How do you spot a fad diet? Do they actually work? Are any diets helpful in losing weight while still being healthy for your body? IS PIZZA ACTUALLY HEALTHY?! We'll dive into all this and more in today's post.
Diet data
What is the reason so many of us go on diets? Well, it won't be a surprise that our mental health and body image comes into play; a lot of us go on diets to lose weight, which is THE MOST common reason people go on diets. And this most of the time is a spur-of-the-moment thing, like if you're having a bad body image day -see our post called 'Body Image'- and you want to change how you look, what do you do? You either do a workout or make a plan for a diet that you want to work fast, am I right?
But is it possible to lose weight fast? Well of course you could resort to the tape-worm diet (THIS IS A JOKE, PLEASE DO NOT) and just swallow an unhatched tapeworm each day and let it hatch and swallow undigested meals. Okay, obviously this is an incredibly bizarre and irresponsible way to try and lose weight, so it's hard to believe that people actually pursued it - they died. While modern diets aren't this extreme, a lot of them promise the same result: losing weight fast. These diets are called fad diets (we'll look at how to spot a fad diet later in this post) and they are most of the time a diet that works for a couple weeks, then when you order a food one day you realize how amazing food tastes and you ditch the fad. Normally the weight you lost is gained back and you realize the diet failed. This is because of the fact that many of these diets involve eliminating foods that contain necessary nutrients. Some diets even cut out entire food groups. Many of these fad diets may lack major nutrients, such as dietary fiber and carbohydrates, as well as selected vitamins and minerals.
But are there any diets that work fast, are effective, and that aren't detrimental to your health? To figure this out, let's conduct a little experiment.
The diet experiment
Charlie and Finn are two identical twins. They have the same weight, height, BMI, muscle mass, and fat content. Charlie wants to lose weight slowly, while Finn wants quick results. Charlie plan is to slowly by slowly reduce his calorie intake, and increase how much he exercises daily; in other words, a calorie deficit (reducing daily calories and burning as many as you consume) and energy deficit. His body responds by breaking down his emergency glucose supply that's stored in the liver as glycogen. After a few hours, his body begins burning fat cells as a type of fuel or energy source, this releases lipid droplets that break down into compounds and are dispersed throughout the body through the bloodstream to major organs to provide them with energy.
Finn on the other hand (unlike his brother) is not reducing his calorie intake but instead his food intake, he barely eats anything, so his body reacts by going into a starvation mode. His body breaks down his ENTIRE store of glucose in just 18 hours, and while Charlie steadily replenishes his glycogen with each nutritious meal; Finn does not. Needing energy, Finn's body starts breaking down other bodily materials, such as his muscle, but Charlie's regular exercise is keeping his muscle mass the same meaning he'll burn more calories and energy at rest and during activity, making it easier for him to lose weight. But our buddy Finn? He's not doing so great, he's burning more calories than he eats trying to keep his body functioning somewhat healthily, he's losing muscle mass, and it's harder for him to lose weight now more than ever. But there's one thing about Finn's fast -and destructive- diet that may allude him to believe that he's on the right track. Every gram of glycogen is bound to several grams of water, this can add up to 2kg of water weight, that disappears when the glycogen does, so it may seem like he's losing weight fast. But after the meal that he enjoys after starving himself for so long, his body will replenish his glycogen stores, and he'll gain all of that weight back. Clearly, Charlie's way of losing weight is much more healthy and sustainable and Finn's is more destructive than helpful, but the kind of diet that Finn was on isn't the only that promises to lose weight fast. There is also this type of diet called a fad diet, or a detox diet, that cuts out certain groups of food; like carbohydrates or lipids. They're helpful to help with some nutritional issues, but definitely not recommended.
How do you spot a fad diet?
Most fad diets promise the same results. Namely:
promising to lose weight fast
promotes 'magic' foods or combinations of foods
implies that food can change body chemistry
excludes or severely restricts food groups or nutrients, such as carbohydrates
has rigid rules that focus on weight loss
makes claims based on a single study or testimonials only
But do any diets work?
Diets are not associated with long-term weight loss, normally, after 5 years of going on a diet and stopping, most people gain back the weight that they lost on the diet; sometimes they even gain back more. Moreover, diets create a restrictive, controlling relationship with food. Those who attempt to manage their weight through restriction and deprivation often discover that these tactics may worsen a weight problem. Many people, dieticians, doctors, and psychologists suggest ditching dieting for a more intuitive eating situation such as mindful eating where you give into your cravings, eating when you're hungry, and stopping when you're full. No diets have been proven to be helpful for everyone or to work for everyone because we all have different genetic makeup.
Is pizza healthy?
Well... it depends on what the recipe is. You might be surprised to know that four out of five health specialists give pizza the okay, but it really does depend on how it's cooked. Pizza is the number one source of solid fat intake for kids. 20% of the pizza that kids eat comes from school cafeterias, which is pretty much equal to the fast-food kind in fact finds a study by Jennifer Bode. The trick here is rethinking the pie; pizza can be as harmless as an open-faced sandwich filled with vegetables whole grains and even fruits (comment under this post if pineapple on a pizza is a yes to you). Let's break our beloved food down and see if it's really as unhealthy as we think:
The sauce on a pizza is loaded with Vitamin C. Your body needs this nutrient to fight against germs that can cause illnesses like the common cold. If oregano is included in the sauce, it will increase your immunity even more. Pizza sauce actually contains more antioxidants than raw tomatoes.
Cheese is a great source of protein and calcium but is often high in saturated fat and salt. This means eating too much could lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease, so maybe put a lot less cheese on your pizza and opt for a normal crust instead of stuffed.
What you put on your pizza can significantly impact its nutritional value; Toppings such pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese can boost saturated fat, sodium and calories, while slices made with thinner crusts and topped with veggies tend to have lower calorie, saturated fat and sodium counts.
And your crust and pizza base is basically just bread.
You can make this healthier pizza at home, courtesy of Dr. Eric Berg. He uses cauliflower as the crust but you can use a normal pizza base if you're not so fond of it. It will take away from some of the nutritional value though.
And here are some tips on how to make your weekend pizza leftovers more healthy from one of my favorite food creators on YouTube:
Correlations between diet and mental health
There are ways that your diet and food can positively affect your mental health, such as:
eating well can make you feel better
a good diet that is healthy and sustainable can make you feel better about your body
a well balanced diet can make us think more clearly and feel more alert
a healthy gut can help produce chemicals that regulate your mood
But, like with everything on this Earth, there are negatives as well:
food can be abusively used as a coping mechanism
a poor diet can lead to stress and symptoms of depression
ultra-processed food that is regularly consumed has been linked with a higher chance of anxiety or its symptoms.
I would also like to remind people again that the perfect diet that will work for absolutely everyone DOES. NOT. EXIST. And a diet does not have to make you feel bad. I hope you enjoyed; see you next time,
-thestudentsblogger
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