Confessions of a serial dieter

Thus began my long and complicated relationship with dieting. I’m someone who loves food. It’s more obsession than passion. Here are a few things that my decade-long tryst with dieting has taught me.

Do not yo-yo

Every time you put on weight, take it off, and then put it back on again, it will be that much harder to take it off again.

Your body is much smarter than you think it is and many millennia of evolution have taught it to hold on and store fat whenever it can, for the famine that might be coming.
Losing weight is not something it likes to do, and it will learn lessons which it will use against you when you try to lose weight multiple times. So, while it’s easier said than done, once you’ve reached your ideal goal weight, try and maintain it. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to take the weight off as easily the next time.  

No diet works forever

The first diet I ever tried was the General Motors diet. And it worked, the first time, the second and the third. And then it never worked again. The same is true for all principle-based diets — be it Atkins, South Beach, the Cabbage Soup diet — and believe me, I’ve tried them all. If you lose weight over a certain period of time using a principle-based diet, take a break and then try it again, you will lose less the second time. And this will go on and on until that diet just does not work for you anymore.
Chances are it never will again.

Exercise will not make you thin

Sure it’s good for you, but if you think that alone is enough to give you the body of your dreams, think again. A single piece of chocolate cake clocks in at 600 calories. You will have to run at 10 km an hour for an entire hour to burn that off.

Starving is the worst idea

Extremely low-calorie diets are the worst way to lose weight. Have you noticed how you might be eating a lot less than your friends, but they never seem to put on weight and you just can’t seem to lose any? The reason you cannot lose weight by starving yourself is because your metabolism will detect any major drop in calories and it will then adjust itself by burning fewer calories each day. Sure, you’ll lose a few kilos in the beginning but then all weight loss will come to a halt.

Worse, the minute you increase your calorie intake by even a little, you will immediately put on weight.

Your appetite is a habit

How much you need to eat in order to feel full is all in your mind. If you eat until you’re completely stuffed to the point of bursting, tomorrow you’ll be able to eat the same amount without any discomfort. On the other hand, if you eat smaller portions, after a while that’s all you’ll need to be satisfied. Remember that your stomach is elastic. It will expand or shrink to accommodate the amount of food you give it.

Tell your friends

Dieting is tough. But there are things that make it easier. Like support from friends. Instead of treating it like a shameful secret, go public with your weight-loss battle. Rope in friends to be sponsors. I’ve actually put my latest diet on Facebook. It’s a countdown and people can support me by liking my status.