Diets Cause Weight Re-GAIN – Here’s How
What they never tell you before you buy a weight loss program.
(And likely won’t admit, even after you pay them for it.)
by Boyd Jentzsch
Before you depart with your scarce cash on a low calorie weight loss program, take a look at what the Science of Weight Loss Nutrition has to say about DIETING.
Let’s start with the basics, then work up to the Re-GAIN problem.
One pound is 3,500 calories. So, If you want to lose weight you need to shed 3,500 calories for every pound you want to lose.
The average person has a Basic Metabolism Rate of about 2,000 calories a day (of course you may need more or less, but this number serves to illustrate the point.)
Now, that same average American eats about 2,100 calories a day. That’s just 100 calories too much. In the vast scheme of things, that’s not all that much. What harm can just 100 calories do?
Those EXTRA 100 calories a day add up to about a pound of extra weight a month – 10 pounds a year.
When faced with that many extra pounds year after year, what is the sensible thing for you to do? You go on a DIET, of course.
Most of the diets out there have you eating 1,000 calories a day. In fact, Weight Watchers has a patent on how they make sure you ONLY eat 1,000 calories a day with their pre-packaged food.
But Jenny Craig and NutriSystem, as well as a host of other well-known weight loss programs, all push you into eating about 1,000 calories less a day than your body requires. They may fancy it up with pre-packaged foods, give you pills to kill the hunger, or employ any number of strategies to make you eat less. One even uses an extract from pregnant mare urine (hCG) to make you ignore the hunger signals.
But, one way or another, the intent of the weight loss programs is to get you to eat a lot less food (hCG has you eating ONLY 500 calories a day, 1/4 your basic metabolism requirement — that mare urine really better work or you’ll get monstrously hungry).
With a 1,000 calorie a day deficit, you are going to lose about 2 pounds a week. That’s too slow for some of you. But doesn’t everyone tell you that losing weight any faster is not healthy? As far as it goes, that information is correct…before the wheels fall off the idea.
(And forget about trying to lose weight faster than 2 pounds a week. No matter how you do it, it will really screw up your body, so don’t even think about it. You need to know that the fastest way to Re-GAIN a LOT of extra weight is to lose weight fast.)
(Plus, you don’t need to pay a lot of money to lose weight faster than 2 pounds a week. Just don’t eat. STARVATION is a quick weight loss option, and its totally FREE.)
Losing “2 pounds a week” is only PART of the equation. The part unspoken is that even at that “slow” weight loss rate of 2 pounds a week, you are setting yourself up for automatic Re-GAIN…plus metabolic diseases down the road. Did you sign up for Re-GAIN with your highly branded program (take your pick): “Jump Start”…”Simple Start”…”Fast 5 My Way”…”Real Success”…”?
Let’s jump into the REAL weight loss equation…
– when you ONLY eat 1,000 calories a day…
– you are promised to lose about 2 pounds a week, which is…
– about 8 1/2 pounds a month, and…
– a whopping 100 pounds a year. Right?
Lose 100 pounds a year! Yup. Sounds great. So, if you ONLY need to lose 50 pounds, it seems like a cake walk (sorry for the apt metaphor, but it just slipped out). What could go wrong?
Well, quite a bit, actually. Where the theory of “lose 100 pounds in a year” goes seriously off track is… no one gave your body that memo.
Turns out that when you are eating 1/2 the calories your body is used to, and really needs to sustain life (and do all that wonderful things you expect your body to do), your body has TWO AMAZING AUTOMATIC BODILY REACTIONS – plus one totally unexpected one. So, let’s talk about that…
(See the last page and surprising conclusions of “Diets Cause Re-GAIN” here…)
I didn’t realize that about hCG. I have never used it but I had a friend who was. Do you have a source that says hCG manufacturers extract it from horse urine? I tried searching but didn’t find anything.
Yup, You got to lose it the way you gained it, slowly. Start today by making one smart choice and you are done for the day, about thinking about your diet. Tomorrow make two smart choices. Good luck to all
I need about 2k calories a day or i get massive headaches.. Great info thanks since i am usually on a diet..
Yay! Then I’m doing it right! Thank you for this information!
Wow! I didn’t realize this. I go on a diet like a yoyo!
Wow you have given me a lot of great and useful information thank you.
Unfortunately I know all the above to be very very true! And I know what your body does but I’ll let you tell everyone in your next article! As I often say–any “diet plan” will work for 20 pounds-then you will gain that back plus some!
Unfortunately I know all you are saying about is truth! I even kind of know what you will be saying in the next article but I will let you do it! You can lose approx 20 lbs on any diet plan–then gain back that 20 plus!
I’ve struggled with my weight since the birth of my first child in the 80’s. I’ve decided to love myself even with the imperfections.
Thank you for the post, I will be going back on Paleo as a lifestyle once this long weekend is over.
It’s just important to note that certain diets really don’t work on people because they don’t turn it into a regular lifestyle.
That’s why I don’t like diets! We should eat healthy…, real food and not prepackaged junk.
I have done well buy limiting my bad carbs and cutting artificial sweeteners.
I lost 70 lbs slowly over a one year period and I’ve kept it off, as I was not dieting. I eat in a healthy fashion and exercise moderately every day to maintain my results.
Definitely great information. Crash dieting is terrible. You just have to control your portions, eat healthy, and exercise.
I think any weight loss program needs consistency since the body adjust to the program and once you stop, you can regain the weight already.
I love learning but I Did not know about HCG!! Great info!
Interesting port! I’d have to say that different people use different systems for different reasons. Maybe some want the meal programs. To each their own in the end.
Thanks for the info! I need to Zumba like crazy, right now! 🙂
Yep, loosing weight is or should be a lifestyle change. No diet will help unless you agree to eat that way for the rest of your life!!! Great post.
Yes, if you want to keep the weight off, definitely doing it slowly is the best way to go. It’s a slow process.
Thank you for the great information regarding dieting. It is so confusing.
Really interesting and informative post! I don’t diet anymore because of this. I just eat healthier all around. Now if only I could give up my sweet tea1
We did exactly this. Calorie reduction coupled with healthier choices. No diet plans, no supplements, no shakes. Just plain old healthy eating!
I’ve seen this happen too. It’s better to just make modest changes so your body doesn’t get too shocked and try to hang on to everything.
This is part of why “diets” are so bad. You can’t temporarily change your eating habits and hope to get real results, you have to start living a healthier life. More fruits and veggies, less processed foods, more exercise, etc.
Wow, so much wonderful information! I like that you are educating us on the ROOT of the matter and that you are encouraging a STEADY pace and change in LIFESTYLE rather than some quick fix. The “lose 100 lbs. a year” cake metaphor was funny and clever.
There are a lot of women I know that could benefit from reading this article. They have struggled with this very thing, and obviously it is upsetting when the weight comes back.
looses it slow and steady the same way your gained it–eat right for LIFE not just a few months!!
I try not to diet, but make lifestyle eating habit changes.
I agree that the healthiest way to lose weight is to cut you caloric intake or up your aerobic activities. In fact, health experts urge women to eat at least 1200 calories a day. Anything less will push your body into starvation mode. Tank you for sharing this information.
Diets almost always fail… Partially because people go into diets without an understanding of WHY they gained weight in the first place. Calories in definitely does NOT equal calories out, though. Check out Gary Taubes for a great explanation of this and the influence of hormones on weight loss!
I have been working on making smart eating choices and following my body. It seems to be working. It is way slower but I am ok with that