What’s that white coating on your tongue? How to tell if you’re healthy or not

When it comes to oral health, most people don’t go beyond brushing and flossing their teeth. But it may be a good idea to, once in a while, take a good look at your tongue.

Other than giving you an idea why your breath stinks (if it does), in some rare cases, changes in your tongue’s appearance may be telling you something about your health – such as mouth or tongue cancer, or syphilis.

The tongue's appearance can tell a lot about one's health. Does it look like raw meat or have “hair”? Experts tell CNA Lifestyle what these all mean. Fair warning: Graphic images ahead.

For starters, a healthy tongue is pink and covered with small, short, bristly nodules known as papillae, according to Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit academic medical centre in the US. Any deviation from this appearance or any pain may be a cause for concern.

IS IT NORMAL TO HAVE A WHITE COATING ON THE TONGUE?

What about the thin white coating on the tongue? Does that count as a deviation? In most cases, they are harmless and transient, said Dr Lim Keng Hua, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital’s Dr Lim Keng Hua Ear Nose Throat Head & Neck Surgery.

“The white coating is caused by the accumulation of debris, bacteria and dead cells between the enlarged and sometimes, inflamed papillae on the surface of the tongue,” he said, adding that bleeding is rare but if it does occur, you’ll need to see a doctor to rule out cancerous growths.

The coating “may be removed by brushing your tongue with a soft toothbrush or using a scraper,” said Dr Lim, who also advised keeping yourself hydrated.

Other ways of lessening the coating is to simply avoid tobacco and alcohol, added Dr Anna See, an associate consultant in otorhinolaryngology with Singapore General Hospital’s Head & Neck Surgery department.

She also pointed out that a thick coating is “not normal.” The causes can include fungal infection, syphilis infection, lichen planus, the early stages of mouth and/or tongue cancer, or HIV. “A thick white coat, which is sometimes associated with chronic ulcers, mouth bleeding and odorous breath, should be investigated by a specialist doctor to rule out underlying causes,” said Dr See.

OTHER APPEARANCES OF THE TONGUE

Other than the usual white coating, your tongue can also take on other appearances. Here’s a look at the various ways it may present itself, and whether you need to seek medical attention.

• My tongue looks like it has grown hair

The build-up of food debris and dead cells – along with poor oral hygiene – can create these brown or black hair-like protrusions on the surface of your tongue, said Dr See.

Dr Lim added: “Other than its appearance, it may result in a metallic taste, bad breath or a tingling sensation”.

A toothbrush or tongue scraper would remove the “hairs”. However, oral hairy leukoplakia, a condition where the brown or black patches cannot be scraped off, is due to Epstein Barr viral infection, which is commonly associated with HIV infection, said Dr See. If the hairiness cannot be eliminated or keep recurring, see a doctor.

• My tongue looks like raw meat

If your tongue feels tender, and looks red and swollen, you may have glossitis. It’s an inflammation of the tongue that causes the papillae to disappear, making your tongue look like raw beef, said Dr See, who associates it with nutritional deficiencies in Vitamin B12 and iron.

According to Healthline, certain hypertension medications, eating spicy food and even toothpaste may also bring about this allergic reaction. 

Topping up on iron and Vitamin B12, as well as avoiding the triggers that cause the reaction should help. But if the swelling and tenderness don’t improve or they keep recurring, see a doctor.

• There are bumps/sores/ulcers on my tongue

Bumps on the tongue can be caused by general inflammation, said Dr See, which can be due to medication use, nutritional deficiencies or constant irritation of the mouth.

But a small, painless sore on the tongue may be a sign of syphilis, said Dr Lim. “When untreated, it becomes syphilitic leukoplakia. Other symptoms may include headache, joint pain and fever.”

When it comes to sores and ulcers, these can be painful or painless. “Painful sores may be due to viral infections. They should resolve in a couple of weeks. If ulcers or sores persist beyond two weeks, medical attention should be sought,” said Dr See.

• White patches on my tongue look strangely like the world map

You have geographic tongue, said Dr Lim. Yes, that’s what it’s called. The appearance is caused by the tongue’s patchy cell turnover. “No treatment is needed and there is no cancer risk,” he said. Just avoid food and drinks that cause discomfort, he added.

• My tongue is cracked but there’s no pain

There may be a single or multiple painless cracks in your tongue. Should you worry? “This is a benign condition where deep grooves or fissures form on the tongue’s surface,” said Dr See. “It is usually painless and harmless.”

Dr Lim noted that no treatment is needed but beef up your oral hygiene to remove food debris trapped within the furrows.

• My tongue looks like it's covered in cottage cheese

These creamy, white and slightly raised lesions on the tongue or inner cheeks can be a sign of oral thrush, which is an infection caused by candida yeast, said Dr Lim.

“The overgrowth of yeast occurs from the overuse of antibiotics, diabetes, iron and Vitamin B12 deficiencies, poor oral hygiene, weak immune system, smoking, hypothyroidism and cancer treatment.”

Although oral thrush is a common condition, it is less likely to occur in adults than in babies, according to Mayo Clinic. Adults who are infected do not report major problems in most instances. But if you have a weakened immune system, it is best that you see a doctor about the oral thrush.


Taken from this article:
What’s that white coating on your tongue? How to tell if you’re healthy or not

Weight-loss expert: 'We advocate moderation, we’re anti-dieting'

Many people who have struggled for years with excess weight know that the hardest and often the most frustrating job is not getting it off but keeping it off.

Recent decades have seen countless popular diet schemes that promised to help people shed unwanted pounds, and as each of these diets failed in the long run, they spawned their successors.

New research identifies the keys to success for long-term weight management.

A diet, after all, is something people go on to go off. Most people think of a diet as a means to an end, and few who go on a food-restricted diet to lose weight expect to have to eat that way indefinitely. And therein lies the rub, with the current unchecked epidemic of obesity as the sorry result.

We live in a land of incredible excess. Rich or poor, most of us are surrounded by calorie-rich vittles, many of them tasty but deficient in ingredients that nourish healthy bodies. “We can’t go two minutes without being assaulted by a food cue,” said Suzanne Phelan, lead author of an encouraging new study in the journal Obesity.

Even the most diligent dieters can find it hard to constantly resist temptation. And once people fall off the diet wagon, they often stay off, and their hard-lost pounds reappear a lot faster than it took to shed them.

But these facts need not discourage anyone from achieving lasting weight loss. Researchers have identified the strategies and thought processes that have enabled many thousands of people to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off for many years, myself among them.

The new study led by Phelan, professor of kinesiology and public health at California Polytechnic State University, identified habits and strategies that can be keys to success for millions. Yes, like most sensible weight-loss plans, they involve healthful eating and regular physical activity. But they also include important self-monitoring practices and non-punitive coping measures that can be the crucial to long-term weight management.

The study, supported by a grant from WW, the current name for Weight Watchers, was conducted among nearly 5,000 of its members who reported losing an average of about 50 pounds and keeping all or nearly all the weight off for more than three years. Their habits and thought processes were compared with a control group of more than 500 obese people who reported neither gaining nor losing more than 5 pounds over more than five years.

Healthy choices become more automatic the longer people continue to make them.

Phelan recognizes the emotional challenges involved with achieving lasting weight loss. She said, “Weight loss itself is a very rewarding process. People notice and offer encouragement. But that all goes away with maintenance.”

However, she quickly added, “Maintaining weight loss can get easier over time. Over time, less intentional effort, though not no effort, is needed to be successful. After about two years, healthy eating habits become part of the routine. Healthy choices become more automatic the longer people continue to make them. They feel weird when they don’t.”

On the other hand, perfection is not realistic and can be self-defeating, Phelan said. “Successful maintainers know there will be lapses. But they also know they can recover from lapses and how to get back on track. They accept slips and don’t engage in black-and-white thinking like ‘I was bad,’ an attitude that is self-defeating. Rather, they know there will be ups and downs, and they have a plan for coping with lapses that’s empowering.”

Rather than constant deprivation and self-denial, I practice moderation.

A personal example from one who lost a third of her body weight and kept it off for half a century: I anticipate and plan for the times when I expect to be confronted with culinary largesse. I’m a little more abstemious beforehand, enjoy the indulgence and get back to normal the next day.

Rather than constant deprivation and self-denial, I practice moderation. The study’s co-author, Gary Foster, who is chief scientific officer for WW, explained that in the WW program, “Everything is on the menu. Fad diets are overly restrictive, which dooms them from the onset. We advocate moderation, we’re anti-dieting. People have to find habits and routines that make long-term weight loss sustainable.”

And as many of the successful weight maintainers in the study reported, time and practice have permanently modified what I find appealing, so I rarely feel deprived and have less need to exercise self-denial all the time. I do admit, though, that I’m less good at ignoring cravings than many in the new study are. I’m more likely to give in but control the amount I consume.

What’s on your mind is as important as what’s on your plate.

What I may be best at is monitoring my weight. I weigh myself every day and keep within a range of 2 or 3 pounds. Nearly all the successful maintainers in the study weigh themselves weekly or more often, which makes it easier to self-correct before the numbers on the scale rise significantly.

Foster said, “What’s on your mind is as important as what’s on your plate. Weight management is something you do for yourself because you’re valuable, you’re worth taking care of.”

People must abandon the notion that “they can’t like themselves until they lose weight,” he said. “Rather, they have to start with a sense of self-worth and compassion. Weight management is a positive process, not a punitive one. Beating yourself up is not helpful, it’s de-motivating.”

Among the useful strategies identified in the new study is to keep lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables more accessible. “We eat what we see,” Phelan noted. The corollary is equally important: Keep high-calorie, less nourishing foods relatively inaccessible and out of sight if not out of the house entirely.

A good friend who struggles with his weight gets furious with his wife for bringing cookies into the house. “She knows I can’t resist them, and I’ve asked her repeatedly not to buy them.”

Foster’s suggestion: “Be very clear about what you want the person to do and not do. Say, ‘I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t bring cookies home. I want to live a long life with you and that’s not helping,’ and be sure to thank the person for following through.”

Other helpful tactics used by the successful maintainers in the study are setting daily calorie goals and keeping a food diary, recording everything eaten each day. This has helped another friend of mine sustain a loss of about 30 pounds for decades. “It keeps me honest,” she told me.

Although physical activity is not by itself very helpful with weight loss, adopting an exercise routine can give weight maintainers more leeway and help to keep lost pounds from creeping back. As Foster told me, “Calories in must balance calories out if you don’t want to gain.”

By Jane E. Brody © The New York Times


Taken from this article:
Weight-loss expert: 'We advocate moderation, we’re anti-dieting'

Hangry people listen up, here are the benefits of intermittent fasting

I’ve long thought the human body was not meant to run on empty, that fasting was done primarily for religious reasons or political protest. Otherwise we needed a reliably renewed source of fuel to function optimally, mentally and emotionally as well as physically.

Personal experience reinforced that concept; I’m not pleasant to be around when I’m hungry. There’s even an official name for that state of mind, confirmed by research: Hangry!

I was skeptical, but it turns out there is something to be said for a daily fast, preferably one lasting at least 16 hours.

But prompted by recent enthusiasm for fasting among people concerned about their health, weight or longevity, I looked into the evidence for possible benefits – and risks – of what researchers call intermittent fasting. Popular regimens range from ingesting few if any calories all day every other day or several times a week to fasting for 16 hours or more every day.

A man I know in his early 50s said he had lost 12 pounds in about two months on what he calls the 7-11 diet: He eats nothing from 7 pm until 11 am the next morning, every day.

I was skeptical, but it turns out there is something to be said for practicing a rather prolonged diurnal fast, preferably one lasting at least 16 hours. Mark P. Mattson, neuroscientist at the National Institute on Ageing and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explained that the liver stores glucose, which the body uses preferentially for energy before it turns to burning body fat.

The 7-11 diet: He eats nothing from 7 pm until 11 am the next morning, every day.

“It takes 10 to 12 hours to use up the calories in the liver before a metabolic shift occurs to using stored fat,” Mattson told me. After meals, glucose is used for energy and fat is stored in fat tissue, but during fasts, once glucose is depleted, fat is broken down and used for energy.

Most people trying to lose weight should strive for 16 calorie-free hours, he said, adding that “the easiest way to do this is to stop eating by 8 pm, skip breakfast the next morning and then eat again at noon the next day.” (Caffeine-dependent people can have sugar-free black coffee or tea before lunch.) But don’t expect to see results immediately; it can take up to four weeks to notice an effect, he said.

Mattson and his colleague Rafael de Cabo at the ageing institute recently reviewed the effects of intermittent fasting on health, aging and disease in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Their article was prompted by frequent questions patients are asking their doctors about the health effects of fasting. Given their limited knowledge of nutrition, doctors are often unable to advise their patients, Mattson said.

Although there have been a number of recent studies assessing the effects of intermittent fasting on people, none are long-term, and the vast majority of disease-related findings stem from research on laboratory animals. For example, in an animal model of stroke, those fed only intermittently suffered less brain damage because they were better able to resist the stress of oxygen and energy deprivation.

Other animal studies have shown a “robust disease-modifying” benefit of intermittent fasting on “a wide range of chronic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers and neurodegenerative brain diseases,” the researchers reported. Their review of both animal and human studies found improvements in a variety of health indicators and a slowing or reversing of aging and disease processes.

For example, human studies of intermittent fasting found that it improved such disease indicators as insulin resistance, blood fat abnormalities, high blood pressure and inflammation, even independently of weight loss. In patients with multiple sclerosis, intermittent fasting reduced symptoms in just two months, a research team in Baltimore reported in 2018.

If you think evolutionarily, Mattson said, predators in the wild fight for prey in the fasting state and are better at recovering from inevitable injuries. The human counterpart – people who evolved in feast-or-famine environments – would not have survived unless somehow protected by fasting.

Human studies of intermittent fasting found that it improved such disease indicators as insulin resistance, blood fat abnormalities, high blood pressure and inflammation, even independently of weight loss.

“Our human ancestors did not consume three regularly spaced large meals, plus snacks, every day, nor did they live a sedentary life,” the researchers wrote. The studies they analyzed showed that “most if not all organ systems respond to intermittent fasting in ways that enable the organism to tolerate or overcome the challenge” and then return to normal.

Mattson explained that during a fast, the body produces few new proteins, prompting cells to take protein from non-essential sources, break them down and use the amino acids to make new proteins that are essential for survival. Then, after eating, a lot of new proteins are produced in the brain and elsewhere.

A reasonable question might be “How safe is intermittent fasting?” When fats are used for energy, they produce substances called ketone bodies that “regulate the expression and activity of many proteins and molecules that are known to influence health and aging,” the researchers reported. Ketosis, a buildup of acidic ketones in the blood, is a state that the Atkins diet, the ketogenic diet and other carbohydrate-restricted diets aim to achieve. Taken to extremes, however, ketosis can damage the liver, kidneys and brain and is especially dangerous to people with various chronic disorders like diabetes and heart disease.

Another important question: “How practical is intermittent fasting?” Not very, especially in its early weeks or for people with limited control over their mealtimes.

“Many people will experience hunger, irritability and a reduced ability to concentrate during periods of food restrictions,” the researchers wrote. They added, however, that these side effects usually disappear within a month.

Socially, eating restrictions like intermittent fasting can be very limiting. How do you respond to a 7 pm dinner invitation if that’s the start of your fasting window?

For people with a known or hidden tendency to develop an eating disorder, fasting can be the perfect trigger, which I discovered in my early 20s. In trying to control my weight, I consumed little or nothing all day, but once I ate in the evening, I couldn’t stop and ended up with a binge eating disorder.

How well this diet might work for you may depend largely on your usual pre-diet snacking and drinking habits and the kinds and amounts of foods you consume during the non-fasting hours. Knowing you cannot eat at all for a prescribed period may prompt some people to cram in whatever they want during the eating window, regardless of its nutritional value.

Mattson cautioned that intermittent dieters should “eat healthy foods, including whole grains, healthy fats and protein, limit saturated fats and avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. And on fasting days, be sure to stay well-hydrated.” He also suggested a gradual decrease over a period of four months in the hours and days of restricted eating and in the amount of calories consumed on fasting days.

By Jane Brody © The New York Times


Taken from this article:
Hangry people listen up, here are the benefits of intermittent fasting

Why diets don't work: The reason that weight you lost comes back with a vengeance

Hands up, if you’re on a diet. Hands up, too, if you have tried everything, from slimming centres to the Ketogenic Diet, and haven’t nudged a gram. Nope, the 2kg loss from losing water doesn’t count. And neither does the 5kg drop that comes back a year later as an 8kg gain.

The Ketogenic Diet, intermittent fasting and the various forms of high-protein, low-carb diets may be the rage now but experts say don't get your hopes up.

The comfort you can take from this is, you’re not alone. There’s always someone in the office who is dieting. Even in your circle of friends, there’s bound to be one or two individuals who have bandied around the D word from time to time.

On average, Singaporeans go through at least two diets in their lifetimes, said Pamela Er, senior dietitian at National University Hospital. Other experts such as dietitian Jaclyn Reutens from Aptima Nutrition And Sports Consultants say it could be at least three diets. “They try one diet, they fail. Then, they try again. The third failure could be the final try,” said Reutens.

DIET AND THE CITY

In fact, according to Er, the local diet scene has hit its peak scene right about now. “It’s been gradually building up over the last five years and gaining more traction in the last two years,” she said. The surge could, in part, be caused by technology. “Food is now easily accessible with just an app,” she said.

The weight can come back as quickly as two days. A 3kg weight gain in two days is not unheard of if someone just binges for a few meals.

While food-ordering apps create the supply, social media platforms create the demand. “Instagram and Facebook often push food content to users. They can be surfing these platforms in the middle of the night and they see such content, which triggers ghrelin, the hunger hormone that controls both eating behaviour and the physical processes involved in food metabolism,” said Er.

The proof is in the amount of calories Singaporeans consume daily: Six in 10 Singaporeans ate more than the recommended 2,200 calories for men and more than 1,800 calories for women a day, according to the Health Promotion Board. As of 2017, 32.8 per cent of our population is overweight, making Singapore the second-fattest kid in the Southeast Asian class. 

There’s also the pressure to be seen as trendy, noted Er. Health food companies have been increasingly using marketing and advertising tools on social media to cash in on the health trend, and promote products such as juices or ketogenic diet meal plans, she said.

On the other hand, Reutens believed that the number of Singaporeans who diet isn’t as high as we think it is. “I believe that the number of people who are on a diet make up a small percentage,” said Reutens.

“And of these people, the majority is on a fad diet, which means that there are no results or the results are not lasting. The weight rebound effect is even greater. You can lose 3kg in two months but put on 4kg in a month.”

THE HISTORY OF DIETING

If you think dieting to look good and be healthier is a modern concept, it actually goes a long way back. All the way to 1863, to be exact. Back in the 1800s, an obese English undertaker by the name of William Banting was frustrated that he was losing the battle of the bulge. At 165cm tall, the 64-year-old weighed 91kg and had to go down the stairs backwards to avoid hurting his knees. He was also losing his hearing.

And of these people, the majority is on a fad diet, which means that there are no results or the results are not lasting.

Nothing budged the weighing scale’s needle for Banting despite walking, horse riding and boat rowing for a few hours each day as well as undergoing numerous slimming treatments, consuming weight-loss drinks and being put through low-calorie diets (Sounds familiar?).

He was almost at wits’ end when his ear, nose and throat specialist, whom he saw for his hearing loss, wrote him a diet plan: No potatoes, bread, sugar, milk and beer. Instead, eat four meals a day consisting of meat, vegetables and wine at almost every meal. And it worked. So elated was Banting with the results – he apparently lost 16kg in nine-and-a-half months – that he wrote and published Letter On Corpulence, Addressed To The Public to share his diet plan.

It was the genesis of the world’s first diet plan – and probably the beginning of the many forms of low-carb diets that you see today. In fact, Banting’s diet became so popular that people used to ask, “Are you banting?” instead of, “Are you dieting?”. And his book was still being published as recently as 2007.

The word “diet” isn’t a modern construct, either. It was invented in ancient Greece but it didn’t mean eating less of certain foods to lose weight. In its original context, “diaita” represented a way of life that encompasses food, drink, lifestyle, and exercise. “They didn’t get everything right but they did know that a healthy mind and a healthy body made for a healthy society,” said Louise Foxcroft, author of Calories And Corsets: A History Of Dieting Over 2,000 Years.

HOW DIETING HAS EVOLVED

If “diet” was already a word in your lexicon in the 90s, you’d already have swung from associating fat as the ultimate diet saboteur to a delicious weight-loss ally. You’d have heard of names such as Atkins Diet (thanks to Jennifer Aniston), Zone Diet, South Beach Diet and macrobiotic diet (that would be Gwyneth Paltrow).

“The first few diets that really stood out were the Atkins Diet, Hay Diet, Blood-type Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, and the grapefruit diet,” said Reutens. However, those diets focused on single nutrients, single foods or some unsubstantiated theory on how your body works, she said.

Then, the new millennium came and with it, the age of reality TV. Nothing was private anymore, much less the sweaty, unglamorous and very real struggles of obese people trying to lose weight on TV shows such as The Biggest Loser.

In Singapore, the more popular diets used to be the vegan, Atkins and Mediterranean Diets, whereas in the last two years, it’s becoming the Ketogenic Diet, Paleolithic Diet, intermittent fasting and juicing detox diet.

While such shows might have motivated those with weight issues to get off the couch, critics have argued that the quick and sudden weight loss – as much as 15kg in a week – isn’t healthy. The biggest gripe though: Contestants often regained the weight they’d lost, according to the medical journal Obesity Biology And Integrated Physiological, which followed 14 The Biggest Loser contestants for six years after completing the show.

The early 2000s saw a revival in meal replacement products such as shakes, food packs and bars. “Some people found this easier than having to think about purchasing or preparing low-caloric, healthy meals,” said Er. However, Reutens said that you still needed to be monitored by a dietitian to ensure you are using them correctly to see the best results.

In Singapore, “the more popular diets used to be the vegan, Atkins and Mediterranean Diets, whereas in the last two years, it’s becoming the Ketogenic Diet, Paleolithic Diet, intermittent fasting and juicing detox diet,” said Reutens.

Another trend in dieting that she sees is not so much to lose weight but to improve health. “Juice-cleanse diet, vegan diet, gluten-free diet ... eating organic food is not really a diet per se but the demand for it has surged,” she said.

WHY DIETS DON’T WORK – LARGELY

While the diets of today have generally moved away from severely limiting the number of calories you consume, they still require willpower to keep to them. And therein lies the problem. “As the saying goes, old habits die hard. Any weight management diet plan can achieve some sort of weight loss if you’re able to stick to it. However, people get tired of being on the same plan daily,” said Er.

It’s not surprising that the one thing that has consistently stood out in the various dieting methods over the years is that of keeping the weight off for good. The number on the weighing scale’s counter just doesn’t seem to stay down in the long run. “Typically, 5 per cent and up to 20 per cent of body weight loss can be achieved over six to 12 months, depending on their compliance levels, physical activity and consistency in keeping to a diet,” said Er.

She added: “Most, like intermittent fasting, may be able to yield weight loss within days of commencement, but this is usually from the loss of fluids. Research has shown that 70 per cent to 80 per cent of people who have lost weight almost regain them all or even more after two years. The real work starts when you’re trying to maintain the weight you’ve lost”.

Dieters often find themselves being socially distant because they are unable to find the foods they are supposed to consume when they eat out.

Reutens noted that the lost kilos can be regained even quicker. “The weight can come back as quickly as two days. A 3kg weight gain in two days is not unheard of if someone just binges for a few meals.”

And there’s the rub – you have to keep at your diet. There’s no day off, no weekends, no holidays. “As weight-loss programmes, diets don't work,” said Meg Selig, author of Changepower! 37 Secrets To Habit Change Success on Psychology Today. “Yes, you lose weight, but about 95 per cent of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it in one to five years. Since dieting, by definition, is a temporary food plan, it won't work in the long run.”

That aside, diets also “fail from a practical point of view,” said Reutens. “Dieters often find themselves being socially distant because they are unable to find the foods they are supposed to consume when they eat out,” she said. “Imagine you are on an intermittent fasting diet and your 4/8 hours end at 6pm; you will be unable to go for a dinner gathering at 8pm.”

It doesn’t help that your body is constantly conspiring against you. Those on a high-protein, low-carb diet would be familiar with the mood swings that come with it. “It is common for those on such a diet to be angsty, grumpy and short-tempered. This is because of the lack of serotonin being produced,” said Reutens. “Other side effects include hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), constipation, nausea and headaches.”

Furthermore, your body goes into compensatory mode when it senses that it’s not getting the amount of fuel it used to. You feel lethargic. Your metabolic rate gets tuned down, so that your body doesn’t burn as many calories as it used to when it’s at rest, said Er. And when that happens, the weight loss plateaus. 

A heightened sensitivity to insulin is another way your body is telling you that it wants to go back to its original weight. “This means the uptake of glucose back into the cells for fat storage leaves you vulnerable to weight regain,” said Er.

WHY DO YOU STILL DIET IF IT DOESN’T WORK?

A big part of the answer lies in our love for novelty and the need to be seen as “in”, said Reutens. “It seems almost trendy to say you are on this or that diet,” she said. “I have numerous queries on the latest ones such as keto and intermittent fasting.”

If weight loss sounds like an impossibility, there is hope yet. “Weight loss is not difficult once you understand the logic,” said Reutens. “It’s a misconception that all diets are difficult to follow. Yes, the fad diets are but a well-planned, sensible diet with a wide variety of foods is actually easy and enjoyable to follow. Going on a diet is not about eating or limiting one food; it is about having a healthier attitude toward food.”

So, forget gimmicky diets. They are a waste of not just your money but your time and more so, psychological well-being, said Reutens.


Taken from this article:
Why diets don't work: The reason that weight you lost comes back with a vengeance