Top 5 diet questions answered

It’s not always easy to sort the fact from fiction when it comes to losing weight. It’s time to set the record straight.

Top UK nutrition and diet expert Judith Wills is the author of the new book Your Diet Questions Answered (Quadrille). “The main mistake people make when they decide to go on a diet is to make sweeping changes all at once, which may work in the short term, but it’s like a tightly wound spring – it’s bound to go ‘ping’ at some time,” says Wills.

Here are 5 questions from Wills’ book, which answer some of the most common queries about diets. We’ve asked our own experts for their input, too.

Why do some people eat a lot and still stay slim?

How much you can eat without gaining weight depends on metabolic rate. Some people have a high rate, burning 14 700 kilojoules per day; others only burn 7 140 kilojoules per day and must eat less
in order to stay slim.

One theory is that people who gain weight have a blunted thermal response to eating. In some, diet-induced thermogenesis (heat production in the body, in which kilojoules are used
during digestion) accounts for a rise in metabolic rate of 30 percent after eating; in many overweight people, this is closer to five percent. Research also shows that many thin people who seem to eat a lot
actually eat less than overweight people – preferring, say, to eat salads and fruit.

Can dieting actually make you fat?

While cutting kilojoules will lead to weight loss, evidence shows that repeated ‘yo-yo’ dieting may make it even more difficult to lose weight in the long term. This is most likely because repeated dieting tends to deplete lean tissue (muscle), which reduces your metabolic rate over time. The best thing to do is avoid crash dieting and do plenty of muscle-enhancing exercise.

Why do so many people put weight back on after a diet?

Research shows that only about 10 percent of slimmers retain their new weight nine months after dieting. In the long run, one-third of dieters land up putting on 5kg more than their original weight. As
a slim person has a slower metabolic rate than someone who is overweight, they will need to restrict their kilojoule intake permanently to retain their new weight. The best way to keep off weight following a diet is to do more exercise.

Is sugar really that bad?

Sugar, by itself, contains only kilojoules and no useful nutrients. Intrinsic sugars – the natural sugars found in fresh and dried fruit and vegetables – are necessary for a healthy diet; whereas extrinsic sugars – those added to foods such as cakes, biscuits, desserts, confectionary or preserves, soft drinks and alcohol – can lead to excess weight. Too much of this kind of sugar can also lead to tooth decay and promote insulin resistance, increasing the risk of developing type-2 diabetes.

What is the healthiest slimming diet in the world?

There’s no such thing as ‘the world’s healthiest slimming diet’. Generally, a diet that’s high in natural foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole-grains and pulses, lean protein and portioned controlled
monosaturated fat will be the healthiest one to follow. It should also comprise a sufficiently low level of kilojoules to produce slow but steady weight loss. For many people, reducing kilojoule intake to about 2 000 a day will produce the desired amount of weight loss, and you can cut these kilojoules by reducing portion sizes.

Are there any healthy fats that can help with weight loss?

Eating enough healthy omega-3 fatty acids can benefit the weight-loss process. “They reduce inflammation and oxidative stress that has negative effects on fat cells,” explains Julsing. These natural fats are found in oily fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines and pilchards, as well as flaxseeds, hemp oil, avocado and nuts.

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