Do Diets Work? - POSTED ON: Aug 02, 2012
Diets and dieting is often an emotionally charged topic. Everyone has an opinion, and most people are interested in sharing theirs. Even "experts" have different perspectives and many of them are quite evangelistic about their own beliefs on the subject. There is now a rather popular viewpoint fostered by some Therapists and Nutritional experts who say that "Diets don't work"; that "Diet head is a bad thing"; and that "Dieting is one of the primary causes of eating disorders".
Do Diets Work?
My own position is that If a person eats food, and that person is alive, that person is on a diet that works. The frequency of eating, the amount eaten, and the micronutrients of the food eaten are all just factors of various diets. For more about those factors, read my articles:
The Essence of Diets Part One, and
The Essence of Diets Part Two. What is "Diet head" and is it a bad thing?
The basic essence of the term, diet head simply involves thinking about what and how one is eating. I, personally, see this as a very positive thing, and have chosen to make Dieting one of my Hobbies. For more about that perspective read my article:
Sorting Through Nutritional Information - POSTED ON: Aug 06, 2011
I believe that each person needs to choose their own individual diet or food plan. Every diet works for someone,but every diet doesn’t work for everyone.
The choice of a diet, or food plan, needs to be based on the food and information that is available to each person, as well as a person’s personal preferences. Cultural issues and one’s tolerance for hunger are also important.
My own food and diet choices are a continual “experiment-of-one”. Dieting is my Hobby, and I am always learning more about it. I read diet books, I think about the information in them, and I try out different diets, and different food plans.
I’ve learned something new about myself from every diet I’ve used, and many of the new foods and recipes have become favorites that stay with me long after a particular diet is History.
This is the process I used for weight-loss, and it is the way I maintain that weight-loss.
The choice of a food plan might seem to be an obvious or easy one, but each of us has a cultural and family food history that strongly influences what foods and eating patterns we can tolerate.
Also a great deal of misinformation exists about nutrition, dieting, weight-loss, and how the body processes energy. This often makes that food and diet choice difficult and confusing.
According to the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA) Nutrition and You: Trends 2000 survey, one in five consumers report being confused by news reports that give dietary advice.
Ten Red Flags of Junk Science The Food and Nutrition Science Alliance (FANSA), a partnership of the ADA, American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and the Institute of Food Technologists, has developed the “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science” to help recognize nutrition misinformation: Recommendations that promise a quick fix Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study Recommendations based on a single study Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations Lists of “good” and “bad” foods Recommendations made to help sell a product Recommendations based on studies published without peer review Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups
Ten Red Flags of Junk Science
The Food and Nutrition Science Alliance (FANSA), a partnership of the ADA, American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and the Institute of Food Technologists, has developed the “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science” to help recognize nutrition misinformation:
Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups
So, my advice is to continu...
Science Can't Prove What is True. - POSTED ON: Mar 28, 2011
I think one of the biggest and most common mistakes people make regarding food plans, diets, weight-loss or weight-gain etc, is the general tendency to think we are all the same... i.e. "if that specific behavior works for her/him, it should work for me."
All of the "scientific rules" written by Experts are merely Averages. We are not only two different sexes, we are also different heights, different weights, different ages, and different activity levels.
On top of that, each of us has a different and unique Genetic imprint. Strong Evidence exists indicating that some people "handle" or "process" various foods differently than other people.
At times it seems like the body defies the "rules of science" with regard to weight-loss. However, there are still many unknowns and variations between individual bodies, and many hormones and other inner workings of the body have still not yet been discovered.
Science can't prove what is True, it can only prove that a specific isolated fact in a specific isolated situation is Untrue.
The current "rules" are based on conclusions from past Research studies, and are not the "ULTIMATE TRUTH" because:
"The purpose of Science is not to reveal the Truth but to eliminate error. We can only approximate truth by getting rid of as many wrong conclusions as we can."
For those of you who are interested in my current Low-Carb Experiment-of-One which I last wrote about on March 21. I am several days into a planned pause of low-carb in order to assess my stabilized weight at 'normal'-carb in comparison with my stabilized weight at low-carb, so that I can make a personal evaluation of the process thus far.
At this point I have about a 3 lb UpBounce which is probably a result of natural increase in gylcogen (salt/water/waste) due to past six days of "normal" higher-carb intake. Right now, it appears that my stabilized weight with "normal" carb intake continues to run about ...
The Essence of Diets - Part Two - POSTED ON: Mar 03, 2011
As I stated in a previous Blog, The Essence Of Diets – Part One I’ve been thinking a great deal about the essence of Diets. The term “diet” is defined as Habitual Nourishment.
It seems clear to me that there are essentially 3 issues involved in all Diets, One main food issue, AMOUNT,. and two sub-issues, KIND and FREQUENCY.
AMOUNT -- of food eaten. KIND – fundamental nature (micronutrients) of food eaten. FREQUENCY of eating food.
RESTRICTIONS: All Diets involving weight-loss or maintenance of weight-loss place restrictions on one or more of those 3 food issues.
My careful study of many different diets has revealed some things to me.. things that might be obvious to others, but which took me some time to figure out. I’m still not certain about all of them, but here are a few “insights”.
The majority of diet book authors claim to have used that diet him/herself, and had excellent weight-loss results from it. I tend to believe this is true. What this proves to me is that there are a great many different ways to lose weight, but that what all of them have in common is EATING LESS.
EATING LESS, of course, means…not just eating less than one ate in the past while gaining weight, but also eating less than the amount of one’s normal (maintenance) energy burn. This, of course, is where it gets sticky.. ... because all of the rules one finds in the Expert’s charts and graphs are simply Generalizations.
People are different. Male and Female, Tall and Short, Large and Small, Young and Old, Sedentary and Active. Each of these categories changes a person’s basic energy use. In addition, Genetics vary between people, and even being a “reduced obese” person changes energy use.
Diet Books show that there are many different ways to accomplish EATING LESS. All of these ways involve somehow reducing the “calorie” amount of a person’s food intake. This can be done Directly, or Indirectly. In my previous post, The Essence Of Diets - Part One, I discussed many of the details of that issue.
Most diet book authors who have created Diets,
The Essence of Diets - Part One - POSTED ON: Mar 02, 2011
I’ve been thinking a great deal about the essence of Diets. The term “diet” is defined as Habitual Nourishment.
The term “calorie” is the term used to measure the energy value inside food, i.e. the unit equivalent to the energy-producing amount of food when oxidized in the body. In order for the human body to become a smaller size by losing bodyfat, that body must take in less energy than it uses.
I have read hundreds of diet books, and been on many, many weight-loss diets. Each of them appears to be some variation of a way to “EAT LESS and MOVE MORE”. One of the things I find fascinating about Gary Taubes’ books, one of which is now featured here in the section BOOKTALK. is that in one way his concept seems to break that mold……and yet in another way…the concept seems to fit into it.
I’m going to share some thoughts about this here. Then at some future time, I plan to share some further personal insights on this matter. It seems clear to me that there are essentially 3 issues involved in all Diets, One main food issue, AMOUNT, and two sub-issues, KIND and FREQUENCY.
AMOUNT -- of food eaten –
KIND – fundamental nature (micronutrients) of food eaten .
FREQUENCY of eating food.
AMOUNT – This can involve either DIRECT or INDIRECT restriction.
DIRECT restriction involving AMOUNT, some Examples include:
Counting food calories with the goal of staying near a certain number. Counting food points. ...
Mar 01, 2021 DietHobby: A Digital Scrapbook. 2000+ Blogs and 500+ Videos in DietHobby reflect my personal experience in weight-loss and maintenance. One-size-doesn't-fit-all, and I address many ways-of-eating whenever they become interesting or applicable to me.
Jun 01, 2020 DietHobby is my Personal Blog Website. DietHobby sells nothing; posts no advertisements; accepts no contributions. It does not recommend or endorse any specific diets, ways-of-eating, lifestyles, supplements, foods, products, activities, or memberships.
May 01, 2017 DietHobby is Mobile-Friendly. Technical changes! It is now easier to view DietHobby on iPhones and other mobile devices.
