The Dead Weight

I don’t know what the exact percentage is but I’ve seen it quoted that anywhere from 80-98% of the people who lose a significant amount of weight end up gaining it back. Now, this is probably just one of those made-up percentages, but I think it’s a made-up percentage that is probably pretty accurate. (Unlike when people say, “You know, humans only use 10% of their brain.” And I think, “Well, you do.”)

So, for the time being, let’s just say that losing the weight is a given. Let’s operate under the theory that regardless of what diet plan you go on and stick to you’re going to lose the weight eventually. If that’s the case, shouldn’t we try and choose a diet that prepares us for maintenance and the overwhelming likelihood that we’ll gain the weight back? Most diets tell you about all the bad foods that you love so much that you have to give up in order to lose weight. I’m suggesting just the opposite. I’m suggesting that if there’s a certain food you love that is bad for you, that is exactly the type of food that you should include in your diet. Here’s the thing, you need to retrain your body to be satisfied with smaller amounts of the food you love. If you can’t lose weight while eating the foods you enjoy, you’re not going to be able to maintain your new weight and eat the foods you enjoy. So, you have two options, you can either completely give up any foods that may be “bad” for you for the rest of your life, or you can learn to eat them and be satisfied with them in some measure of moderation.

So here’s your homework. Make a list of 5-10 of your favorite foods — or types of food –  that aren’t very diet-friendly, and that you know you would be unhappy if you had to give up for the rest of your life. Your categories can be fairly broad. At least 5, but no more than 10. If you’ve got more than 10 on your list you’re getting into foods you enjoy, not just foods you love, and for this to work we just need the foods we love (the foods we enjoy will then take care of themselves).

My list looks like this:

1. Candy

2. McDonald’s

3. Coca-Cola

4. French-fries

5. Pizza

6. Cake

So what I do is I try and consume at least one thing off this list every day of my diet. It’s not that my diet is focused solely on these foods, the important thing is just that I include these foods. If you’re saying:

But, Andy, you could lose weight a lot faster if you cut these foods out altogether.

then you’re missing the point.

Think of it this way. Imagine I introduce two women to you. Both of them have lost 100 pounds. “This woman,” I say, “lost the weight by eating fruits and vegetables mainly. For dinner she had a steamed chicken breast on a multigrain crispbread.” That’s impressive. “This other woman lost the weight by eating the foods that made her fat.” That’s more impressive. Which is more likely to keep the weight off? I believe it’s the one who has had all that practice eating her favorite foods in moderation.