Editor’s Note: Konstantin will be answering questions in the comments section at the end of this post so feel free to chime in with your thoughts and questions to keep the weight loss discussion going. Konstantin will be posting a column on The Healthy Home Economist for the next few weeks. If you haven’t been able to attain your dream weight no matter how hard you’ve tried, these posts will help transform your understanding of how to best attain your optimal weight using Traditional Diet – without failure and side effects – for life!
Statistically speaking, losing weight and keeping it off permanently is just as challenging as becoming a millionaire, perhaps even more. I discovered the core reason behind this enigma while investigating the weight loss plateau phenomenon of low carbohydrate diets. This finding has helped me to cross the last nine yards toward attaining normal weight, and remaining that way for the past twelve years.
As all serendipitous discoveries go, this one was remarkably simple: weight loss diets fail because doctors, nutritionists, dietitians, and celebrities who promote them (and people who follow their advice) do not make a distinction between the reduction of body weight and the reduction of body fat. In other words, losing weight and losing fat isn’t exactly the same thing!
To understand what the distinction between the body’s fat and weight means in real life, let’s review the most basic physiology of weight loss:
- There are two principal components of body weight — constant weight and variable weight.
- The variable weight is a sum of all the digestive fluids inside your GI tract, the undigested foods already in your stomach and the small intestine, the stools inside your large intestine, and water, which can be safely lost with sweat, urine, and perspiration. These variable components of your body weight represent between 15 and 30 pounds, depending on your original diet, your current weight, and your digestive health.
- The constant weight is everything else – the remaining fluids, such as the blood plasma and lymph, the weight of your skin, bones, internal organs, muscles, and adipose tissue, or body fat – the sole substance you actually want to get rid of.
- Variable weight swings from day to day depending on the amount of foods and fluids you consume and expel, workload, and environment. A day on the beach, an hour in the hot tub, or an intense workout in a sweat suit, for example, can reduce your body weight by several pounds simply from sweating.
- Constant weight remains stable for longer stretches of time because loss of body fat is quite slow on any diet, and requires a considerable time to produce measurable and permanent results.
In practical terms, when you start a weight loss program, the first 10 to 20 pounds of weight reduction are almost exclusively made up from the following components:
(a) A reduction in the total weight of foods that you have consumed over the past few days. It may be considerable, especially if you love to eat.
(b) A reduction in digestive fluids. As soon as you start eating less, your body reduces the amount of saliva, gastric, and pancreatic juices involved in digestion. This amount ranges from 6 to 7 quarts per day, and may be halved by the reduced calorie diet.
(c) A loss of water throughout your body, particularly with urine. This happens because reduced calorie diets have a pronounced diuretic and dehydration effect.
(d) Loss of stools from your bowels. As you reduce food intake, particularly fiber, the total volume of stools inside the large intestine may drop three to five times.
I refer to the total of all of the above as a phantom weight loss. This universally ignored fact of human physiology is behind the ubiquitous promise of the near instant weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds on the covers of diet books, supermarket tabloids, and diet plans.
The precipitous – two weeks or less – loss of phantom weight also explains why so many people yo-yo back to their original weight as soon as they stop dieting – the cumulative weight of foods, digestive juices, water, and stools starts to come back the moment you return to your regular diet.
A quick reduction of the waistline is also a popular diet hoax: as your stomach, intestines, and bowel clear out their respective contents, the waistline around them shrinks down a few sizes, even though practically all the body fat remains exactly where it was before commencing the diet.
The proverbial weight loss plateau is another gimmick intended to absolve weight loss counselors from any responsibility for their advice, and to blame you and your metabolism for an inability to lose weight. The truth is – when you can’t overcome weight loss plateau, it simply means that you have lost only phantom weight, but not an ounce of body fat, and, quite possibly, you have gained even more!
So, let’s summarize what I have just described:
- Anyone commencing a reduced calorie diet will demonstrate an appreciable loss of weight, but this is not a loss of actual body fat, but a loss of phantom weight related to the much smaller intake of foods and fluids.
- Weight loss diets that have a pronounced diuretic and dehydrating effect may demonstrate an even larger phantom weight loss at the expense of body fluids. You can accomplish pretty much the exact same effect by restricting fluid intake or sweating out in a sauna.
- Reaching a weight loss plateau simply means that you have lost only phantom weight, but have not lost and won’t lose any body fat.
- A rapid weight rebound shortly after resuming a regular diet simply means that you’ve simply restored the weight of fluids, undigested foods, and stools in your body back to their original volume.
At this point you may be asking yourself a rightfully indignant question: why have all those diet books I’ve been reading for so long not been telling me about this?
Two reasons, I believe. First, their authors simply may not know or may not want to know about this unsavory phenomenon. Second, telling readers the truth — that it actually takes a LOT of time and a LOT of effort to lose body fat — gets in the way of selling no-sacrifice diet books, cookbooks, classes, tests, and diet-branded foods and snacks.
Since I am not constrained by similar goals, I can tell you the hard truth as it is: If you are contemplating losing weight, it must the fat under your skin, not undigested foods, fluids, and stools inside your gut. Losing actual body fat takes time, because even on a very low calorie diet you can (at best) count on losing just a few ounces (under 60 to 90 grams) daily.
So, the next natural question then is: how long does it take to lose real body fat, and how much effort is involved? Well, that is exactly what I am going to explain in the next post: How Long Will it Take You to Lose the Weight?
Once you realize and appreciate the difference between the loss of fat and the loss of mere phantom weight, you will have a much easier time managing the actual process of weight loss (not the make-believe one), and attaining your desired weight and size.
For your health and safety, please read these important Weight Loss Common Sense Warnings and Disclaimers before commencing a reduced calorie diet.
Wow… This explains alot!.. I look forward to reading the next post. Everyone needs to read this. Thank you, sir!
Judy,
You are very welcome. Let’s hope everyone will read this and have less suffering and more happiness. It isn’t so much a matter of being overweight as the connection between diabetes and obesity — around 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, and, inversely, 80% of people with excessive BMI are also affected by diabetes or prediabetes. That is what’s ruining our beloved country and our beloved family members.
Interesting post which I think deserves lots of thought. Although most peoples weight problems stem from too many carbohydrates and eating lots of sugars….cut out potatoes and wheat products to start with along with all sugars and the weight will fall off…fat doesn’t make you fat, sugars do. Carbohydrates turn into sugars if not burnt up by the body so keep sugars out of your diet if you don’t exercise. Eat good fats like avocado and nuts, organic coconut oil and avocado oils too. Eat a rainbow coloured palate of fresh fruit and vegetables and some good sources of protein like pasture fed beef and good oily fish like salmon and tuna.
As for the hCG diet, this does work but it must be used in conjunction with plenty of nutritional supplements and drinking lots of water to eliminate toxins. I lost 30 kilograms in 12 months and have kept it off…now I keep to the above regime of eating healthy.
Alyson,
Congratulations on your weight loss. Unfortunately, what works so well for you may not work well for others, and it may eventually stop working for you as well.
I’ve known a lot of people (Dr. Atkins was the most famous among them) who, at one point in their lives, went on a diet, lost a lot of weight, and then proceeded to proselytize others based on their providence.
Guess what: despite a countless number of celebrities and medical doctors involved in the weight loss “racket,” our compatriots are fatter than ever, and I am writing yet another opus about attaining permanent weight loss without failures and side effects.
Please, keep praying for your good luck, but don’t presume that everyone around you is just as lucky!
I’m very interested in this next round of posts. Why is it that all of these presumably healthy eaters and exercisers (like me) are still overweight? I completely overhauled my eating, went from no exercise to daily workouts, expend more than I take in – I’m 45 and the scale hasn’t budged after 2months. Not even phantom weight loss. I’m not on a diet, I’m on a lifestyle change. Yes, I feel better. But I’ve fought the weight battle my whole life and I want to SEE my body change. So I’m looking forward to some answers. I’m very discouraged at this point. I feel like no one knows what they’re talking about and we have to accept that what we are is what we are……
Lisa,
The answer to this question is very simple — you consume more nutrients than your body can utilize for energy and structural metabolism. THERE ARE NO OTHER CAUSES, period, except in people with pronounced edema (water retention). For people whose bodies are very efficient, a near-permanent reduced calorie diet is the only way to break out of this logjam. And, yes, I will address this phenomenon in the future post in much greater detail.
I know this quite well from firsthand experience. My body happens to be incredibly efficient because I am a compact man (5’7″) with a low-impact lifestyle, minimal expectations (this keeps my emotions in check), and a “meditative” intellect — I only work well in a primarily semi-conscious, almost sleepy/dreamy state.
The last two factors — emotional states and intellectual activities – are huge consumers of energy. This explains why so many active scientists are usually normal-weight despite their often prodigious diet.
Back to my body: I live on two small meals a day, usually under 1,500 calories, and that’s the only way I can keep my weight under control. If I need to lose weight, I have to go down to 1100-1200 calories for a considerable stretch of time.
Now, back to your dilemma: women’s bodies, particularly close to menopause, are even more efficient than men’s, and this is particularly pronounced in women who aren’t tall. The taller you are, the easier it is to lose weight, and vice-versa — the shorter you are, the faster you gain weight and the harder it is to lose it.
But eating so little and for a long period of time is easier said than done because all very-low-calorie diets come with a list of 30 to 40 challenges and side effects, which I will tackle one by one in future posts.
So, please stay tuned!
Very, very interesting.. I have never read that before. I seem to be the exact opposite. I can eat a lot and maintain weight. I am 5’3″ and not “young” (53) but have a high impact lifestyle, a lot of expectations, emotions are kept “in check” with great effort and have an extremely active intellect — and I only work well in an alert/ hyperactive state. Would that mean my body is “inefficient” or just uses a lot of energy?
Sarah, thank you very much for hosting this awesome guest series!
Konstantin, I appreciated this post and look forward to future ones. My question is about sleep. Is there a causal relationship between sleep deprivation and weight gain?
During the last few months my sleep has been limited to about 4-5 hours per night, with waking 2-3 times in that period to tend to children. At the same time I’ve gained 15 pounds (bringing me to about 35 pounds overweight), and it’s all seemingly in my belly. Is this related to some hormonal change from chronic lack of sleep? Or just an association with a stressful time when I may be eating more than I realize? Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Meghan,
As bizarre as it may appear, lack of sleep is a major factor in weight gain, and this statement has been confirmed in the last several years by a lot of academic research, though the “scientists” behind this “research” (observation, actually) can’t figure out the reasons why. So here are they are:
(1) The longer you sleep, the less you eat.
(2) The rate of energy metabolism during sleep is quite high, so it contributes to the loss of fat.
(3) Cellular renewal takes place mostly while you are asleep, so the longer you sleep, the more resources, including body fat, are used for structural metabolism.
(4) High-quality sleep reduces stress, and, consequently, reduces/prevents stress-related weight gains (I already addressed the connection between stress and obesity in prior answers).
(5) Compromising your circadian rhythm lowers your body’s energy and structural metabolism, and it turns on “hibernation mode,” as was the case for most of human evolution, particularly for people who were residing in the regions with pronounced seasonal changes (and, correspondingly, shorter days and longer nights). That is also why people who are working night shifts tend to gain weight.
Nurses are good examples — 70% of all American registered nurses are overweight and 40% (!!!) are clinically obese. Round-the-clock air conditioning in hospitals with temperatures held steady around 72 F exacerbate this problem. And once you attain a bit of fat around your body to keep the internal organs warm and free from harm, a “thermos effect” (my term) kicks in, lowering your body’s metabolic rate even more.
So what can you do? Well, bring you thermostat up, try to expose yourself to as much as daylight as possible, take melatonin to “fool” your circadian rhythm clock, don’t overfeed your kids with carbohydrates before bed to ensure that they sleep better and longer, take liquid cod liver oil (read Sarah’s new book on that), and, most importantly, consume fewer calories, particularly from carbohydrates and the wrong kinds of fats (back to Sarah’s book again), regardless of how little you sleep, because the fat under your skin doesn’t come from air, but from your plate.
Great post. This is such a hugely overlooked area for most people. If they do a juice fast, like my husband recently did, they are losing the type of weight you describe. He lost 15 lbs but it was back on within 2 weeks. Looking forward to your next post. I hope I see it on FB feed.
I want to mention that my husband eats a mostly whole foods diet and he has really struggled with his weight. We rarely eat out and when we HAVE to and get in a jam, we eat at Subway (which I know isn’t great, but at least you can choose to load up on veggies).
He’s not super active, works out 1-2 times a week, but neither is he sedentary. I don’t know what else to do to help him, I am basically cooking whole foods each day. He doesn’t eat breakfast regularly and that’s the only suggestion I know of other than increasing activity. His mom has struggled with weight her whole life, and I just wish that it were easier for him. I worry about it a lot bc I want him to live a LONG life with me!
Marie,
Not cooking all day is the first step toward helping your husband manage his weight. I couldn’t get my own weight under control either until my caring and loving wife did the same. And there is nothing wrong with an adult man not eating breakfast, particularly if he is overweight.
I will address both issues — loving spouses with culinary talent and healthy breakfasts — in future posts.
This brings up another area I am curious to know your thoughts on, and which I trust you’ll cover in future posts. As with most anything in the field of health and nutrition, there are conflicting and confusing opinions that recommend intermittent fasting (skipping meals) vs eating three square meals without skipping meals and without snacking (a la The Leptin Diet) vs eating frequent smaller meals. I will await your thoughts on this fascinating topic in future posts.
Beth, I’ll definitely address this topic.
So I know you said earlier that this post is for “seasoned” dieters and those who are very knowledgable about weight loss. What do you reccomend for someone who is not as successful with a healthy lifestyle. By that I mean that I know all the rules of good nutrition/traditional diets. But being raised on the typical american diet, the switch can seem overwhelming to say the least. I have incorporated bone broths, started using better fats and whole fat dairy and we include grassfed beef. Though I still feel lost and unable to plan out meals and snacks for a family of 6. I go to the store and I feel like I’m being attacked by ideas and products and I end up buying stuff I know they will like, but are not the best things to buy. Price can have a lot to do with my decision as well. What do you think is the most important aspect of a traditional diet and what do you feel should be an absolute must of good nutrition. I know incorporating all aspects of a traditional diet are important but I’m hoping to take things one step at a time so as not to get too overwhelmed and quit. Weight has been an issue for me my entire life. I have always been a little heavy, but after the birth of 4 children I am holding onto 60+ extra pounds. I am tired, foggy, irritable and just plain feeling old. I am constantly craving sugar and/or caffeine and I just can’t seem to stick to my efforts. I am also a nursing mama…maybe that keeps weight on me? Thanks for your help. I hope this post isn’t too off topic, but I do appreciate any advice 🙂
Kristin,
I don’t have easy answers or recommendations. Reaching and maintaining a normal weight is a daily challenge for all, including myself. Until the rest of this series is complete, the best advice I can share with you boils down to the following:
1. Follow Sarah’s recommendations regarding a traditional diet to the tee.
2. Moderation in everything IS everything.
3. Don’t expect quick results (this point will be the subject of the next post).
4. Concentrate on staying healthy and happy, not just (or exclusively) on your weight.
5. Raise up your thermostat in the winter (to stay warm) and don’t lower it too much in the summer (also to stay warm). The moment the temperature inside gets below 76-78F (even though you may not feel it), your “hibernation” gene lowers your body’s thermostat, the rate of your energy and structural metabolism goes down, and the weight gain goes up.
6. Nothing sweet by mouth, not even artificial sweeteners, and no alcohol of any kind. (See my responses above for explanation).
6. Keep on reading my ensuing posts and share them with your family and friends. This will reinforce your self-confidence and motivation to stick with a lifestyle that is the key to successful and permanent weight loss.
Konstantin, you’re obviously going to be a very busy man answering the flood of questions from all the many people eager for this type of insight and guidance!
Sarah, thanks for doing this brilliant series!
Beth,
Yes, I will. I don’t mind, though, because these questions force me to “keep the eyes on the prize” rather than wandering around my own biases, prejudices, and preferences.
HELP! Dealing with low thyroid (had thyroid cancer but no more!) , adrenal fatique and medically induced menopause for over 6 years. I eat WAPF and have 20 more pounds to shed after losing 15 pounds with HHCG but weight and size has not budged for a couple of months. Getting pretty upset about it because I hate how it makes me feel and slows me down. I have battled this for years and have tried SO many different things. I am hoping and praying that your advice will do the trick. I’m waiting (impatiently?) for the remainder of information 😉 Thank you and I hope this is the ticket! I have too much to do to be slowed down by fat!
LizAnn,
Please, tread easy. Weight loss is a challenge for absolutely healthy people, and even more so for people with the kinds of problems you went through.
Hi. Thanks for writing this post. What about inflammation? Can a lot of the “water weight” people lose be inflammation?
Kristen,
Obesity and inflammation go hand in hand because weight gain is just one of the components of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Both of these conditions cause a profound inflammation throughout the body, water or no water.
Thus, normalizing weight or, at the very least, containing weight gain is the right strategy for reversing and preventing inflammation from affecting your health and your body.
I think I got missed – May I present my question again? I have been following a low carb traditional diet for years now — I have found that I am serotonin deficient — Don’t I need carbs to produce serotonin?
Thank you for the posts and the answers!
Yvonne,
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized from tryptophan, an essential amino acid that can be obtained most efficiently from primary proteins (meats, fish, fowl, dairy, and eggs).
Yes, plant foods may provide tryptophan as well, but with the inevitable penalty of excessive carbohydrates. These carbs, in turn, will drive weight gain and the mood-altering effects of elevated insulin. These two consequences may negate all of the positive effects of the serotonin that you are seeking.
To summarize: you don’t need carbs to produce serotonin. You still need some carbs to spare dietary proteins and muscle tissue from being “burned” into glucose, but that’s a different issue.