is about creating a way to eat that allows us negotiate the hazards of endlessly offered food choice.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...the-r-word.html

#259 ^

Fri, Nov-18-11, 12:58

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

November 18, 2011

Scientific Obesity "Cures": Wrong Thinking?

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

The internet provides a wonderful opportunity for doctors to rack up CME (continuing medical education) credits in the comfort of their own homes. Last night, I sat in a cozy chair while listening to a high level lecture on HDL cholesterol. The presenters were two of the biggest names in the lipid research world. After reviewing the lecture and answering a couple of computer generated questions, I was able to add an hour of educational time to my yearly requirement. That was good. Not so good, however, was the feeling I had after hearing the presentation. I've grown used to this feeling of discomfort because it happens frequently. It's actually more of a nagging question. Might we docs and researchers be barking up the wrong tree?

This particular CME was centered around efforts to raise levels of good cholesterol in patients with diabetes. A number of case studies were presented. In each one, the patient had metabolic syndrome, the combination of deadly fellow travelers that accompany visceral fat: high blood pressure, high lipids and high blood sugar. This profile often includes a particular type of dyslipidemia: high triglycerides and low good cholesterol (HDL). Current thinking says that raising HDL cholesterol confers protection against cardiovascular risk. But how to accomplish this?

Here's what set off my discomfort: each case discussion started with the idea that the best treatment for the patient was weight reduction and lifestyle change. But the experts quickly passed over these options and moved to drugs. The rest of the discussion was devoted to the problems with available drugs, their limitations and the various side effects of drug treatment. Finally, the experts discussed a class of new drugs that are in development which specifically target HDL. Unfortunately, the first of these drugs was quickly pulled out of trials when it turned out to raise, rather than lower, cardiovascular death.

This morning, I read about some research on mice which has suggested that white fat (the kind that stores calories), might be transformed into brown fat (a type that actually burns calories) by blocking a certain protein. Of course, blocking this protein has problems and may cause an issue with the immune system, therefore practical application of such research is very far away indeed. Each day brings another new potential drug, another research approach, another chance to stem obesity.

I'm not anti-research, but here is my problem. As I see it, obesity is a societally created problem. Let's examine another societal problem with addictive elements: tobacco. Our approach toward tobacco has vastly changed in recent years and as a result, so have our smoking rates. But our way of dealing with smoking never included trying to find research solutions that would allow us to continue to smoke...but without medical consequence.

Another analogy. Suppose I told you that I had a procedure that could cure you of your desire to smoke? Then I explained the procedure. We would cut your nose in half and reroute your tongue so that smoking would become completely unpleasurable and the smoke would never reach your lungs. Undoubtedly you'd be horrified. But now let's suppose I told you that I had a procedure that could cure you of your desire to eat? Then I explained the procedure. We would cut your stomach in half, staple it, take hold of your intestines and reroute them, make a new hole in your intestines and connect them back to your stomach in a new place. There are thousands of people who have lined up for this operation. The only difference between these two surgeries is that one alters your outer physiology and the other, your internal workings. Both are intense, surgical alterations performed on a person who is struggling with a problem created by our society: not by a cancer, bodily deformity or medically resistant illness.

The problem that I have with our interventions for obesity and the direction of our research is that they have the strong potential to hurt the very people they intend to benefit. This is because (medically) we are toying with systems which are highly interrelated. Move one pick-up-stick and others tend to shift and fall. Surgically, we are operating on people who already have risk and are using techniques that can cause problems later (malabsorption, ulcers at the site of anastamosis, etc...). We need to take risks when there are no other solutions. But in the case of obesity, there is a very definite solution: lose weight and permanently change eating habits. Rather than think of stronger ways to promote this solution, rather than give more support to these efforts, rather than making healthy eating "sexy", we throw up our hands and pass right by. "Well, that's not possible", we say. And on we go to the surgery, the pills, the research.

A few thoughts:

Sugar substitutes have been a successful product, have had a good safety profile and have allowed millions to cut calories. Why don’t we spend more of our research dollar on looking for ways to make foods less obesogenic? If we insist on eating day and night and if we must each factory foods, perhaps we can find better fat and carbohydrate substitutes for processed food. This would not be ideal for me or for those I counsel, but I would still prefer to alter food rather than to alter people.

Why are we still allowing food ads on TV? Banning the advertising of cigarettes and alcohol was a major step in decreasing their cultural profile. Do we really need to know when McDonald’s restocks the McRib? Are the pictures of sizzling shrimp and forkfuls of desserts a good idea in a country that is nearly 70% overweight? And if we don't have the cojones to stand up to the food industry on adult ads, why in earth are we still allowing them to market to children?

Why aren't we developing a strong, easy, consistent curriculum for educating kids about food? They need guidelines for eating that will allow them to maneuver through our world of instantly accessible food. These basic rules should be a part of the ABC's, because without them we are liable to have a generation of children who won't live long enough to use the things they learn in school. For me, the optimal education would be teaching kids about ancestral diet. It's easy to understand, lends itself to kid-friendly presentation, and leads to the simplest conculsion: we need to eat real food and food that is mostly proteins, vegetables and fruits. Everything else is window dressing and should be minimized.

In a country that is falling under the heavy foot of diabetes, why aren't we also spending more time educating our kids about bodily structure and function? I've written about this before, but I often use a slide show where I display a car and ask the location of certain parts. The next slide shows a body and I ask about the location of certain parts. Most people score inifinitely better on the car.

On the medical end, why do we give up so easily on dietary intervention? Those of you who write to me through this blog are proof that increasingly there are people out there who "get it". And most of you are willing to share! Doctors, medical schools, hospitals and clinics need to recruit your expertise and listen to your stories. Life change can be done. Personal change leads to lifesaving bodily rescue with nothing but positive benefit: no significant side effects or risk.

Our country is full of creative minds. Might I suggest that we rely less on trying to find "cures" that will enable us to eat badly? Let's start a new era: one in which we rely on inspiration, innovation and education to create a cultural shift toward health. Let's ignite people and get them fascinated with the process of self-rescue. As all of you in the maintenance community know, far beyond the bagel and the brioche, enacting true life change is the most powerful magic.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...g-thinking.html

#260 ^

Sat, Dec-17-11, 05:13

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

December 14, 2011

What is a Weight Loss Diet? More Clues

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

The weight loss experience comes in two distinct forms: the temporary diet that induces weight loss and the (hopefully) permanent behaviors that lead to weight maintenance. Confusing the two is easy because successful maintainers continue to eat and exercise in a way that looks alot like their original diet. But there is an important difference: maintenance requires achieving balance while dieting requires inducing defecit.

This month, I posted a youtube video (scroll down to find it) that asked the following question: What is a Diet? I was referring to the weight loss portion of diet which I believe is firmly tied to two elements: 1. Recreating an ancient response to famine by consistently limiting calories and 2. Avoiding foods that stimulate insulin (starches and sugars). These beliefs are obvservational and based on my experience with thousands of dieters but they remain hypotheses as they (and most obesity theories) are not confirmed by research.

That's why I was fascinated by an article that appeared in today's Science Daily, a round up of ongoing scientific thought and research. Evolutionary anthropologist Erin Vogel from Rutgers provides thought provoking commentary into the eating habits of orangutans, a species that is closely related to our own. Like humans, orangutans store fat when calories are plentiful. The only time that they burn this fat is during times of significant calorie restriction. Orangutans normally eat alot of fruit, but when it is not available, they survive despite very low protein intakes. They do this by switching to a diet that contains other protein sources and by activating a response that burns their own fat and muscle. In other words, they activate an ancient famine response. This response is obviously meant to be protective and to allow the organism to survive a tough period.

And so it appears to be with humans. We won't lose weight unless we put our body into the same situation that provoked weight loss in ancient times....calorie deprivation. While we don't have to completely starve ourselves, we do need to convince the body that there is an ongoing lack of food, thus activating primal responses and fat burning. What usually scuttles a weight loss diet is periodic "cheating" or inadquately following the plan. (For more, see my previous post on why your diet isn't working.)

Weight maintenance is a different animal. The trick here is to rehabilitate the mechanism, normally automatic but malfunctioning in weight gainers, that decides whether food is burned or stored. The best way to do this is to avoid foods that turn into sugar, including starchy carbs and (in my view) grains. The reason? The axis which appears most broken is the one that partitions sugars for burning or storage. Since we don't need these foods to survive and can get plenty of healthful carbs from fruits and vegetables, it is easiest to avoid this mechanism entirely. That's the basis for the recommendation of Primal, Paleo or Primarian diet. When we look at our closest evolutionary relatives, we have a clear picture of ancient diet. It always pays to consider the thought that we are just a dressed up, modern version of our ancient selves.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...more-clues.html

#261 ^

Sat, Dec-17-11, 13:34

Fauve

Senior Member

Posts: 1,274

Plan: Carnivore
Stats: 167/135/127 Female 63

BF:
Progress: 80%

Location: Victoria, BC

Great posts, Demi! Thanks.

#262 ^

Sat, Dec-17-11, 14:44

Judynyc

Attitude is a Choice

Posts: 30,111

Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"

BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%

Location: NYC

Quote:

What Causes Weight Gain? My Take

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...in-my-take.html

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

How do we lose weight? The answer is--- cut calories until the body is forced to burn itself for energy. This is so intuitively obvious that the converse would also seem to be true: if we lose weight by cutting calories, we must gain weight by accumulating them. But is this true? Perhaps weight loss has nothing much to do with weight gain. Perhaps they are two quite different things. '

For some time, I have been giving an introductory talk to new patients who enter my practice. I wanted to record it so that they could hear the talk again if they chose, or share it with those at home. At the same time, I thought that readers of this blog might find it interesting as well. While I can't claim to know the ultimate truth, I have found that the model of weight gain I describe in these videos works well as a basis for treating most of the overweight patients I've encountered. I hope you find it interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA7F...player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGsu...player_embedded

Her videos are short and good, IMO.

#263 ^

Thu, Dec-22-11, 14:25

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

December 22, 2011

Is Willpower Overrated?

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

A little something to think about when you are headed for the holiday buffet. How far will willpower take you? I think it's much smarter and more effective to take a realistic look at the strength of your opponent: modern trigger foods.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...-overrated.html

Click on the link to watch the video.

#264 ^

Fri, Dec-30-11, 13:08

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

December 29, 2011

The Fat Trap: My Response

By Barbara Berkeley, MD

Once a month, in a small room off the lobby of Lake West Hospital in Willoughby, Ohio, a special group convenes. For someone observing the group and unaware of its purpose, it might appear to be a simple mix of everyday people….young, old, racially diverse. The members would seem to be old friends but with a particular seriousness of purpose, perhaps a community group attending a lecture or learning some new skill together. What a casual observer would not guess is that each of these people was once obese, some having weighed over 100 pounds more than they do today.

Our Refuse to Regain group is an experiment, a safe haven for maintainers who have lost weight in many different ways and now face the reality of reconstructing their lives. We’ve had people from Weight Watchers, people who’ve undergone bariatric surgery, people I’ve treated in my practice and others who simply did it on their own. A weight loss diet is no different than emptying the trash. It doesn’t matter which technique you use to toss out the garbage. But learning how to avoid the reaccumulation of unwanted junk is a completely different skill. There are many basics in this process that will be the same for everyone. There are also many specifics that will vary from person to person and which must be individually discovered.

Here’s some of what we’ve learned so far:

1.Weight maintenance is possible. There is nothing in our group experience (or in my personal clinical experience) to suggest that the body “forces” one to regain.
2.Weight maintenance requires a separation from the world of “normal” American eating…which is not normal at all.
3.Some people are heavy simply because they are susceptible to the modern diet , no more no less. Others are heavy because they use food for soothing or sedation. Most people are a mix of both. If psychological issues are a major part of weight gain—significantly beyond the common enjoyment of food for pleasure, they need to be addressed during the maintenance phase.
4.Weight maintainers are special people who live on a kind of food island. It’s really nice to know that the island is inhabited, often with fascinating, determined people just like you. Rarely do maintainers get to meet and talk with one another.
This week, I gave my group a reading assignment. That was a first. I asked everyone to read Tara Parker Pope’s article on weight maintenance called The Fat Trap. This article is currently online and will appear in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. Our group will be discussing it at our January meeting, but I’ll give you a preview of my reaction here. Many of you may be reading our blog because you read The Fat Trap and discovered Lynn Haraldson, my blogging partner on this site. The fact that you got here likely means that you are interested in knowing whether we are bound to regain the weight we lose, so please, read on…leave comments and join the discussion.

For those of you who are new to this blog, you should know that I am a physician who has specialized in weight management since the late 1980s. This is the only thing I do and that’s unusual. Why? Because most doctors are not particularly interested in obesity, and certainly weren’t back in the 80s. Over the past twenty years, a continuing source of frustration for me has been the willingness of doctors and the general public to accept “truths” about weight loss that are the beliefs of everyone except those who actually work with overweight people.

Scientific research needs to square with what we see in clinical practice. If it doesn’t, we should question its validity. “The Fat Trap” is an article that starts with a single, small research study and builds around it. Its point? That there are inevitable biological imperatives that cause people to regain all the weight they lose.

I don’t buy it.

Here is the opening paragraph of Ms. Parker Pope’s article:

For 15 years, Joseph Proietto has been helping people lose weight. When these obese patients arrive at his weight-loss clinic in Australia, they are determined to slim down. And most of the time, he says, they do just that, sticking to the clinic’s program and dropping excess pounds. But then, almost without exception, the weight begins to creep back. In a matter of months or years, the entire effort has come undone, and the patient is fat again.

At one time, this was my experience too. But things have changed. After years of focusing my practice much more on weight maintenance, writing a book about it, and trying to figure out how to teach and encourage it, I no longer see patients with an “entire effort come undone”. Instead, I see more and more people learning how to become successfully anchored at their new weight. And these POWs (previous overweight people) are not from my practice alone. They are people like Lynn Haraldson and her friends “The Maintaining Divas”. They are the long term POWs who write to me via this blog, on Facebook and on Twitter. They are the people I hear about with increasing frequency every day.

I admire Ms. Parker Pope for acknowledging her own struggles with weight, but as someone who has not yet solved the maintenance problem I would submit that she is not the best person to rationally evaluate evidence that says that regain is inevitable. After talking to a number of scientists who believe that the body fights weight loss, her concluding paragraph says:

For me, understanding the science of weight loss has helped make sense of my own struggles to lose weight, as well as my mother’s endless cycle of dieting, weight gain and despair. I wish she were still here so I could persuade her to finally forgive herself for her dieting failures. While I do, ultimately, blame myself for allowing my weight to get out of control, it has been somewhat liberating to learn that there are factors other than my character at work when it comes to gaining and losing weight.

Those of us who come from families which struggle with obesity can believe one of two things. We can believe that biological and metabolic factors doom us to fatness or we can believe that we come from families who are very sensitive to the current food environment and perhaps need to live in a new and more creative way. It has been my experience that all successful maintainers have learned how to live a life that exists outside the current food norms. For some, this is a daily and difficult challenge and for others it becomes a simple and treasured way of life, but either way, it is not about some inevitable biological destiny. Rather, these maintainers have come to terms with the fact that they are ancient bodies and souls living in a modern environment and that our food culture is capable of killing them. Controlling that environment is their choice and their challenge.

Where I do agree with “The Fat Trap” is in its assertion that obesity is much more difficult to deal with once it is established. We would do well to focus intense and constant attention on healthful nutrition during pregnancy and in childhood. I believe that we can do this much more easily than we believe, if we would only adopt the idea that we should eat more like we did originally as hunter-gatherers. It has been my clinical experience that elimination (or major curtailment) of starches and sugars (including whole grains and the things that come from them, by the way) simply works. And this clinical observation makes sense, since the ancestors whose genes we carry were not exposed to the large amounts of starch and sugar we now eat. Along with consumption of real food…not things in boxes, cans, or packages.... this easy concept can change lives. We could make things so much easier by teaching this lesson to kids rather than endlessly focusing them on per cents of fat, protein and carbs and on counting calories.

But such approaches to weight maintenance are not easily sold. Its far simpler to believe that weight must be regained. I’m fond of using this example for patients: If you were to tell your friends that you are becoming vegetarian and that you will no longer touch a drop of red meat, fish, or poultry, no one would blink an eye. You’d probably be encouraged and congratulated. If, on the other hand, you announced that you were giving up sugar and grain, the same friends would be horrified. “You mean you’re never going to have another piece of bread???”

I believe that the resistance to finding the maintenance solution comes from the addictive nature of starch and sugar foods. I also believe that most of America and other SAD (standard American diet) countries are operating “under the influence” of addictive carbs. Life without them, or even with LESS of them, is too awful to contemplate.

But I digress. To return to my original point, I want to forcefully say that we must stop finding reasons we can’t maintain and start getting much, much better at teaching people how to do it. Support networks, communication between maintainers, and many more books, advocates, and techniques that focus on maintenance are key.

I believe I may scream if I see yet another book with a catchy title that touts yet another weight loss approach without ever talking about what happens in the after-diet world. January is the month for those glossy little productions.

Time to get serious. Maintenance can be done, and if you want to meet the people who are doing it, hang around this blog.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...y-response.html

Quote:

December 30, 2011

More on the same....

You knew that an article as major as "The Fat Trap" would get the media going. Here is what I consider to be a particularly uninformed and unhelpful response by Slate Magazine (see article here). Summary: we're wasting our time trying to combat obesity and those who are maintaining are only doing it via some sort of eating disorder.

Scroll down to the comments section if you have any interest in seeing my response. Or leave your own. I'm sure this article will madden you.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...n-the-same.html

Quote:

December 30, 2011

An oldie but goodie. Same topic.

Here's a link to a blog I posted in 2010 that speaks to the Slate article. (Should We Just Accept Our Size and Forget All This? )

Quote:

November 15, 2010

Should We Accept Our Size and Forget All This?

Barbara Berkeley, MD

For most people who have struggled with weight, there is the persistent, nagging suspicion that permanent body change may be a fiction. When we look around, we see very few people who have lost weight and kept it off...yet every magazine cover proclaims the ease of bodily reconstruction. Just walk off the weight! Lose 33 pounds by Christmas!.... As author Gary Taubes once famously asked, "What if it's all been a big, fat lie?"

Way back in 1959, obesity expert Albert Stunkard published a seminal paper which showed the dismal failure rates of programs treating overweight people. Stunkard demonstrated that, in multiple clinical settings, very few people lost weightand practically no one maintained the loss. In a 1983 commentary on this work, Stunkard recalled, "This study grew out of an attempt to resolve a paradox--the contrast between my difficulties in treating obesity and the widespread assumption that such treatment was easy and effective." Any reflective professional who deals with obesity will tell you that they often feel like Sysyphus, rolling an endless boulder up the mountain only to see it tumble back to the sea. Dieters feel the same way.

If we have been lied to, if it is in fact impossible to get rid of excess weight in any permanent way, we may want to circumvent the frustration and simply accept ourselves. We may even want to rejoice in the size we've been dealt. This outlook is attracting a growing number of people and has come to be known as Size Acceptance. If you are unfamiliar with this viewpoint, you might want to take a look at websites like Big Fat Blog or the writings of Linda Bacon, Phd.

The growing size acceptance movement together with the very real failures of conventional weight loss treatment have given me quite a bit of food for thought. As always, I can only give my own opinions and I remain respectful of those who disagree. Here are some of the questions raised by size acceptance as I see them:

1. Is long lasting weight loss unattainable?

2. Is overweight unavoidable for some?

3. Is overweight unhealthy and if so, do we bear any responsibility for keeping ourselves healthy? Can we be healthy and overweight?

4. What is causing us to be obese? Who are the potentially responsible parties?

For me, here are the answers:

1. Is long lasting weight loss attainable? Yes. Long lasting weight loss is possible. There may be periods of relapse or regain, but increasingly I see people who have been able to engineer permanent change. This is not to minimize the profound nature of this change. It is not for everyone. But I do think that we are getting better at figuring out how to do this and at creating connections between those who have. I am also hopeful that the FDA will finally approve medications that we can use during the early phases of weight maintenance. Drugs that blunt appetite would be very helpful is allowing Maintenance Juniors (Just Reduced) to get used to a new eating style. They might also bridge the period when hormones and brain chemistry are altered following the starvation-like period of dieting.

2. Is overweight unavoidable for some? Yes. Likely there are many people for whom weight gain is unavoidable in our current environment. These people may have more sensitive responses to modern foods or may have been so metabolically damaged by modern eating that weight loss is too great a task. However, I believe that there are fewer of these people than we might think.

3. Is overweight unhealthy? Unequivocally yes. There have been many critiques written that cast doubt on the veracity of reported health consequences of overweight and obesity. As a physician, however, I must say that the degree of ill health that comes directly from weight is utterly convincing and completely astounding. How can I be sure that these problems are coming from weight? I can be completely sure because I am able to watch them dissolve and disappear as weight is lost. I am able to watch them re-occur as weight is regained. In addition to the obvious big killers: high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, diabetes, high cholesterol and an increased risk of cancer, there are the things that make life miserable like gastric reflux, gout, arthritic pain, shortness of breath, sleep apnea, fatigue and depression.

Do we have a responsibility to choose healthy habits? That depends on your world-view. America has never been a society that has looked down on those who chose to race motorcycles, smoke, or drink. Those choices have always been the personal business of the individual. However, the choices of individuals become more profound when they are part of a sweeping health epidemic. There is no question that the societal costs of treating the panoply of obesity related disease are staggering. Perhaps we finally do have some social responsibility to attempt to curb these costs.

Can we be healthy and overweight or obese at the same time? We can certainly strive to be healthier at any level of body size, but certain realities remain: we cannot make up for the fact that our heart has to chronically power a body that is 30 to 100 pounds larger. We cannot make the loading on our back and joints disappear if we remain overweight. We also know that intra-abdominal fat is viewed as an invader by the body and causes a brisk inflammatory response which goes on internally. While we can try to be healthier, we cannot be sure that we do not remain chronically inflammed: a state which leads to diabetes and vascular disease.

4. What is causing us to be obese? This is the sticking point. While it is completely legitimate to say, "This is who I am. I choose to accept it", I remain troubled by one major thought. Suppose this is NOT who you are? Suppose you are only this way because you have been manipulated, brain-washed, culturally drowned, poisoned or otherwise hurt? You can still choose to accept and enjoy your size, but the landscape suddenly looks alot different. I can't be sure that obesity has skyrocketed because of the way our culture has accepted and promoted food. I can't be sure that we don't all have a virus or haven't succumbed to an environmental toxin. It may be a combination of the two, but nevertheless, a healthy skepticism about the SAD and an unwillingness to participate in it, seems to be the pre-requisite for making complete bodily change. We see the same phenomenon in those who have gastric bypass surgery. The surgery initially causes withdrawal from the SAD. Eating modern foods causes the patient to feel sick. Once a year or two has passed, some patients become able to tolerate SAD foods again. Those who succumb regain weight. Patients who remain SAD-free also remain lean.

Having said all of this, I find that a big part of my job is convincing some patients that they should accept their size. Torturing oneself with failed weight loss attempts, hating oneself for perceived inadequacies is no way to live. Many of the people who come to my practice are charming, accomplished, lovely people who simply can't get past their weight and can't accept that losing weight is not in the cards. That unhappiness is a tragedy. Thus, it seems to me that there are two equally legitimate strategies for personal overweight. One is to fight the fat...but with the knowledge that the fight is infinitely more difficult than we've been led to believe. The other is to accept it and try to remain as healthy as possible at any given size.

The best advice I can give as a practitioner is this: Rather than wedding ourselves to absolute beliefs about size, perhaps we would do better to periodically re-evaluate our positions. We may want to attempt weight change now only to find that we accept ourselves at a larger size later. We may be happy eating the SAD today, but decide that we want to trade in for better health as time goes on. The one thing that we should never do is use our belief to hit someone else over the head. Obesity and it's cultural roots are way too complicated to allow them to divide us into angry camps. Like other ethically challenging decisions, the decision as to whether to accept size or continue to work against it remain deeply personal and should be respected.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...t-all-this.html

#265 ^

Fri, Dec-30-11, 13:35

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

In case you haven't already seen it, there is a thread in the Media Forum discussing Tara Parker Pope’s article, The Fat Trap.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=436748

#266 ^

Fri, Jan-06-12, 08:12

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

January 05, 2012

Silly Season

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

In January, the attention of Americans turns to weight loss. Retailers exploit this interest, displaying towers of shiny new diet books. The media pumps out stories, offers tips and guidance (the same tips as every other year) and earnestly discusses the ways to make our New Year's resolutions work. Gyms fill will newbies. Thankfully, it will all be over in a couple of weeks and those with the serious intent of changing their lives will be able to go back to work undistracted.

January is an odd time for self renewal. Yes, the calendar turns a page and we move into a new year. The business cycle starts anew. But for a good part of the United States, January is a cold, unfriendly month. It's hot soup and mashed potato time, the very month when a little extra fat feels good. In Cleveland, the prospect of heading out for a run through slushy streets covered by slate gray skies is a tough sell even for career exercisers.

Of course January is weight loss month because it is preceded by the season called, "I Have to Eat It, It's the Holidays". We have developed an unfortunate cycle of gorging and disgorging on a yearly basis. This mirrors the shorter cycle we run more frequently throughout the year: eat things we know we shouldn't, gain weight, then diet to get them off. The problem, as we are all well aware, is that we eventually reach a point when we can't get the weight off anymore. We burn out, allow the higher weight to become our new reality and start adding extra pounds to that new base.

I know that I am preaching to the choir, but the reason that weight resolutions and periodic diets don't work is that they have nothing to do with the real work of making oneself healthy. That little chore requires commiting oneself to a new way of viewing food and to new personal and permanent rules about how to eat. These rules include guidelines for such things as exceptions. Over the holidays, some maintainers may allow themselves a certain amount of indulgence for example, where others may stick strictly to their daily plan. But it's programmed. Flying by the seat of one's pants is a rarity among maintainers, who are well aware that the food winds blow with gale force. Crashing is likely unless someone has a close eye on the rudder.

January, then, is the silly season for weight loss. This month's People leads with the popular "Half Their Size" feature. Here are the amazing before and after photos, the airbrushed picutres of beautiful women in their skinny jeans, and the tantalizing promise that anyone can lose a mere 100 pounds or so. The guidance for wannabes? One woman hung a bikini in her garage and looked at it while she worked out on the elliptical. Another ate a lot of spinach; she suggests you take weight loss 5 pounds at a time. To People's credit, they do provide a section that features subjects of the Half Their Size issue in years past. These successful maintainers look inspiring, but the amount of useful information that accompanies their stories is miniscule. How are they doing it and what made them able to do what they couldn't before? That's the information that might help a curious reader, but it's not included. These features are strictly about the photos. There's no room for content.

Us Weekly has a cover that touts "Diets that Work" and suggests that each of us can have legs like JLo and Rihanna's abs. The diet guidance below each photo of skinny women in shorts and bathing suits is mostly useless. One woman did 2 1/2 hurs a day of karate and boxing while training for a movie (try that after getting home from a day at the office!), another does sessions that "shorten the muscle fibers", a third practices "portion control". In addition to sparse information, the women in these photos are mostly in their mid 20s, a time when dieting tends to work. What does any of this mean for the 50 year old empty nester who has been struggling with slow and steady weight gain for ten years? Here's my favorite quote from Us Weekly. It comes from Mariah Carey, who has been up and down the scale more frequently than Kirstie Alley. Once again she is at a smaller size and is now a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Carey says of herself, "I'm extremely disciplined." Hmmmm.

Silly season tips abound. The sillier the better. Here are a couple of great ones: Eat with large forks. Spice soup with pepper. Put coconut oil in your coffee to "increase metabolism". Oh my.

If silly season has your head spinning, here's what I suggest:

1. Cover your ears and close your eyes. There's too much information out there, most of which is ineffectual or just plain wrong.

2. Make a resolution, but not a weight loss resolution. Instead, resolve to begin the process of making yourself an all around healthier person, someone who will feel good and live well over an extended lifespan.

3. Pick a time of year when you will begin. It doesn't have to be tomorrow. It does have to be a time when you won't have immediate challenges from food....challenges like weddings, cruises, or birthdays. Give yourself a month when you aren't forced into situations when food is likely to win. Start with some breathing room in front of you.

4. Resolve to try eating a diet of real food, pretty much as it comes from the earth or its animals. Unless the food in a can or package is original and not adulterated with "stuff", don't eat it. If you are looking for weight loss as a part of this renewal, stop eating sugars, potatoes, and starchy foods like grains and the things made from grains (cereal, bread, pasta, flour based baked goods).

5. Read books, articles and blogs that further your knowledge of eating style.

6. Start looking around for a kind of sustained physical activity that you think you would enjoy once you mastered it. Start doing that thing at a beginner level and without significant challenge. Work up. If you do it for three months and don't like it, start over with something else.

7. Observe yourself and take note (either mentally or in written form) of your progress along the way. Does your skin look better? Do you feel happier? Do you have more energy? Are you less anxious? These are all results that have been observed after changes in the way people eat and live.

Silly season can be fun if you don't take it too seriously. Within a week or two, most of America will be back to its predictable cycle of weight gain and periodic dieting. Be bold, and head off in a different direction. Happy New Year!

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...lly-season.html

#267 ^

Sat, Jan-07-12, 04:49

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

January 06, 2012

More Silly Season....

Here's a great example of Silly Season media coverage. This article in USA Today is utterly confusing. The headline shouts that LOW protein promotes weight gain, while the body of the article says that those who ate MORE protein while overfeeding themselves gained more weight. The recommendations at the end make no sense whatsoever and the whole article is based on a single small study. Dieters are so overwhelmed with this kind of pseudo info that they don't know what to do next. Best advice: ignore this stuff.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...lly-season.html

#268 ^

Sat, Jan-07-12, 12:09

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

January 06, 2012

And More Silly Season....

US News and World Report is now ranking diets. At the top of their list, diets that promote lots of whole grains, which immediately turn into blood sugar further taxing the damaged insulin axis of those who are overweight. Remember when good diet sense meant cutting out the bread and pasta? There was a reason for that: it worked! According to the article, the diet NOT to be recommended is the Primal diet. Better to do Jenny Craig, according to these experts. Have any of these guys actually tried cutting out starch and sugar and had the experience of decreased appetite, weight loss, and well being? On what are these rankings based? January 6th and Silly Season in full swing.

See the info here, as reported by Medscape:

Report Looks at Best Diets, Easiest to Follow

Experts Examine 25 Diet Plans, Rate Them Seven Different Ways

Kathleen Doheny

January 4, 2012 — Who isn't looking for a diet this month? Whether you're resolving to lose weight, eat healthier, or manage or prevent health problems, here's help.

Just out today: the U.S. News & World Report's Best Diets 2012, a rating of 25 different diet plans.

And the winner is?

The DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), a plan to prevent high blood pressure, took the top spot in the best diets overall category.

Next were:

• Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC), a diet that's high in fiber and low in fat, developed by the National Institutes of Health, took second place.

• Mayo Clinic Diet, the Mediterranean, and Weight Watchers all tied for third place overall.

◦ Mayo Clinic Diet includes foods with low energy density, such as fruits and vegetables, and allows dieters to eat more while eating fewer calories.

◦ The Mediterranean plan includes whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats such as olive oil, and red wine in moderation.

◦ Weight Watchers focuses on portion control and encourages plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy.

A panel of 22 experts also rated the plans six other ways, such as best diabetes diet, best commercial plan, and easiest diets to follow.

The entire list is here.

Best Diets: How to Use the Lists

"The diets near the top of the lists are sensible," says David Katz, MD, MPH, founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, and a panel member.

Those on the bottom? "Frankly, we are saying we wouldn't recommend you choose one of those," Katz says.

Diets on the bottom of the overall list include the Dukan Diet, a high-protein, low-fat, low-carbohydrate plan, and the Paleo Diet, which encourages eating like ancient hunter-gatherers, with fruits, vegetables, and animal proteins. Those diets tied for last place.

Still, if a patient asked him how to pick from the lists, Katz would say: "You're the boss. You're in the driver's seat. You can go shopping. I like the idea of empowerment."

Before choosing, think of your priority, says panel member Andrea Giancoli, RD, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Do you want most to eat better? Lose weight? Prevent or manage diabetes?

"We're so fixated on that New Year's resolution of losing weight, we lose sight of the big picture -- to be at a healthy weight and maintain the healthy weight and get the nutrition your body needs," says Giancoli, a Los Angeles dietitian.

The experts rated the diets in six other ways.

Easiest to follow:

• Weight Watchers
• Jenny Craig
• Mediterranean

For best weight-loss diets:

• Weight Watchers
• Tied for second place were Biggest Loser, Jenny Craig, and raw food.

◦ Biggest Loser focuses on weight loss and includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

◦ Jenny Craig is a commercial program that uses consultants and portion control, among other measures, to help people lose weight and eat better.

◦ Raw-food diets focus on eating plant foods in unprocessed or uncooked states.

For best diets, commercial plans:

• Weight Watchers
• Jenny Craig
• Biggest Loser

For best diabetes diets:

• Biggest Loser and DASH tied for first place.
• Mayo Clinic, Ornish, and vegan were next, all tied.

◦ The Ornish plan is a very low-fat diet for weight loss and prevention and reversal of health problems such as heart disease.

◦ Vegan diets exclude meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.

For best diets that are heart-healthy:

• Ornish
• TLC
• DASH

Best diets for healthy eating:

• DASH
• TLC
• Mediterranean

Best Diets? More Advice

Before picking a plan, think about whether it will fit your lifestyle, Giancoli says. If the diet calls for you to prepare food, think about whether you like or hate spending time in the kitchen. If you don't like it, or don't have the time, a plan that doesn't require extensive food preparation may be better.

Get more information on the diet before plunging into it, says Marion Franz, MS, RD, a Minneapolis dietitian and another panel member. A couple of key questions: How successful were people who followed the diet? And, if it's a weight loss plan, how long did they keep off the weight?

"Most people will be successful for the first six months [on a diet]," she says. "The real question is what happens after six months."

If a plan can show you long-term results past that time, that's ideal, Franz tells WebMD.

Think very long term, says panel member Sachiko St. Jeor, PhD, RD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Nevada. The long haul, she says, often means making permanent diet changes, not changing your eating just for a few months.

No diet is perfect, she says: "All have good, bad, and limitations."

SOURCES:

U.S. News & World Report's Best Diets Rankings, 2012.

Marion Franz, MS, RD, nutrition consultant, Minneapolis, Minn.

Andrea Giancoli, MPH, RD, Los Angeles registered dietitian and spokeswoman, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Sachiko St. Jeor, PhD, RD, professor of clinical medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno.

David Katz, MD, MPH, founding director, Yale University Prevention Research Center.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...lly-season.html

#269 ^

Sat, Jan-07-12, 12:41

Judynyc

Attitude is a Choice

Posts: 30,111

Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"

BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%

Location: NYC

Quote:

A panel of 22 experts also rated the plans six other ways, such as best diabetes diet, best commercial plan, and easiest diets to follow.

22 experts?

It figures that the so called 'experts' would rate them this way.

#270 ^

Mon, Jan-09-12, 01:18

Demi

Strong Girls Rock!

Posts: 26,760

Plan: Muscle Centric
Stats: 238/153/160 Female 5'10"

BF:
Progress: 109%

Location: UK

Quote:

January 08, 2012

Got Eudaimonia? Beyond Diet and Lifestyle Change

by Barbara Berkeley, MD

" The ancient Greeks called it eudaimonia, and positive psychologists have adopted the term to refer to the kind of profound satisfaction and meaning one derives from raising children, training for an Olympic event, completing a college degree or helping your neighbors rebuild after a disaster. " ( NY Times, "Get A MidLife", 1/8/12)

It's a gift from the ancients! Today's New York Times introduced me to a word I've needed and searched for; a word to take the place of the weak and poorly descriptive phrase: "lifestyle change". One of my early blogs on this site complained about the fact that dieters dutifully repeat a rote phrase when asked why many diets ultimately fail, "It can't just be a diet," they say, "it has to be a lifestyle change."

Whatever that means.

While every successful maintainer I've every met has definitely altered his/her lifestyle, the phrase "lifestyle change" is not sufficient to describe the accomplishment, nor does it provide any specifics about what that change included. Some time ago, I asked readers to come up with words that better described the experience of maintenance and that included the profound sense of transformation and accomplishment that seems to go with it. But no words seemed strong or specific enough.

Today's NY Times has an article about modern middle age, it's drawbacks and it's benefits. Among the good things middle-agers experience is more frequent EUDAMONIA: a sense of having accomplished something truly profound. Bingo! I believe that eudamonia is what separates those who just diet from those who become different people at the end.

Look at the Silly Season ads that currently fill our airwaves and magazines. What's the message? That diet is about fitting into smaller clothes. That dieting is painless and can be accomplished by eating the very same foods that the SAD equates with pleasure. (Nutrisystem: Features "butternut squash ravioli", "double chocolate almond cookie"). Who are the spokepeople? Often, they are celebrities who have long histories of gaining and losing weight. Chances are you wouldn't believe that Oprah or Kirstie Alley had found the secret to weight loss unless they had managed to stay at lower weights for a very significant amount of time. What are the attractions? Women in tiny jeans and lots of makeup. It's pretty superficial when compared to the significant tasks that anchor weight maintenance.

What creates eudaimonia? Achieving something big, meaningful, and real. To do this, we need to go several steps past the usual suggestions. Here's an example: a weight loss tip from US magazine: "When baking, replace oil with applesauce". The same tip for those in pursuit of eudaimonia: "Stop baking. Guess what? You'll live."

You can find the comments of eudaimonic maintainers scattered throughout the responses to most online articles on diet. They generally will describe how they lost the weight and their long term regimen for keeping it off. There is always a simplicity to it and a pride. They worked it out! This has created a deep satisfaction.

As I always like to say, losing weight is no more nor less than throwing out the trash at home. It's great to get rid of it, but it's not a cause for intense, deeply-felt pride. But if you can turn that nice, clean home into a showplace, a thing of beauty, a place that anchors the neighborhood...now you've got eudaimonia.

http://refusetoregain.com/refusetor...yle-change.html