The Hidden Health Damages of the Dieting Cycle: Deterioration of Body Composition More Dangerous Than Being Overweight

Some people advise those who want to gain weight to eat more high-calorie foods, such as chocolate and ice cream... But after eating all of these, they come to the conclusion: "My genes just prevent me from gaining weight; I can't gain weight no matter what I eat!" However, if you try my method, you might be pleasantly surprised! If you want to gain weight, try a continuous cycle of dieting-returning to normal-dieting again-returning to normal. Dieting is more effective in helping you gain weight.

If you want to store more fat... If you want bigger fat cells... If you want more fat cells... If you want to lose muscle... If you want a slower metabolism... If you want to gain weight... Diet! If you want to ruin your body, diet! But if you value your health, listen to me: If you want to be healthier, it's better to be slightly overweight than to fall into a cycle of weight loss and gain. Let's say you were 10 pounds overweight and now decide to lose weight. If you lose 10 pounds first and then gain 10 pounds back, although you're still 10 pounds overweight and your weight seems the same, your risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes is much higher than if you maintained that 10-pound overweight weight. This is because, if you diet to lose weight, although your weight hasn't changed, your body composition has changed. The result of this weight loss and gain is that you have more fat than before you dieted. It's the fat you've gained, not your weight, that makes you more susceptible to disease. Of course, the best way is to lose those 10 pounds healthily and maintain it long-term.

As early as the 1940s, experiments demonstrated the ineffectiveness of dieting programs. In 1944, researchers selected 36 physically and mentally healthy volunteers and had them follow a strict diet for six months. During the experiment, these volunteers suffered from depression, irritability, fatigue, and apathy. They even lacked the energy to complete their daily work and life tasks. Most of them were constantly thinking about food. Because they were always hungry, they couldn't muster the energy to think about anything else. After the strict dieting program ended, these people began to eat incessantly and frantically. Although they could now eat whatever they wanted, they still felt constantly hungry. All the participants regained their weight, and many of their former muscle had turned into fat.

In experiments, people who strictly adhered to diets exhibited the same symptoms as typical dieters today-depression, anxiety, and an excessive focus on food, leading to binge eating and subsequent weight rebound. In 1958, researchers studied a large body of literature spanning 30 years on obesity treatment, concluding that 90%–95% of dieters failed to lose weight. Later studies showed that the success rate of weight loss through dieting did not exceed this figure. By the 1970s, researchers further linked weight loss to eating disorders. Dieting during weight loss often leads to binge eating and many other problems, such as depression, feelings of failure, and an inability to recognize normal bodily signals, such as fullness or hunger.

Research on weight loss is far from over. Here are some of the latest findings: Dieting numbs the senses, preventing people from truly understanding their own feelings, when they are hungry and how much they should eat, often leading to overeating. Weight loss disconnects people from themselves, causing them to ignore their true feelings of hunger and fullness. In fact, this is the real "magic hand" regulating body weight. Dieting also makes people ignore other feelings, such as dissatisfaction and anxiety. Conversely, dieters use food to suppress their emotions and solve their problems. You can learn when to stop eating. As long as you let go of the concept of dieting, as long as you are not afraid of food, as long as you accept yourself and your body, as long as you connect with yourself and understand your true emotions and needs, you can eat normally and lose weight normally. When people don't diet or try to lose weight, they feel happier, have fewer eating problems, are more satisfied with themselves, and are more accepting of themselves.