https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...t-study-finds/
https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2017206
A study was done a while ago called the Matador diet. They tested if people would lose more weight if they took frequent breaks. The theory, that dieting suppresses the metabolism.... for many people.. for years.
The had two groups of men
1 group did 16 weeks straight of weight loss and the other group did 16 weeks -- over 32 weeks. Doing two weeks on and two weeks off. The findings
- The calorie suppression group had a major reduction in metabolism in as little as 3 weeks.
- The 16 weeks straight weight loss group gained almost all back. (most of it in extreme jumps -- called super fat accumulation)
- The 16 weeks straight weight group lost less weight -- with a sharp drop.
So, to me this may exactly be the reason we are all getting so fat. The *WAY* we diet. In as little as three weeks of calorie restriction your body starts reducing your metabolism. It hasn't been tested yet but I am wondering if, over a life time of dieting, your body doesn't get better and better at this. And that is why when people diet, each subsequent diet seems harder and harder and leads to less weight loss.
And the thing to think is that it is far worse for you to calorie restrict over 4 weeks than almost everything. Because every time you do this, your body gets better at it.
So for over 30 years I have been trying go lose 40 lbs. Doing it the same way every diet.
But had I just started from the start doing 3 weeks of dieting followed by 2 weeks at maintance -- I would have been to my goal weight without gaining it back.
To me this also explains how some people lose weight easy and don't hit plateaus.
- If you do not have over 20 lbs to lose.. you likely will not be on a diet long enough to substantially suppress your metabolism.
- Some people start with an higher metabolism and so, even if you suppress your metabolism once, you will still have relatively high metabolism and could get all the way to goal.
- Thin people who have never dieted are likely going to have a much less efficient response to calorie restriction.. the body doesn't know what to do. While people on a diet every year... the body learns how to reduce calorie burn -- better each year.
I have been dieting since I was a kid. I have lost a ton of weight over my life time... and always gained it back. Each diet I got on is harder and harder. Having to do much more to lose weight each time. So I have decided I will NEVER EVER EVER eat less for over 3 weeks without a substantial break. So far I have found the problem is that it is hard to go from calorie restriction to eating more to eating less.. but I suspect this is a sill I Need to learn
Is dieting itself the reason we are fat?
