30 May Diets Don’t Work
Why Some Diets Don’t Work for Weight Loss
I’d like to start by telling you a story. Molly has been overweight her entire life and with encouragement from friends and family, this time it will be different. She’s buckled down and stuck to her diet. The first 10-20 pounds came off so easily, it only took a few months! She’s noticed that she’s hit a plateau, but that isn’t going to stop her. But a few weeks later, still nothing and now the craving’s have started and she’s tired all the time. “Keep up the good work!”, her friends tell her, but she just can’t survive on just 500-800 calories a day. So she decides, “ok, I’ve lost the 20 pounds, I’m going to go off the diet”. Within a few weeks the weight comes back on, plus more! She’s heartbroken!How many people have gone through this exact scenario.
Diets Do Not Work
The truth is, if you have more than 10-20 pounds to lose, DIETS DO NOT WORK! Our bodies are designed to store food. Less that 100 years ago, food was not abundant and people starved. The result is that when caloric intake is decreased our bodies have a natural survival mechanism to drop our metabolism. The diet is unsustainable and when normal eating habits return, or even just healthier ones, the weight is gained back and then some. This “survival mechanism”, unfortunately, is also our bodies way of sabotaging weight loss. At a BMI over 35, there is no failing with diets, there is only the inevitable, because they don’t work!
Weight Loss Surgery
Weight-loss surgery is the only proven way to sustain weight loss on people with a BMI over 35. Theories revolve around hormonal changes that result from manipulating the stomach and or intestines. They are theories because research is ongoing to identify those hormones. Weight-loss surgery is not a miracle cure, however, and it still requires dietary changes. The difference is surgery helps fight your cravings, the weight loss is rapid which helps sustain your metabolism, and the pressure of “failure” is gone.
At Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute, Drs. Tom Brown and Katy Irani are experienced bariatric surgeons who perform gastric bypass, the gastric sleeve, lap band, and revisional bariatric procedures. Please call 303-861-4505 to schedule an appointment or visit our website to learn more. We are here to assist you with your weight-loss goals that will change your life!
Dr. Katy Irani