Diets Don’t Work

Now they tell me! Now they say that diets don’t work. I could have told them that myself. Years ago.

The New York Times recently reported that there’s mounting scientific evidence to suggest that bouts of restrictive dieting make you want to eat more, slow your metabolism, and make it harder to lose weight in the future.  Statistics show that no existing diet has ever resulted in sustainable, long term weight loss for the majority of people who use them. I can attest to that.

I’ve grown tired of being on the roller coaster ride of losing-weight-only-to-regain-it. I’ve never been terribly overweight, but I’m short. Extra pounds don’t have much room to hide; they convene around my belly and hips. For most of my adult life (I’m 84), I’ve always been 10 lbs up, 10 lbs down, and 10 up again. Since I retired, it’s been 20 lbs up and zero lbs down. I’ve lost weight on Metrical, the Scarsdale Diet, the Mediterranean diet, and Weight Watchers. Every time, I’ve ended up putting the weight back on. Last spring, I went back on Weight Watchers, determined to look good in a bathing suit by the summer. I stuck to their point system, swam three times a week, and (the hardest part) I avoided alcohol. By July, four months later, I had lost 8 lbs. I noticed the change but no one else did. I decided the loss was not enough to warrant the effort involved.

Since then, I’ve gained it all back. I’ve tried adjusting the full length mirror to show me at a slimmer angle. I swim three times a week at the JCC. I eat all the right foods: chicken, fish and an occasional hamburger, lots of salads, veggies and fruits, and fat free yogurt. But life has become too short to deprive myself of my favorites: twice baked potatoes, tuna melts, bacon-lettuce-and-tomato on rye, French brie, butter pecan ice cream, and straight up martinis. Possibly in reverse order.

The Drexel Univ Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science advises “mindful eating” by identifying the craving, noticing how you feel, and accepting it, rather than trying to repress it. “Ride the wave,” they advise, “let the craving pass.” The Center quotes one of its students: “The simple visual concept of riding the wave has been amazingly helpful for me. I used it three times last night to overcome post-dinner snacking. Worked like a charm!”  Another was quoted as feeling “joyful” at being able to do the right thing. REALLY?

Mindful eating relies on the expression of your good judgment and sensibility. It relies on your doing the right thing, not just thinking what’s right.

And therein lies the problem. When it comes to eating, I know the right thing to eat, but don’t want to eat it. I want to eat what I want. Within reason, of course, but I don’t believe that depriving myself can be joyful. And I don’t care that it can work like a charm. I eat well, exercise, and am healthy. There’s not much time left for improvement. Weight be damned.

A friend of mine insists on not buying another piece of clothing until she loses 30 pounds. After eight years of trying several diets, including Weight Watchers, Noom and Golo, all I’m hearing from her is, “nothing works; I have nothing to wear; nothing fits me!” “It's time for you to go up a size,” I tell you. “Try it; you might be pleasantly surprised by the way you look.” But I might as well be talking to a stone wall. Now she’s going abroad to visit her daughter and, of course, hasn’t lost weight and doesn’t fit into anything but loose pants and tops. I’m sitting back, trying to be sympathetic., but not doing a good job at it.

At 84, I’ve decided that no matter what I do, no matter how mindful I am, it’s too hard to lose weight. I don't have the patience and determination. My metabolism has upped and left, leaving my body in free fall, and I never had a clue.