Why Even the Best Diets Fail

Why do 95% of people who start a diet fail? Or, have success, and regain the weight a year later? Blame the conventional way of thinking and crappy diets. Seriously.

Below is a transcript you can use to follow the video with links to more information on the topic.

Why do 95% of people who start a diet fail? Or they have success and then regain the weight a year later?

Well, first of all, this stat has no clear origin so it may be an exaggeration but...we do know that most people do fail at changing their eating habits or easily regain the weight they lost. Why is this?

Well if you ask Dr. David Ludwig, who is both an M.D. practicing endocrinologist, and Ph.D. professor of nutrition at Harvard school of public health, he would say to blame the conventional thinking and crappy diets.

Seriously...

In his book Always Hungry, he states “Conventional diets aim to shrink body fat by only restricting calorie intake. But this approach is doomed to fail in the real world because it targets the symptoms, not the root cause of the problem. After a few weeks of calorie restriction, the body fights back and makes us feel hungry, tired, and deprived. Though we may be able to ignore these unpleasant feelings for a short while, they inevitably erode our motivation and willpower. Sooner or later, we succumb to temptation and the weight comes racing back, often leaving us heavier than before we started the diet.”

Most people can relate to this.

The science doesn't lie.

There was a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition where participants were given two different shakes. These shakes contained the same amount of calories and carbohydrates, but shake A’s carbs were fast acting simple sugars like you'd find in processed foods, and shake B’s carbs were slow acting like you'd find in plant-based Whole Foods.

Shake A, the fast acting carb group experienced higher insulin and blood glucose levels for the first 1-2 hours (expected) and then experienced a massive drop after four hours that created hunger and cravings. When the participant's brains were scanned, the scientist identified a region of the Brain called the nucleus accumbens that lit up like lightning after participants consumed shake A (fast acting carbs).

Neuroscientists identify the nucleus accumbens as ground zero for reward, craving, and addiction including alcohol, tobacco, and cocaine abuse.

When this region of the Brain is in action, willpower stands no chance. Making it impossible to stick to a calorie restricted, ITFYM approach for people who have been eating poorly for decades.

We must understand that there is a significant difference in mainstream weight-loss, and optimal human health.

A significant difference.

We are focused on optimal human health. It is very true that you can lose weight by focusing on calories in and calories out but losing weight does not mean you are healthy internally. In fact, you can lose weight and still be an inflamed wreck, developing the chronic disease as you age.

Dr. Ludwig puts it like this, “Foods with similar nutrients can affect hormones and metabolism in profoundly different ways, determining whether we store or burn calories, build fat or muscle, feel hungry or feel satisfied, struggle with weight or maintain a healthy weight effortlessly, and suffer from or avoid chronic inflammation.”

Food is information. How do you want to “code” your human body?

We recommend choosing plant-based, Whole Foods, real foods, and incorporating them as much as possible.

There is still balance to be had with real, traditionally prepared, Whole Foods.

Just practice avoiding the junk in the boxes, cans, bottles, and packets that we pass as edible food-like substances.