How NOT to Diet
Adopt a healthy eating plan and never diet again.
By Katie Kretschmer, graduate, Columbia University
In a recent Student Health 101 survey, just over half of students said they’d gone on a diet to lose weight. Almost 38% said they still needed or wanted to lose weight, and about a quarter said they’d lost weight but later regained some or all of it.
Ariadna Kryazhava learned this the hard way. “I tried losing weight on a weird, almost starvation diet a few years ago,” says the University of Denver senior. “It lasted a week, and I lost maybe eight pounds. But of course, I wasn’t very functional that week.” And, she says as soon as she started eating normally again, the weight came back.
Ads for diet plans are everywhere—late-night TV, magazines. Most promise an easy way to melt off pounds, and some sound too good to be true (and they probably are). The problem with many weight-loss plans, experts say, is that they are short-term solutions that don’t provide lasting results. Also, typically, when people regain weight that is lost quickly, they often gain back additional weight and find it harder to lose again.
How Did I Get Here?
A number of major lifestyle changes that come with the transition to college life can contribute to weight gain. One of them is the easy access to food.
“It’s a dangerous combination—grazing all day and a lot less moving around—that makes it easy to gain weight,” says Dr. Michael Maina, professor of health and human performance at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.
There are also all the late-night pizza parties—being overtired tends to lead to overeating—and parties in general. Wine and hard alcohol are also loaded with calories. To find out more about calories in alcohol, CLICK HERE.
“Stress has also been shown to increase the likelihood of weight gain,” says Doug Miller, professor of health & exercise science at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. In addition to coping with stress by eating, which will obviously result in weight gain, high levels of stress can physiologically result in the body storing more fat. Miller explains: “Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, which not only increases blood pressure, but also slows digestion and causes the body to store more fat.” Plus, stress can lead to emotional eating.
“The problem,” says Maina, “is that the weight adds up relatively slowly—over months or a year, but everyone wants it to come off quickly. There’s no quick fix.”
Losing It
Rather than a diet that restricts calories in an unsustainable—and unhealthy—way, most nutritionists and dietitians recommend adopting a healthy eating plan combined with exercise.
Sheila Tucker, RD, LDN, and administrative dietitian for Boston College, points to the federal government’s “Choose My Plate” guideline as an excellent source for the basics of healthy eating. Most of your calories should come from fruits and vegetables—at least half, with the remainder coming from whole grains and lean protein. It’s also better to opt for “real” foods whenever possible: fresh, less processed is best.
Susan Fisher, professor of nutrition at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, also says it’s easier to stick to a healthy eating and exercise routine when you have support, whether it’s a buddy who’s doing it with you or just friends who don’t undermine your efforts.
Hide & Seek: Do You Know Where Your Calories Are?
Portion control is a key part of a healthy eating plan, though eating smaller portions of unhealthy food is not the answer.
“I find that many students are simply unaware of how much they are eating,” says Fisher. “Calories are very easy to come by,” she says, citing power bars, fruit juice, and soda as high-calorie culprits that students rely on to get through the day.
Being aware of portion and serving size can go a long way to help cut out excess or mindless calories. For some helpful tips on visualizing accurate serving sizes, CLICK HERE.
Watch What You Eat
Fisher points out that many pre-made low-calorie foods imitate fattening foods that may satisfy cravings, but can also lull you into eating more.
High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener added to many processed foods and beverages. While research on its impact on your health is evolving, the American Heart Association recommends that you consume less than 100 calories a day in added sugar. Artificial sweeteners have been shown in some research to increase your cravings for calorie-laden foods.
When you are considering a weight-loss diet, Tucker says any plan should contain foods from all the food groups—there should be no “banned” food groups and no “magic” foods. It should also revolve around real food rather than packaged foods or supplements, allow snacking, encourage physical activity, and generally support long-term behavior or lifestyle change. For a link to a list of other red flags that a diet is bogus—and possibly dangerous, CLICK HERE.
We’re Here to Help
Samantha Wesner, assistant dean of students and director of the Gable Health Center at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, says she considers learning healthy eating habits to be part of campus life. “We have a nutritionist who comes to campus on a regular basis to provide information and guidance to students.”
Like Albright, most college and university campuses provide nutritional counseling. The Boston College website’s dining services pages provide a wealth of nutritional information and pointers.
“Type 2 diabetes is increasing in prevalence among overweight adolescents and young adults,” Tucker says. “Plus, high blood lipids, hypertension, and bone and joint disorders are being seen in young people.”
“It is a good idea to consider how the weight issue occurred in the first place,” Tucker advises. “Not knowing the underlying issues—eating as a coping mechanism for stress or other situations, sedentary lifestyle, lack of knowledge about healthy eating—can lead to frustration with “dieting” and become a barrier to success.”
Getting help—from a campus nutritionist or counselor—will help students understand the problem and change their attitude toward food in a healthy way.
KATIE KRETSCHMER IS A GRADUATE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND A FREELANCE WRITER LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY.
Find Out MoreStudent Nutrition & Body Awareness Campaign
Click for a snack calculator that can help you evaluate the nutritional value of your snacks.
Portland State University provides tons of links in the nutrition section
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Get Moving
Dr. Maina says that, making moderate choices when it comes to eating—understanding portion control and eating a balanced and diverse range of foods is essential—the real driver of weight loss is to add exercise. And although getting your heart rate up with cardio is the best and fastest way to burn fat, simply increasing activity in general helps raise metabolism. “I am constantly surprised by students who say they don’t have time to exercise, but then take the elevator two flights instead of using the stairs or drive across our tiny campus,” he says. “Even 10 minutes a day is better than nothing, or 10 minutes a couple times a day.”
Miller points out that exercise can even help decrease appetite at the same time that it increases metabolism. It can also help reduce and relieve stress (which, as mentioned, causes some people to overeat and can cause the body to store more fat).
Kelsey Bang-Olsen, a senior at the University of Florida in Gainesville, says she tried the NutriSystem diet while she was home last summer and lost 10 pounds in two months, but when the fall semester began, she says it was too hard for her to stick to the precise regimen with her busy class schedule. “By October, I had gained back the 10 pounds,” she says.
However, she says the diet taught her about portion control and the benefit of eating smaller meals throughout the day, and she knows what she should be doing, but blames her time-crunched days. Kelsey now makes time for a couple of 45-minute cardio sessions at the gym each week, and tries to play tennis whenever she can. She says she usually makes herself a smoothie in the morning—a great start, but then has a late lunch and dinner around 9p.m. “By then, I am very hungry and tend to overeat,” she says.
Going Vegan or VegetarianAriadna, who lost—and quickly regained—eight pounds on a fad diet, has since adopted a vegan diet. Two summers ago, she says she became interested in the food and cosmetics industries and began to do some research. “Food, Inc. was one of the movies that influenced me, and I just made a decision to turn vegan cold turkey.” She was also shocked when a doctor proscribed Lipitor to her when she was 19 to control her cholesterol. At the time, she said she didn’t eat much greasy food and weighed about 135 pounds (she says she’s about 5’5”). “I ate like an average healthy person, yet my blood work was affected by my genes, I suppose,” she says. But, Ariadna cautions that switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet requires more than “simply cutting out animal products from their diet.” She says its important to eat plenty of whole grains, nuts, and greens and make sure you get the right nutrients—including protein.
“When I changed what I ate, after about six months of being vegan, I weighed 113 pounds, and felt amazing! I had no trouble going to sleep, getting up early, having enough energy, and getting things done. It was also easier to exercise, and keep fit.” She is also no longer taking medication for her cholesterol.
“Following a vegetarian or vegan diet can be a healthy lifestyle choice when it is done well and mindfully, researching ahead of time how to meet nutritional needs,” says Boston College’s Sheila Tucker. “I would not recommend the switch to an entirely plant-based diet solely for the purposes of weight control as this diet is for a broader lifestyle (including environmental, ethical etc.) and health purpose, not a 'diet'.” That said, Tucker notes that eating more plant-based foods—whole grains, fruits, vegetables, plant proteins— “all as close to their original form rather than processed”—is an excellent health move and can help with weight loss. “Including more fiber in the diet provides what I call the 'fullness factor' or 'staying power'” she says.
