The linked article above irks me on so very many levels. I'd like to stroll through their list and punch holes in it, if I may (and it's my blog, so yes I may.)
1. Weigh Yourself Often (the article suggests daily)
They cite a statistic puportedly by the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) which I was unable to verfiy (they didn't really give much of a citation), but I did find the NWCR website, on which they note that "75% [of their study participants who have lost weight and kept it off] weigh themselves at least once a week." I also found an article Consistent self-monitoring of weight: a key component of successful weight loss management
in which they state that "At baseline, 36.2% of participants reported weighing themselves at least once per day." They also report that "Weight gain at 1-year follow-up was significantly greater for participants whose self-weighing frequency decreased between baseline and one year (4.0 +/- 6.3 kg) compared with those whose frequency increased (1.1 +/- 6.5 kg) or remained the same (1.8 +/- 5.3 kg)."
They don't seem to be stating or implying that weighing oneself every day is the reason for the weight loss success. Instead (as noted in the title of the article), consistency was the key. The only possible thing in the abstract that might indicate a suggestion that everyone should start weighing themselves daily was this comment, "more frequent weighing was associated with lower BMI and higher scores on disinhibition and cognitive restraint, although both scores remained within normal ranges." However, the fact that the scores "remained within normal ranges" could indicate that any differences in BMI and scores were not statistically significant from a scientific point of view.
The lesson we should take away from this study is that decreased self-weighing frequency was correlated with greater weight gain in this particular study. There's no indication that the reduction in self-weighing was the CAUSE of weight gain. In fact, the weight gain and the reduction in self-weighing could both be symptoms of a larger issue, such as a reduced commitment to weight loss, or a feeling of complacency after initial weight loss goals were met, or any number of other reasons.
By the way, I found another study by a different set of scientists which came right out and said, "Weekly self-weighing seems to be a reasonable, evidence-supported recommendation for successful weight loss, but more research is warranted to determine the independent contribution of self-weighing to successful weight loss, as well as its potential risk of negative psychological impact." Note, they said "weekly."
2. TURN OFF THE TV because visual cues can make you hungry
I can't argue with this one, even though I could not find the study they cite. I did find an article about an unrelated study, Hunger hormone: Makes food more attractive which described a mechanism for hunger to increase the affect of visual cues on food desire, so this one is reasonably sound.
3. PRAY THE FAT AWAY Christian men more likely to be fit?
"Christian men who report feeling greater intimacy with God through prayer are more likely to be physically active than other men." This statement is so comical that it made me choke on my mocha. First of all, let's just start with the obvious. Self-reporting. How many wife-beating pedophiles would nevertheless self-report that they have a wonderful relationship with God and pray all the time? That's an extreme example, but that's the sort of trouble you run into when relying on self-reports. Not to mention the fact that the study apparently only talked to Christian men. So, Buddhists who frequently meditate or Muslims who regularly engage in ritual prayer were not considered. Even Christian women were apparently left out (although, to be fair this article was originally from a men's magazine). Also, I really hate to interject personal experience into these things, since I know my own experiences are subjective. BUT, I was raised Christian and many of the pastors I've had as well as youth ministers and Sunday school teachers have been at least noticeably overweight if not obese. So, what does that mean? They didn't have a "greater intimacy with God through prayer," whatever that means? Are the Cornell people trying to imply that fat people don't love God?
4. BEWARE TASTEBUD BETRAYAL
"Hunger increases healthy men's taste sensitivity to sweet and salty substances," says researcher Yuriy Zverev, of the University of Malawi. This seems to be supported by the article above about hormones and visual cues, so I won't argue with this one.
5. SNACK ON ALMONDS They left off the "in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet." Man can not live on Almonds alone. They do point out that 50 almonds have enough calories to be a meal replacement, but in my opinion they do not stress enough that almonds, though good for you and you should eat them when they fit into your calorie plan, are a high calorie food. You can't just randomly snack on them without cutting out calories somewhere else or you're going to end up overeating. In the study, almonds were used to promote satiety in low calorie diets, not just to randomly snack on.
6. GRAB THE DAY Start your diet in May. No other month will do.
They cite Judith Wurtman, Ph.D. from MIT, but I could not find any studies that indicate summer is any better a time to diet than any other time. In fact, starting to exercise in the winter might help counteract seasonal affective disorder, according to Judith Wurtman, Ph.D. (http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/186774/76083/winter-summer) as well as being the cure for the summertime blues(apologies to Eddie Cochran).
7. POUR A BOWL OF CEREAL FOR LUNCH
They have all the information in their summary, it just is not well presented, in my opinion. Their emphasis is on the bowl of cereal, but the study was actually about portion control in general. The people in the study (not surprisingly) lost weight because they reduced their calorie intake by about 640 a day, not specifically because they were eating cereal. The same results may have been achievable with any food in a precisely portion-controlled amount, such as a Subway sandwich, for instance. Jared Fogel did not lose all that weight because he was eating at Subway. He lost it because he was strictly regulating his food intake to two subway sandwiches a day and a bag of (baked) chips. Maybe he should have tried cereal.
8. GO UNDER THE NEEDLE acupuncture solves all problems
Ironically even the Chinese don't recommend acupuncture for weight loss [Thinking about acupuncture for treatment of simple obesity] states, "The correct way for weight-loss is health care including dietary regime and regular life schedule. Comparatively, [acupuncture] as the main choice for weight-loss is not recommended." An article from Medical University of South Caroline states, "at best, [complementary therapies such as acupuncture] should be used as adjuvants to the more conventional therapies of calorie restriction and exercise."
9. EAT A COW'S WORTH of dairy
The "just-right" amount is "two 8-ounce glasses of low-fat milk (699 mg), a cup of low-fat yogurt (338 mg), and an ounce and a half of cheese (287 mg)." These amounts sound sensible. Is that really a cow's worth? Am I being overly picky because of my annoyance with other parts of this article? Nah. Also, an ounce and a half of cheese is about an inch cubed, or the size of a pair of dice (actually about 1.5 dice). Not a lot, is what I'm saying. Remember that although dairy products are high in calcium, they also feature high in the saturated fat and cholesterol department. Calcium can be had from other sources, like greens. One cup of collards has more calcium than 8 oz of milk or a die-and-half of cheese. (http://www.citracal.com/Calcium/Calcium-Rich-Foods.aspx). Collards are also rich in many other vitamins and nutrients, including folate which is important for those of us who are trying to conceive.
10. GAMBLE ON YOURSELF "Men do really well when they make weight loss a competitive game," says New York City nutritionist Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D.
Again with the men (to be fair, the article was originally from Men's Health magazine. Remind me not to buy that one for the hubs). Well, I am not going to argue with this point. Mainly because I am tired, but also because who cares? I'm not a man. This has no value for me personally. If you are a man, maybe you could share your comments about this point. Plus, this bullet point completely contradicts an earlier one, "Have a 6-month and a 1-year check-in—none of that 2-week garbage." What? I thought you were supposed to check-in every day?
6 days ago
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