Why Proper Lifestyle Is Better Than Diets For Weight Loss

Just behind drinking water, eating is one of the most essential acts of taking care of oneself. The foods in which people choose to digest depend on several factors: taste, convenience, cost, variety, palatability, satiety and hunger triggers, metabolic responses elicited, and cultural and behavioral factors (Foreyt, 2010). What we put into our bodies determine a lot of factors about our body composition and wellbeing as people. With health and beauty becoming a major industry in today’s world, the focus on diet has never been more relevant than it is now. There are several diets for people to follow achieving whatever goal they have set before them. The core reading, I am going to be discussing through this paper is titled, “Weight Loss Diets: Are They All the Same?” written by John P. Foreyt. He discusses the two most relevant weight loss diets. Although there are many options for losing weight, to achieve

The first point John Foreyt brings up during his paper is how obesity is a major world problem -- a problem that is steadily increasing even among developing countries (Foreyt, 2010). He breaks this down by providing statistics. The adult population in the United States has seen an increase from 13.4% to 33.8% from 1980 to 2008 (Foreyt, 2010). Just as the adult population has seen an increase, so has the children population within the United States; there has been an increase from 5% to 16.9% during the same span of years (Foreyt, 2010). Foreyt used these statistics to lead him into the main points of his article which are the comparison of the two diets of choice to combat obesity.

The first diet the author breaks down is the low-fat diet. This diet consists of restricting your intake of fat to no more than 30% of your daily caloric composition (Foreyt, 2010). Low fat diets are seemingly popular because of the theory that the less saturated and trans fatty acids ingested the lesser the chances of developing cardiovascular diseases (Foreyt, 2010). The other advantage to this diet is the fact that fat contains 9 calories per gram versus protein and carbohydrates only consisting of 4 calories per gram. (Foreyt, 2010).

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The second diet that Foreyt breaks down is the reciprocal of the first, a low carbohydrate diet. Diets that are low carbohydrate focused consist of limiting the intake of carbs to only 20 to 60 grams per day (Foreyt, 2010) The focus of these diets is to limit the intake of foods such as breads, pasta, potatoes and rice with foods that are high in protein, fats, and dairy (Foreyt, 2010). The theory of low carb diets is that it forces the body to increase production of ketones to use as an energy source, therefore promoting weight loss (Foreyt, 2010).

Following his summaries of these two diets he then goes into the comparisons of the two. He provides some information on a study performs by Sacks and Colleagues. They performed a study over the course of two years, which found that no matter what composition of macronutrient diet the subjects were on the weight loss percentage was similar between the diets (Sacks, et al. 2009). The conclusion: no matter the composition of diet, reduced caloric intake will result in weight loss (Sacks, et al. 2009). They placed a heavier importance on the weight loss interventions, overall commitment, and enthusiasm to losing weight as a higher contributing factor that what diet they were following (Sacks, et al. 2009).

In response to Foreyt’s article, I do believe he did lay a good foundation for readers who are interested in weight loss. Although he did not go into very much detail about either diet, he did lay the groundwork to spark interest in readers to do more research for themselves. Just as the Sacks and Colleagues report stated, “Behavioral factors such as commitment to achieving weight loss and attending the intervention classes were the main influences on weight loss rather than the macronutrient composition of a diet” (Sacks, et al. 2009). “According to the researchers, any type of weight loss diet that is followed with enthusiasm and persistence can be effective” (Foreyt, 2010). If the readers have a desire to achieve weight loss, then they often will have the desire to do thorough research on finding ways to lose weight. I have not necessarily been on a weight loss venture, but I am currently on an overall fitness expedition. I have found that when it comes to dieting it is all about balance, control, and consistency. The statement that Sacks and Colleagues made resonates with me on a personal level because it is the motivation and lifestyle that is the contributing factor to weight loss and in my case fitness results more so than giving credit to a single specific diet. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also agrees that, “The key to achieving and maintaining healthy weight isn’t short-term dietary changes” (CDC). “It’s about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity, and balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses” (CDC).

Overall, Foreyt was not biased to any diet he summarized, and he did present an outside source to further the point that lifestyle choices are the root cause of true weight loss. He ended the article effectively by stating, “Given a range of choices, it is then the consumers’ responsibility to make appropriate lifestyle changes for the benefit of their health” (Foreyt, 2010). He ended by furthermore pushing the reader to take a closer look into their life, owning up to the fact that their health is in their hands. It is up to them to make the necessary lifestyle change. No single diet alone will lead to lasting weight loss results like an educated lifestyle change to live healthier will.

Bibliography

1. Foreyt, John P. “Weight Loss Diets: Are They All the Same?” Food Engineering and Ingredients, vol. 35, no. 3, June 2010, pp. 38–40., http://www.cengage.com/custom/static_content/OLC/s76656_76218lf/foreyt.pdf.
2. Healthy Weight It’s Not a Diet, It’s a Lifestyle. CDC, www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/matte/pdf/031210-Healthy-Weight.pdf.
3. Sacks, Frank M., et al. “Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, 26 Feb. 2009, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0804748.