It’s Not Your Fault Your Diet isn’t Working

As a highly qualified health coach , I have a responsibility to my clients to provide them with the best advice, based on up-to-date science.

We have all been there, we have tried one of the fabulous diets or programs that is helping “everyone “get results but for some reason it is just not working for us and so we move on to the next “fabulous” diet hoping for better results.

From one diet to the next seeking the results that you want with no real results you give up because it was too hard, you got frustrated and you didn’t see any further weight loss, so you called it quits.?

In my opinion there is not enough training provided to Personal Trainers on Nutrition. Certainly not enough to provide the proper advice to someone who has had weight problems for years.

Because of this, the advice provided can actually do more damage than good. This is bad because most people go to the gym, exercise or seek advice from personal trainers to try and lose weight. So what to do?

You probably think it is your fault why all these diets aren’t working.?Why is it that everything you try doesn’t seem to work??You are probably thinking that it’ll never work for you.?But let me tell you, it doesn’t have to be that way.

In fact I thought the same just 10 years ago when I was 80kgs and following the advice of an exercise physiologist and a dietician together I was paying them over $200 and hour to help keep me fat!

The first thing most people will do is cut back their overall intake of food, usually 500-1000 calories. And most people usually see some progress and even lose a few pounds, then they hit a plateau. Then most people decide to cut out some carbohydrates.

It works a little more, but then they start craving bread, pasta, and other delicious treats. They add them back into their routine and the weight creeps right back up. Sound familiar??

Your dieting efforts are failing because of this vicious cycle. We live in a society that continuously promotes?restriction of intake to the point where we are eating the bare minimum and our bodies adapt to conserve as much energy as possible which means, even with eating less each day, you’re still not losing weight.?

Your efforts are falling short because you set yourself up for failure from the beginning with all the wrong approaches. You first need to learn why you put on weight and it is not because you are eating to many calories, Weight gain in most cases especially for older people (40+)?is more about hormonal imbalance and carbohydrate intolerance.?

Weight Watchers doesn’t work because you may feel shamed for eating a food that has a higher point value than the other foods, so you end up not tracking them. For long term success, you may not want to be tied to tracking and points for the rest of your life.

Food tracking and macros has failed you because you weren’t measuring and tracking EVERY LITTLE THING you’ve had throughout the day; you went out to eat and didn’t want to guess what was in your meal.?

It’s not you that failed with the diet, it’s the diet that failed you! It is actually the flawed concept of calorie counting and a fear of Fat that has failed you.?

So, what should we do? I know this will be a controversial answer but start eating more. Focus still on eating nutrient dense foods but start eating more healthy real foods with significant reduction in processed foods. You need to reduce your carbohydrate and sugar consumption, and increase the consumption of good healthy fats.

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There is sugar in bannanas, bread, fruit, rice, potatoes, pasta?so yes avoid these they are all terrible foods. Especially if you are overweight!

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Is Eating Fat the Answer?

Let's be truthful, understanding fats is confusing and sometimes you hear things that are conflicting, but not all fats are created equal.?Eating good fat does not make you fat.

Fat has been the most vilified macronutrient of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. There are different kinds of fat: those occurring naturally in food and those in man-made fats (made by the food industry). It is important to distinguish between the two because their chemical structures are different and the impact of the man-made or unnatural fats on our health is highly significant.

Fats are divided into saturated and unsaturated fats, with unsaturated fats divided into mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Scientists will point out that in biochemistry terminology there is no such thing as a fat – it should be called a fatty acid. For those of you who are interested, a fatty acid is a string or backbone of carbon atoms linked to hydrogen atoms.

One final bit of scientific information: the terms saturated, unsaturated, mono- and polyunsaturated refer to the number of double bonds in the fatty acid chain (the chain of carbon atoms). Saturated fats have no double bonds, while unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds.

In monounsaturated fats, there is a single double bond while polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Having explained all of that, to keep things simple, we are going to continue using the term fat when we refer to this macronutrient.

Courtesy Eat well or die slowly Dr Estrelita van Rensburg and Issy Warrack

It is important to know that natural foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and nuts contain all types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Dairy products are the only food group that contains more saturated than unsaturated fat, e.g., butter contains about 64 per cent saturated fat, while beef and lard contain only 40 per cent. Pork contains a higher amount of monounsaturated fat, like olive oil. It is interesting to note, contrary to popular belief that the highest amount of saturated fat content is not found in animal products, but in a plant: coconut oil, which contains 90 per cent saturated fat.

Healthy fat has important functions in the body: it forms part of the membrane (protective wall) that surrounds every cell in our body, almost two-thirds of our brain is composed of fat and cholesterol, and our body uses fat as a fuel source, which is a much more efficient fuel source than carbohydrates.

Fat is also the major storage form of energy in the body. Healthy fats are required to absorb the essential fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K from our gut (it is important to know that for effective absorption we need to eat full-fat products and not the ‘low-fat’ variety available in our supermarkets). Fat also makes food palatable and is satiating – keeping us full for longer!

Of all the fat-soluble vitamins, only vitamin E is naturally found in plant foods such as seeds (e.g., sunflower seeds) and nuts. Many plant foods are indeed rich in micronutrients, but just because a food type contains a particular nutrient doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best available format of that nutrient which allows our body to absorb and utilise it efficiently. The scientific term for this is ‘bioavailability’.

For vitamins A, D and K, see the figure below for the types which have the highest bioavailability and therefore support our cellular functions best. Deficiency symptoms can develop if we (1) don’t get enough of the correct nutrient, for example by avoiding animal foods, or (2) eat only low-fat products, which negatively impacts the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Omega-3, one of the family of polyunsaturated fats has anti-inflammatory properties and is very important for brain development and intelligence. The best dietary source of omega-3 is fatty fish in your diet. Plant-based foods do not contain the correct type of omega-3 which our body needs and conversion of plant omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid or ALA) to the types of omega-3 that we need (eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA and docosahexaenoic acid or DHA) is a very inefficient process. DHA is the most important omega-3 for our brain functions and makes up to 40 per cent of the total brain fat content.

In contrast, omega-6 is associated with inflammatory processes in the body. Its consumption has increased dramatically over the last century with the industrial production of vegetable and seed oils.

Omega-3, one of the family of polyunsaturated fats has anti-inflammatory properties and is very important for brain development and intelligence. The best dietary source of omega-3 is fatty fish in your diet.

Plant-based foods do not contain the correct type of omega-3 which our body needs and conversion of plant omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid or ALA) to the types of omega-3 that we need (eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA and docosahexaenoic acid or DHA) is a very inefficient process. DHA is the most important omega-3 for our brain functions and makes up to 40 per cent of the total brain fat content.

In contrast, omega-6 is associated with inflammatory processes in the body. Its consumption has increased dramatically over the last century with the industrial production of vegetable and seed oils.

History of Industrialised Polyunsaturated Fat Production

In The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz provides a detailed description of how industry started to create a completely new category of food in the nineteenth century and how, today, it is one of the most prevalent commodities used in processed food.

Up to the beginning of the twentieth century, housewives in Europe and North America used animal-origin fats. Oil were mainly used to make soaps, candles, waxes, lubricants and fuels. Oils made from seeds like cottonseeds were not considered acceptable for cooking and baking in the nineteenth century but, unbeknownst to consumers, manufacturers from the 1860s onwards started adding cottonseed oil to butter to reduce production costs. Mechanised processes for pressing cotton and other seeds (rape, safflower, sunflower, sesame), as well as corn and soybeans, became much more refined in the twentieth century, and these polyunsaturated oils became extremely popular for culinary use.

One downside of these unhealthy polyunsaturated fats was that they became rancid very quickly and that led to the hydrogenation process which rendered them solid depending on the amount of trans fats they contained.

The more trans fats they contain the more solid they are. These alterations made them ideal for a whole myriad of uses by the processed food industry, such as chocolate coatings, cake icings, sauces, creamy fillings, and baking. In addition, they prolong the shelf life of the food and maintain flavour stability. Great news for the unsuspecting housewife since she now had products that would last forever!

From the 1960s onwards these new hydrogenated oils were even endorsed by the American Heart Association, which received millions of dollars in support from food companies who manufactured those oils. In 2011, Blasbalg et al. published a study on the consumption of fats in the US from 1909 to 1999 which estimated that the per capita consumption of soybean oil increased >1000-fold from 1909 to 1999.

This was achieved through aggressive and successful marketing campaigns by trade groups as well as recommendations to consume more polyunsaturated oils at the expense of animal fats. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Americans have switched from eating animal fats to vegetable oils, especially soybean product this has led to the obesity epidemic.

Some Easy habits to Change

One thing my clients do that is super helpful, especially with planning meals is to grab a calendar and write down their obligations for what's going on and what needs to be done. Write it out for the entire week, then figure out your dinner plan from there.

Another good habit is to start packing and preparing your lunch the night before! It doesn't have to be put in your bag already and ready to go, but you can put it aside in the fridge to grab on your way out the door. You can pre-portion out your snacks too to make sure you're not overeating on them!

Lastly, we must remember to prioritise sleep. There is a feature on your phone where it turns off apps at a certain time and puts your phone on do not disturb, give it a shot. You might even want to be brave and turn your phone off a few hours before bed and leave it in your kitchen! Set a solid shut off time for work and apps, and crawl into bed with a good book. Make your bedroom an inviting space to settle down for the night without distractions. Never have a TV in your bedroom, your brain will associate excitement of TV and the bedroom with staying awake. The bedroom is for sleep and rest full stop, well maybe one other thing :)

When you lack motivation

The first step to reigniting that fire is finding your why. Why did you get started on this journey in the first place? Why did you choose to make a change and get better? Why did you step out if your comfort zone to get moving? Think about it and sit in that feeling of wanting to achieve your goals FOR you why.

Secondly, focus on smaller goals. Don’t worry about the big number of kilos you want to lose, focus on what you can do this week, today, right now, to make a difference.

Lastly, give yourself grace. Not every day is going to be perfect, nor will you be able to do all the things. But, if you can move the needle forward just 1% each day, you're getting so much closer to your goal. I want progress not perfection! No one is Perfect!