Why Diets Make Us Fat : The Unintended Consequences of Our Obsession With Weight Loss

“If diets worked, we'd all be thin by now. Instead, we have enlisted hundreds of millions of people into a war we can't win." What’s the secret to losing weight? If you’re like most of us, you’ve tried cutting calories, sipping weird smoothies, avoiding fats, and swapping out sugar for Splenda. The real secret is that all of those things are likely to make you weigh more in a few years, not less. In fact, a good predictor of who will gain weight is who says they plan to lose some. Last year, 108 million Americans went on diets, to the applause of doctors, family, and friends. But long-term studies of dieters consistently find that they’re more likely to end up gaining weight in the next two to fifteen years than people who don’t diet. Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt spent three decades in her own punishing cycle of starving and regaining before turning her scientific eye to the research on weight and health. What she found defies the conventional wisdom about dieting: ·Telling children that they’re overweight makes them more likely to gain weight over the next few years. Weight shaming has the same effect on adults. ·The calories you absorb from a slice of pizza depend on your genes and on your gut bac­teria. So does the number of calories you’re burning right now. ·Most people who lose a lot of weight suffer from obsessive thoughts, binge eating, depres­sion, and anxiety. They also burn less energy and find eating much more rewarding than it was before they lost weight. ·Fighting against your body’s set point—a cen­tral tenet of most diet plans—is exhausting, psychologically damaging, and ultimately counterproductive. If dieting makes us fat, what should we do instead to stay healthy and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions? With clarity and candor, Aamodt makes a spirited case for abandoning diets in favor of behav­iors that will truly improve and extend our lives. A neuroscientist uses her knowledge of brain science and biology to explain why dieting does not work and that a cycle of dieting and gaining is actually worse for one's health than being overweight. If diets worked, we'd all be thin by now. Instead, we are in a war we can't win. If you're like most of us, you've tried cutting calories, sipping weird smoothies, avoiding fats and sugar. The real secret is that all of those things are likely to make you weigh more in a few years, not less. Long-term studies of dieters consistently find that they're more likely to end up gaining weight in the next few years than people who don't diet. Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt spent three decades in her own punishing cycle of starving and regaining before turning her scientific eye to the research on weight and health. What she found defies the conventional wisdom: telling children that they're overweight makes them more likely to gain weight over the next few years--weight shaming has the same effect on adults; the calories you absorb from food depend on your genes and on your gut bacteria--so does the number of calories you burn; most people who lose a lot of weight suffer from obsessive thoughts, binge eating, depression, and anxiety--they also burn less energy and find eating much more rewarding than it was before they lost weight; fighting against your body's set point--a central tenet of most diet plans--is exhausting, psychologically damaging, and ultimately counterproductive. If dieting makes us fat, what should we do instead to stay healthy and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions? With clarity and candor, Aamodt makes a spirited case for abandoning diets in favor of behaviors that will truly improve and extend our lives.--Adapted from dust jacket. Based on her viral TED talk, neuroscientist and science writer Sandra Aamodt explains how the latest scientific research contradicts what you think you know about dieting and weight loss. By harnessing her knowledge of brain science and biology, the author successfully stabilized her weight at a healthy level and enjoys a better relationship with food. Combining deep research and brutal candor about her own experience as a weight cycler, Aamodt gives us several clues into the obesity epidemic based on the latest science, including new findings about gut bacteria, why bariatric surgery works (it has more to do with your brain than your stomach), and what a real alternative to dieting and weight cycling might look like. Print run 35,000 Part One The Trouble with Diets : 1 The Diet Roller Coaster 2 Willpower Runs Out 3 How Diets Lead to Weight Gain 4 The Weight of Beauty 5 Our Brains Fight Weight Loss Part Two Why We Gain Weight : 6 Early Life and Adult Weight 7 Stress, Shame, and Stigma 8 When Calories Don’t Count 9 Blame Your Ancestors 10 Follow the Money Part Three A Better Way : 11 Eat with Attention and Joy 12 Sleepwalking Through Dinner 13 Healthy Is Better Than Thin 14 Change Your Lifestyle, Change Your Health 15 Good Habits Beat Good Intentions