Weight reduction strategies, fitness applications, and diet foods return on social media every new year. The internet has become a battlefield, with each fad diet promising the answer to losing those excess pounds. One could find many possibilities for “diet” or “fad diet” online, including high-protein, low-carb, and liquid diets. It’s important to understand the dangers of these quick cures, even though there is no denying the appeal of rapid weight loss. The rebound effect is often experienced after returning to regular eating habits, and sustainable weight loss is not always equated with quick results.
“Health is not an endpoint. Itโs a lifelong journey.”
Dr. Catherine toomer
]With so many options available to people starting their weight reduction journeys, it is important to look closely at diet culture. It’s a cultural phenomenon rooted in society’s standards and emphasizes weight and physical shape more than overall well-being. Diet culture is so prevalent that it spreads false beliefs, which many people embrace without question. As millions of people make the decision to lose weight to improve their health in the New Year, it is important to examine the $72 billion weight-loss market.
Dispelling myths that frequently lead people into a vicious circle of exaggerated expectations is crucial to understanding the complexities of diet culture.
Understanding Diet Fads
Diet culture values weight and physical appearance more than overall health. It cultivates that abstaining from certain foods and exercising control over one’s body is acceptable and moral. By promoting frequently accepted beliefs without inquiry, this culture constantly raises awareness and guilt and changes eating behaviors.
Fad diets are eating regimens that are frequently marketed as the “fastest” or “best” ways to reduce weight. They might seem like a brand-new “trick” that guarantees a more positive well-being.
Diets like these usually gain popularity quickly and then fade away as people realize that promises are unachievable and the results are not long-lasting. These diets are often promoted with celebrity endorsements or the promise of a magic ingredient.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, there are a few red flags to decipher what a nutritious diet is versus a healthy one.
Short-term results: While some people may experience initial weight loss, fad diets are generally not effective for long-term weight management. The weight is often quickly regained once standard eating patterns resume.
No need for exercise: Many fad diets suggest that you can lose weight without exercising, which contradicts the principles of healthy weight management.
Promises of rapid weight loss: Fad diets often claim to help you lose a significant amount of weight quickly. These claims are usually unrealistic and unhealthy.
Dr. Catherine Toomer is a Community Health and Family Medicine physician who shed 100 pounds while battling diabetes and congestive heart failure. In her 30s, she noticed an increase in her stress levels, coupled with her genetics and a decrease in physical activity, contributed to her weight gain. At the time, she weighed 220 pounds and stood at 5 feet. With her medical background, she knew she had a 50-50 chance of surviving the next five years.
“I was desperate and scared. I had to get my diabetes under control so that my weight would come down as well,” she said. “No one would touch me because of my heart. So I created a program with the help of my husband, who is also a physician, and used the basic information of our med school training in a way we were never taught.”
She learned very quickly that she didnโt have the willpower and discipline around food. Toomer focused on treating her postpartum and cardiac depression and documented the process until she lost 60 pounds in six months. When medications such as Ozempic and Manjaro came out, it made her weight loss journey easier, especially as she got older. The medication was designed to control her diabetes.
“Most of my weight loss was lost without medication by getting my diabetes under control. Then the rest was more controlled by medication,” she said. “Iโm 58 years old. I can exercise and do all the things I need to do because itโs a protective medication. Iโm a huge proponent of their use.”
Debunking Common Diet Myths:
Not all diets are created equal for individuals trying to lose weight and considering many diet fads. Some of these trending diets promote misconceptions about weight loss. Toomer said she often addresses three common diet myths in her profession.
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Attributing complications of weight loss medication to Ozempic: "The drugs themselves are actually quite safe. Complications are caused by misuse or mismanagement." -
People using weight loss medication are taking away from diabetics: "If someone takes weight loss medication and loses weight, itโs because there was an underlying issue with metabolism that caused weight gain. Medication thatโs not treating anything doesnโt do anything." -
The shortage issue: "Shortages are made by manufacturing, not by the use of other people."
Houston educator Tanya Brooksโ mother suffered from an aneurysm and had weight complications that motivated her to change her lifestyle. Credit: Tonya BrooksTanya Brooks, a Houston area educator, was prescribed Ozempic because of pre-diabetes but opted for another medication because of the costs with and without insurance coverage. She took action to turn her health around when her mother suffered an aneurysm and was incapacitated. Not only was her mother diagnosed as obese, but also had other pre-existing health conditions.
“I didnโt want to end up like my mom. I already deal with a lot of stress as a teacher and a caretaker of my mother and children, all while managing hypertension,” she said. “I had to control my weight, go to the gym, destress, and monitor my eating.”
Brooks said she tried different ways to stay healthy, including juicing and steaming saunas for detoxification. She didnโt want to focus solely on the use of medication to solve her problems but to focus on her mental and emotional health around food.
“Iโm doing better now. Iโm going through menopause now, and a lot of my weight gain over the past three years has been attributed to that,” she said. “What Iโve learned in this process is as your body starts to change, your mindset and defeat those poor habits.”
Advice on Weight Loss:
Itโs important to safely and effectively achieve your goals of eating healthier and feeling better. Talk with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian about which eating plan might work best for you. From Ketogenic diets to intermittent fasting, there are many pros and cons. Toomer said the best way to eat is plant-based and limit processed food as much as possible. Eat balanced meals, build muscle, reduce stress, and sleep. Toomer shares her top five pieces of advice to navigate weight loss effectively.
Self-love
If you canโt love yourself at the size youโre at now, no amount of weight loss will create that love. Donโt tie your worth to a number on a scale. Health is not an endpoint. Itโs a lifelong journey.
Eat enough food
Ensure you eat enough when calories drop too low because it affects metabolism. If your body thinks youโre starving, it takes every calorie and tries to make fat. Your brain and body love patterns. When it receives nutrients, it will burn up what it gets.
Eat enough protein
When you donโt eat enough protein, your body will go after muscles for it. Muscle is the only thing we have to maintain metabolism as we age. Eating protein and then using it to build muscle will determine long-term health
Destress
Do this daily. Focus on gratitude. We tend to look for things to be grateful for throughout the day. It helps to reduce the cortisol level, our stress hormone that drives the body to make fat. Journal, try yoga or deep breathing.
Sleep
Our body makes certain hormones while weโre awake and other hormones when weโre asleep. Hormones are the ones that help control appetite. When you donโt get enough sleep, the hormones that help with appetite are low.
