Entry tags:

diets-don't-work, the-science-of-getting-thin

Diets Don't Work, The Truth Is What Makes You Fat Is Dieting
Diets Don't Work, The Truth Is What Makes You Fat Is Dieting

Diets don't work

I know, I know, I am not the first person to say this. but...

In the book Diets Don't Work by Dr. Bob Schwartz, he has this famous line: "I had to call in fat one morning..."

That's very amusing, right? The expression you expect is "sick" so when he says fat, you roll on the floor laughing. At least I did.
Dr. Bob owned a gym. He was there every day. And he needed to call in fat, because none of his clothes fit him. Now, that forces you to ponder a little bit, I hope..

And the people who frequented the fitness center, the moment they started to diet, they eventually wound up fat.

He was theorizing that the folks that restricted their diets did some thing to their bodies that made their body want to store fat.

The method he demonstrated his theory was truly intriguing: he put a few skinny guys on a restricted diet fore someweeks. The guys lost a couple of pounds, but when they started to eat like before the diet, instantly, after a long time of trying to put on pounds, they gained an extra 5-10-15 pounds.

This is how he arrived to the conclusion that in the end what makes people fat is dieting itself.

The book is quite basic, though very well crafted. It says one thing, something that we've been told for many years, but not a lot of us will be able to (blank) pay attention to: eat when you're hungry, and quit eating when you are no longer hungry.

While this is true and tested out (I think, because I was never able to comply!) the problem with his strategy is that it is still a diet. A restriction. Something that demands you to concentrate on your behavior, have perseverence, and therefore it does not really work. Don't forget? diets don't work.

So why did he do an additional diet after proclaiming that diets don't work? Because we, as humans, have always engaged in reactive conduct.

From the limited perspective of the human mind

The second error people make is they are looking where everyone is searching, like the drunk in the joke.

What, you do not know that joke? The police officer is observing a guy seemingly looking for something, nighttime, below the lamppost. "What seems to be the problem?" he asks when he finally decides to approach the guy. The man, obviously drunk, says, "Officer, I am looking for my keys. Can you help me find them?" So now both of them are looking, to no avail. The policemen finally asks: "Did you lose your keys right here?" "Oh no," answers the drunk, "I lost them over there." "Over there?" exclaims the cop. "Then why are you looking for them here?" "Simple, officer" answers the drunk. "It's dark there, and I can't see a thing. Here, under the streetlight I can see."

So this is how humanity has been behaving for thousands of years, looking for answers not where they are, but where there is light, where they have already looked. Next time you can't find your keys or your watch or your glasses, observe yourself going back to the same spot, a drawer, your purse, several times, even after you are sure it's not there. It's funny, and it's the same thing.

But where are the answers? Where are the answers that would make a difference in the area of epidemic obesity? Where are we not looking?

The Science of Losing Weight or Diets Don't Work, The Fact Is What Makes You Fat Is Dieting