Reply to: Eat, Fast, Live Longer.

[Ignis Fatuus]

I have a good friend who lost heaps using the dukan diet, and lost all his weight, and still keeps it off, and eats very well. Not a big eater of carbs now though.

That is probably the secret to most successful weight loss diets: whatever it is that the diet nominally restricts, the actual result is a significant reduction in carbohydrate intake.

This is true even for carb-based diets: they have you eat mainly carbs but restrict (often severely) how much, so they are actually low-carb diets even if they don't look it. Diets that are openly low-carb often do not restrict how much you eat, they just come down hard on carbs. Same result either way - low carbs.

Most of the dramatic weight loss that comes with a sudden change to low-carb eating is not loss of fat, it's loss of water. This is because carbs are stored as glycogen in the liver, with an associated 3-5x the weight of water. Cut the carbs, you cut the glycogen storage, and with it a load of water.

It's not temporary: keep off the carbs and the weight loss will stay. (pedant note: if you eat enough fat your body can replenish glycogen stores from that, but it is less likely to do so in the absence of the insulin stimulus provoked by carbs),

I don't regard the loss of weight by loss of water as being in any way fake or illusory: the mere fact of carrying around many fewer kg all the time has got to be good for your long-term health.

Also, there are other, stronger, reasons for eating less carbs but that's a whole other story.

BTW many of us actually prefer low carb eating. Give me a choice between a smoked salmon sandwich with 2 slices of salmon, or 8 slices of salmon but no bread, I know which I'd regard as a snack and which I'd regard as a feast.

(calc: smoked salmon 23 kcal.slice, bread 74 kcal/slice).

Best result of course is to have only 3 or 4 slices of smoked salmon and feel that you're not "on a diet", rather you're haveing exactly what you want.

[xoggoth]

Makes sense to me. As I have said before, anything you do regularly does not appear to work because the body adapts to any regular system, you have to ambush it. 3 days with little food works when just cutting down on daily intake does not. Obviously you have to be cunning and change which days or the body susses what you are up to.

PS Heroin. AIDS works too.

[Old Hack]

I have a good friend who lost heaps using the dukan diet, and lost all his weight, and still keeps it off, and eats very well. Not a big eater of carbs now though.

He's tried everything, even that alli drug, which, by all accounts, failed spectacularly, and messily, in front of clients... tulip, I still laugh thinking of him explaining it to me 'well I thought I could have one piece of pizza...'

[SueEllen]

I'm not overweight though... I just want to see if I could live longer!

If your grandparents or parents are 90 odd or lived to that age then stop worrying.

Edited to say: Well worry if they had dementia and lived to that age.

[ChimpMaster]

I saw the programme when it was aired and thought I would give the diet a try, but then I forgot about it and anyway I enjoy my drink too much so woud find it hard to not drink on the off days.

I'm not overweight though... I just want to see if I could live longer!

[SueEllen]

And that works because you are decreasing overall intake of sugar and starch.

I actually didn't watch Horizon or whatever.

I watched or read something a while ago by exercise scientist that explained why various diets worked, and the consensus is that they reduced your calorie intake over at time period.

[lukemg]

Yeah, I know I should keep it to the 2500 but do find myself topping up a bit. Still losing weight though plus potential other benefits.
More importantly, it's no big grief, especially at work when you are sat round anyway and its well worth not having to think about it the rest of the time.

[Platypus]

Week 6 for me, I've lost 1/2 a stone. I'm fasting again today.

While it is about reducing calories overall, the "trick" here is that occasional fasting doesn't trip the body into "conservation mode" whereas reducing your calories every day does. Is my understanding. Plus, if you watch the programme, there are additional benefits.

All you cynics, there's no money in this diet, no recipe books or videos or meal plans.

@lukemg, I've found that not pre-loading on eating days keeps you on a downward trend. Just eat a normal 2500 calories!

[Ignis Fatuus]

They work because you are decreasing you overall calorie intake over the week/month.

And that works because you are decreasing overall intake of sugar and starch.

[lukemg]

There aint much money in this one, carrots don't cost that much !!
Of course it's the overall calories that causes the weight loss, people think they can eat twice as much on pig days but it ends up being about 10% more I reckon (programme said this as well).
Trouble with exercise is that it takes too 'kin long to burn off any calories, I still play football and cycle etc But could do with some resistance stuff to balance desk-based existence.
It's working so far for me.

[SueEllen]

A lot of total tulipe if you ask me.

But the fatties will go for anything and there is money in these 'cures'.

They work because you are decreasing you overall calorie intake over the week/month.

[SueEllen]

have you ever see a fat smack head?

Yes.

And fat alcoholics.

Shows some people really have screwed up genes.

[minestrone]

A lot of total tulipe if you ask me.

But the fatties will go for anything and there is money in these 'cures'.

[d000hg]

[SimonMac]

I have heard about this, girl in the office swears by it but I have always believed the best way to lose weight is to eat healthy in moderation and exercise regularly, either that or take up heroin, have you ever see a fat smack head?