Are you struggling to shake these stubborn pounds off your body? Did you try different diets, but the weight comes back again? Actually, it is not your fault, and you are not alone.
Multiple studies showed that most diets do not work in the long term (see more below). The better way is to establish your own healthy diet that meets your goal and desires and stick to it.
All you need is just to find replacements for unhealthy food in your current diet that, if done correctly, might be not only healthier but also tastier. You can find good ideas in the books listed below.
We are providing three revival recipes for delicious salads, which will diversify your diet and provide healthy nutrition. These salads were reported to help to lose weight as well.
Scientists are making significant progress in a search for treatments and therapies to treat overweighting problems, especially in relation to aging. Most recent developments are related to the usage of nanoparticles for fat-directed therapies and a special molecule to mimic exercise (read more below).
Stop dieting! It is worthless…
A frustrating pattern is familiar to almost anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight. Taking pounds off is hard enough, and … over time, they seem to come right back on.
So… Why do diets not work?
What is diet?
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. At its most basic, the term refers to nutritional and lifestyle changes that a person makes to improve their health. But we are more familiar with the use of the word “diet” as a temporary and highly restrictive program of eating in order to lose weight.
According to Wikipedia, there are more than 150 various diets in existence. Countless trendy plans have emerged in recent decades, from Atkins to Zone. Some are designed to restrict calories, while others limit fat or carbs or cut out certain foods such as sugar and legumes.
It’s estimated that 45 million people go on a diet each year, and according to the Grand View Research report, the weight management market was valued at $288 billion in 2020.
Why do diets not work?
Well, they do work, but in the short term only.
A key study that highlights the unsustainability of dietary weight loss was demonstrated by the Women’s Health Initiative. It was one of the largest and longest randomized controlled diet interventions and followed 20,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79 who maintained a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet for a duration of 9 years.
As seen on the graph, we can see that initially, in the first year of making dietary changes, the women lost weight (as shown with black dots). However, even though these women diligently maintained their diet and tracked their intake over the course of this study, they gained it back over 9 years.
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Similar trends were observed with many diets despite their differences. The systematic review on comparison of dietary macronutrient patterns of 14 popular named dietary programs for weight and cardiovascular risk factor reduction showed that most diets, regardless of which one, lead to weight loss and lower blood pressure, but these desired effects largely disappear after a year.
The companies promoting the diet culture want you to diet. They make you think that it is your lack of willpower that causes you not to be able to eat “correctly” or lose weight. They place the blame on the individual, who has no “self-control to eat right,” and “keep the weight off.”
This idea is far from the truth, but the dieting industry wants people to believe it! They want people to go back to dieting, which means more money in companies’ pockets. If dieting really worked, then the entire dieting industry would tank overnight.
Not only do diets fail at making us thinner, but they also make us unhealthier. Dieting to lose weight leads to food and body preoccupation, overeating and food bingeing, lower self-esteem, weight cycling, disordered eating behaviors, and eating disorders.
So… the first step towards permanent healthy weight loss is, somewhat ironically, to lose the diet and the diet mindset.
What is the alternative?
Typically, a diet assumes that you will have to eat less food, which also tastes less good, and this is for a certain period of time.
According to Dr. Kris Verburgh, a medical doctor, researcher, and author who specializes in health, aging, the future of medicine, and biotechnology, “That’s wrong on three levels.”
“All health benefits matter only if you stick to a diet your whole life, and that doesn’t work for most diets.”
Eating against your will? If healthy is not tasty, then there is something wrong with the recipes, according to Verburgh.
And why eat less?
“If you eat healthy, you automatically lose weight.”
In his book The Longevity Code, Dr. Kris Verburgh explained the science behind our metabolism leading to being overweight, the role of sugar, carbohydrates, and fats that we consume, the problem with diets, and many more. The book is written in a very easy-to-understand language and provides guidance toward healthy choices in food and lifestyle in general. He is also the author of another book, The Food Hourglass. Based on the latest scientific discoveries about nutrition and the aging process, this book shows you how to slow down the signs of aging through what you eat and lose weight in the process.
You can find similar approaches to a healthy diet in the book The Longevity Diet by Dr. Valter Longo, the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. This book accumulates 25 years of research on aging, nutrition, and disease across the globe.
Thus… What you eat determines how long, and how well, you will live.
The best answer to dieting is a lifelong program of everyday healthy, pleasurable eating. And do not forget about regular exercise. You do not need to run marathons to stay healthy, but you need to move. at least periodically.
Talk to your doctor, a nutritionist, and perhaps a health coach, and, together, decide on dietary and other lifestyle changes that appeal to you. Then stick with them. More likely, these lifestyle changes you might actually like because they will make you feel better.
We are currently accumulating and analyzing recommendations and tips for a healthy nutrition based on the most recent scientific discoveries, research achievements, and extensive human studies. It will be the representation of the “longevity diet” in our upcoming posts. Here, we represent three recipes of tasty salads (see below), which can be easily incorporated into your diet.
Below are also a few facts about weight loss that might surprise you, and you can find much more here.
Why diets don’t actually work, according to a researcher who has studied them for decades
A qualitative investigation of dieting, weight loss, and physical exercise, in obese individuals
Few facts about weight loss that might surprise you
- The amount eaten at dinner depends on the lighting. The brighter the light, the less you will eat – this conclusion came to German scientists. The lack of light distorts the portion size (it seems smaller), and the amount eaten is more difficult to control.
- 15 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to 60 minutes of running. In biomechanics, running is a series of jumps with a relaxed phase of flight after a jolt. When working with a rope, the muscles of the lower legs of both legs contract simultaneously, and circular movements are made in the shoulder joints. This almost 4 times increases the load.
- Weight depends on the condition of the teeth. It is proven: people with severe wear of the chewing surface and diseases of the teeth and oral cavity gain weight twice as fast. Cause: impaired digestion and metabolism due to insufficient chewing of food.
- Aromatherapy helps to lose weight. There are aromas that send signals to the brain about saturation. For example, the smell of peppermint, apples, and bananas. Keep a bottle of essential oil on your desktop and periodically bring it to your nose during bouts of severe hunger. When choosing an apple or banana as a snack, try to chew it as slowly as possible to prolong the flavor.
- Dog owners gain weight more slowly. Scientists at the University of Michigan estimate that pet owners make 34% more movements every day! Walking the dog is an excellent cardio load, which triples energy costs.
- Calcium deficiency increases appetite. Specialists of the Faculty of Medicine of Laval conducted a study: they divided women prone to obesity into two groups and offered a different diet. The basis of the menu of the first group was products with a high calcium content, and the second – with a low one. Result: a menu enriched with calcium helps to lose weight several times faster.
- Lack of sleep leads to weight gain. During sleep, the body produces leptin – a hormone that stimulates metabolism and the mechanism of hunger / saturation. Constant lack of sleep leads to its lack. Bottom line: metabolic disorders.
- Legumes help to transfer the diet more easily. Legumes allow you to avoid food breakdowns. The effect is achieved due to the low digestion rate. John Sievenpiper (St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto) proved that those who eat one serving of legumes per day do not experience acute bouts of hunger during the day.
Easy salad recipes for health and weight loss
Recipe #1
Ingredients
- Carrots (large) — 1pc
- Green apple — 1pc
- Orange — 1pc
- Cinnamon (ground, to taste) – 1/6 tsp.
- Honey (optional) – 1 tsp.
- Yogurt (without additives, optional) – 1-2 tbsp.
Instructions
- Grate the carrots on a coarse grater.
- Grate apples with peel on a fine grater.
- Peel and dice orange.
- Mix all the ingredients and add honey.
- If you like cinnamon, you can add a little.
- Dress with yogurt if desired.
You can also add nuts and/or raisins.
Recipe for 2 servings;
about 48 kcal per 100 g
Recipe #2
Ingredients
- Pumpkin – 250 g
- Orange – 1pc
- Lemon – 1/2
- Horseradish – 30 g
- Honey – 1 tbsp
Instructions
- Peel and finely chop the pumpkin.
- Peel and cut into pieces the orange.
- Slice the lemon
- Grate the horseradish on a fine grater.
- Mix all ingredients and add the honey.
This salad should be eaten in addition to the usual dishes.
Reciper #3
Ingredients
- Fresh mushrooms – 150 g
- Olive oil – 10 g
- Lemon juice
- Black pepper
- Herbs (parsley, dill, green onion)
Instructions
- Clean the mushrooms, and boil them in salted water.
- Throw on a colander and cut into small pieces.
- Pepper, drizzle with oil and lemon juice.
- In a salad bowl, sprinkle with herbs.
Mushrooms are a recognized dietary product with many health benefits. They also can help to lose weight since their caloric content is quite low.
Advances in weight loss approaches
Nanoparticles for rescue
A recent study of Biggest Loser confirmed that, although you can manage to drop pounds by simply dieting and exercising, your body will fight you for years afterward to gain them back. That’s why scientists are putting so much effort into studying obesity in an effort to help us fight our own genes. Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed nanoparticles that could deliver drugs to specific parts of the body, turning bad fat cells into good ones that burn fat.
Targeting of fat by cationic nanomaterials.
(Credit: Nicoletta Barolini/Columbia University)
(Source: bioworld.com)
The Columbia University Irving Medical Center team is also investigating the use of P-G3 (the positively charged nanoparticle polyamidoamine generation 3) as a potential carrier for fat-directed therapies. According to researchers, P-G3 nanomaterial does not destroy internal fat cells, but it prevents them from increasing in size.
The treatment with nanoparticles has yet to be tested on humans but could provide a new way to help fight weight gain and obesity.
By the way, targeted nanoparticles have already shown success in clinical trials to treat cancer. Tiny particles designed to home in on cancer cells achieve tumor shrinkage at lower doses than traditional chemotherapy.
A molecule to help
Some of us just can not find the time or willpower to exercise. Could a pill bring us all the benefits of a session at the gym?
Well, the scientists from Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford School of Medicine pinpointed the molecule, which they found could effectively reduce food intake and obesity in mice. The idea of the research is not to take exercise off the menu completely, but it could really benefit people who are physically (or mentally) unable to exercise adequately.
How do molecules work? They trick cells into working harder, increasing their metabolism and uptake of glucose.
So, are we going to replace exercise with drugs? I would say if your body parts are functional, you better stick to physical activity. Even if we ignore possible side effects (and most drugs have them), the actual walk on a beach or run on a trail are more satisfying than another pill intake.
But…
Some help might be valuable. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identified two signaling pathways that are activated in response to exercise and converge to increase endurance dramatically. So, less efforts will provide more results. I think we can live with that.
Nanoparticles in modern medicine: State of the art and future challenges
Nanotechnology advances towards development of targeted-treatment for obesity
Sestrins are evolutionarily conserved mediators of exercise benefits
New technologies and advances in weight loss therapy
What is next?
In our upcoming posts, we will keep you updated on the research and development in relation to weight loss therapies, as well as on new revival recipes that will help you on your journey toward a healthy diet and longevity.
Be sure to check back!
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