4 ms·

This is an interesting discussion about a topic we know doesn't work. Every piece of reliable data shows that diets don't work. 95% of people who diet gain that

This is an interesting discussion about a topic we know doesn't work. Every piece of reliable data shows that diets don't work. 95% of people who diet gain that weight back and more within 1-5 years. Nutrition philosophies based on deprivation are doomed to fail. A better question might be is what healthy lifestyle components lead to a healthier experience?

WaxProlix 9y ago
Keto is interesting because doing it successfully (ie, meeting the requirement of temporary deprivation) necessitates learning a bit about how the body works, how nutrients are processed, and the role of insulin and carbohydrates in how we as animals take in energy. The vigilance it requires in order to be successful, too, is fairly rigid. I think that just doing keto for a few months can change the way you think about eating, or even change your relationship to food overall. That more mindful approach to nutrition might last longer than the temporary deprivation. It would explain some of the longer-term benefits that people who've [successfully] done keto tend to talk about.
kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
> 95% of people who diet gain that weight back and more within 1-5 years. This keeps being touted again and again as if it's some grand criticism of diets. Obviously if you stop following a diet, its results will stop applying to you. If you follow a diet that restricts your calories and causes you to lose weight, and you then stop following the diet and eat whatever you ate earlier, of course you will gain back your weight. Healthy eating is a lifestyle decision and a lifestyle change. You have to understand what your diet was trying to achieve, and then try to apply similar concepts to your general everyday life.
mistermann 9y ago
Most "dieters" follow it on a whim. For those that really get into keto and educates themselves on nutrition, read forums, etc I would bet money are far more successful than 5% in keeping it off. It's far easier to be disciplined following a low carb diet because you simply can't cheat with sweets, cheating = you're not on keto any more, makes it psychologically easier (for me anyways). And, once you adopt it as a lifestyle, you really watch what you eat even after the intensive diet - I eat whatever I want, I just don't find myself wanting sugary foods because I know what they do to you, and I have zero problem staying at my desired weight.
- zzalpha 9y ago
  You've literally described anyone who chooses to truly adhere to any diet over the long term. The point is, those people are, in practice, a tiny fraction of dieters.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    Oh, do all diets have identically enthusiastic and identically educated communities around them, and the approaches and rules and effects of satiety are identical for all diets? It's interesting how there used to be so much variance in the world (and in fact, you can turn on the TV or get on a plane and still see variance everywhere you go).....yet if you were to take the word of people on the internet, everything is identical everywhere.
  - kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
    Yes, but a diet is not a magic incantation that you can get the effects of by merely repeating the word or discussing it endlessly with friends. Diets work (or not) based on fairly straightforward causal chains. People who want to continue to do exactly or very nearly the same of whatever they were doing and see a drastic change are bound to be disappointed not only in the mission of reducing weight but also in life.

WaxProlix 9y ago

Keto is interesting because doing it successfully (ie, meeting the requirement of temporary deprivation) necessitates learning a bit about how the body works, how nutrients are processed, and the role of insulin and carbohydrates in how we as animals take in energy. The vigilance it requires in order to be successful, too, is fairly rigid. I think that just doing keto for a few months can change the way you think about eating, or even change your relationship to food overall. That more mindful approach to nutrition might last longer than the temporary deprivation. It would explain some of the longer-term benefits that people who've [successfully] done keto tend to talk about.

kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago

> 95% of people who diet gain that weight back and more within 1-5 years. This keeps being touted again and again as if it's some grand criticism of diets. Obviously if you stop following a diet, its results will stop applying to you. If you follow a diet that restricts your calories and causes you to lose weight, and you then stop following the diet and eat whatever you ate earlier, of course you will gain back your weight. Healthy eating is a lifestyle decision and a lifestyle change. You have to understand what your diet was trying to achieve, and then try to apply similar concepts to your general everyday life.

mistermann 9y ago

Most "dieters" follow it on a whim. For those that really get into keto and educates themselves on nutrition, read forums, etc I would bet money are far more successful than 5% in keeping it off. It's far easier to be disciplined following a low carb diet because you simply can't cheat with sweets, cheating = you're not on keto any more, makes it psychologically easier (for me anyways). And, once you adopt it as a lifestyle, you really watch what you eat even after the intensive diet - I eat whatever I want, I just don't find myself wanting sugary foods because I know what they do to you, and I have zero problem staying at my desired weight.

zzalpha 9y ago
You've literally described anyone who chooses to truly adhere to any diet over the long term. The point is, those people are, in practice, a tiny fraction of dieters.
- mistermann 9y ago
  Oh, do all diets have identically enthusiastic and identically educated communities around them, and the approaches and rules and effects of satiety are identical for all diets? It's interesting how there used to be so much variance in the world (and in fact, you can turn on the TV or get on a plane and still see variance everywhere you go).....yet if you were to take the word of people on the internet, everything is identical everywhere.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
  Yes, but a diet is not a magic incantation that you can get the effects of by merely repeating the word or discussing it endlessly with friends. Diets work (or not) based on fairly straightforward causal chains. People who want to continue to do exactly or very nearly the same of whatever they were doing and see a drastic change are bound to be disappointed not only in the mission of reducing weight but also in life.