Weight loss: Dr Michael Mosley on benefits of fasting
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Weight loss is a common new year’s resolution to have, but starting the new year determined to lose weight fast is probably going to lead to failure. According to a leading doctor at Lifesum, the leading global nutrition app, a staggering 80 percent of diet resolutions fail by February. Here’s why you should ditch the ‘New Year, New Me’ mentality when it comes to your weight and try a gentler approach to weight loss.
For the third year in a row, health and fitness come top of the list of Britons’ new year’s resolutions they plan on making, according to YouGov.
The most popular among those making resolutions is to do more exercise or improve their fitness (49 percent) but another 41 percent say they want to commit to improving their diet and 40 percent want to lose weight.
Unfortunately, as Lifesum’s leading doctor points out, 80 percent of these people will fail in their mission to a slimmer physique.
Dr Alona Pulde said: “Even with the best intentions, New Year’s diet resolutions have an unreliable track record.
“But, by understanding why diet resolutions fail we can resist the temptation to succumb to the pressure and, instead, build sustainable eating habits in 2022 that actually work.”
Why you should NEVER diet in the new year
Dr Pulde has unveiled the top four reasons why only two in 10 people who set New Year’s resolutions around weight loss will fail by February.
We ignore biological drives
When you commit to a restrictive diet after a lavish month of eating over the festive season, you’re probably ignoring your biological drive.
Dr Pulde said: “During the festive season, we eat all-out, and rely on New Year’s resolutions to reset our eating habits.
“However, we are programmed to seek calorie density, often with ultra-processed foods, which keep the calories high but eliminate the fibre and water needed to help our satiation system shut off.
“As a result, we over-eat high calorie, high-fat foods, which raises the threshold of what we find satisfying.
“Come New Year’s Day we feel restricted, deprived and anxious.”
To be successful, you should go at a gentler pace and cut down your calorie intake bit by bit to a reasonable amount.
The doctor advised: “Pace it. Don’t aim for 100 percent on January 1!
“Incremental changes over three months to a year are the best way to maintain healthy eating habits.
“Losing 10 pounds in 10 days only to gain 20 back is not sustainable. Instead, what if we lost one pound every 10 days in a way that we could enjoy and sustain?
“For example, if you are trying to incorporate more plant-based meals to aid your weight loss goals, change breakfast to be plant-based, have meatless Mondays, or choose local and seasonal fruit and vegetables for the next three months.
“Create small changes you can incorporate into your life, rather than changing everything at once.”
We focus on external factors
Common New Year’s resolutions, such as weight loss or wanting more money, are limited because they neglect our internal needs.
It’s all well and good to want to feel better about yourself, including how you look externally, but what about your health?
Dr Pulde said: “Weight loss is one way to meet our need for health, but not if it is done in unhealthy ways, e.g., deprivation and restriction.
“Defining what we really need, how to meet those needs, and which are most sustainable, is key.”
Why not flip your mentality? The doctor recommended finding your ‘why’ in order to be successful.
She said: “Typically, we focus on what, not why, we want to change something.
“The ‘what’ is self-limited and challenged in times of stress and illness. Knowing and connecting with our ‘why’, and establishing the strategies that best help to meet those needs, increases our ability to succeed long-term.”
We do it alone
Change is tough and even more so when we try it alone.
Dr Pulde said: “Taking the journey together with a family member or friend increases the success of making sustainable changes because you can regularly monitor and report on progress to someone other than yourself.
“Make it fun, find ways to hold each other accountable, and include friendly competition if that’s your thing.”
Using a food tracking app like Lifesum, which feature tonnes of delicious recipes and meal plans, can also benefit (especially if you don’t have a loved one to go on the journey with you).
The doctor explained: “The more specific you define why and what you want to change, the greater the success rate.
“Provide as many details as you can and include preparation in your planning. What are the things you need to set in place before attempting your goals?
“Creating meal plans and shopping lists help with changing eating habits, and creating a budget helps to manage your finances.”
A food tracking app can really help you with all of the above and set you up for success.
We focus on lack
If you’re always thinking about what you don’t have and what you shouldn’t eat, you’re not going to be in a positive mindset for change.
Dr Pulde said: “Plan to get back on the wagon. Distractions, disappointments and failures are part of life.
“We should expect to fall off the wagon at some point or several points throughout the year. Success lies not in avoiding these situations, but in planning for them.
“So, as you plan your what and why, include how. How will you get back on track? What are some of the steps you will take to bring yourself back to your goals?”
Why not think about what foods you should add to your diet for sustainable health in 2022 rather than cutting out whole food groups that you label as ‘bad’.
Dr Pulde recommended adding the following five foods to your daily diet:
- Fruits and vegetables – and whenever possible, make them local and seasonal.
- Whole grains, not refined – they positively impact our health and have a lower carbon footprint by decreasing processing and energy requirements environmentally.
- Beans and lentils – these nutritious choices reduce the need for fertilisers and decrease carbon emissions. Simply add them to, or use instead of, animal-food choices, including bean burgers.
- Choose sustainable fish – anchovies, clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, wild Alaskan salmon and mackerel are great options.
- Poultry or eggs – these can be used instead of beef, lamb, and goats. Not only are they a great source of protein, but they are more environmentally friendly.
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