How can diet plans be effective for some but not all individuals?
In: Biology
Not everyone follows the diet plan, and not everyone is honest about it. All it takes is a calorie deficit which is a very simple concept but can be difficult to actually act upon
I always recommend the series of articles, [A Chemical Hunger ](https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2021/07/07/a-chemical-hunger-part-i-mysteries/). It does a great job of reviewing all of the uncertainty surrounding nutritional science. It also proposes some new avenues for research, (including a rather bold idea for figuring out how lithium affects people’s diets, but that proposal hasn’t been scientifically tested yet).
On your specific question, the answer is that even though every human shares 99.9% of the same DNA, that 0.1% can make a huge difference. For instance, some bodies are better at turning lactose into energy than other bodies are – with the extreme event being lactose intolerant people who don’t gain any calories from milk and cheese because they vomit it. But some people’s bodies are at the other end, and are turning all the various types of food we eat into body fat much more efficiently than other people do. That would have been great for those people during times when food was really scarce, but now it makes those people extremely prone to gaining extra weight, and it makes it harder for them to lose the weight. So some people do a juice cleanse diet and their body responds by releasing excess body fat instead of feeling hungry, while other people do the juice cleanse and their body goes, oh boy free fruit sugars let’s release the hormones to make our body feel hungry so we can turn this delicious fruit juice into body fat.
Those are just some random examples. The point is, while most health advice works for most people, when you hear a weird diet, it’s likely that it only works for some people and not everyone.
Depends on what the problem is for why they aren’t losing weight. Provided that the individual is following the diet perfectly, it can be a matter of the way their body metabolizes food. They could have extenuating issues, like if they are on birth control or antidepressants that cause weight gain. Or they could have thyroid issues. They could have digestion problems like diverticulitis that prevents them from retaining nutrients or doesn’t allow them to eat the foods recommended in the diet. They could also have comorbidities like diabetes that make it difficult to regulate their sugar, or health problems that make it difficult to exercise. It also could boil down to their lifestyle and finding a diet that suits it. Some people might benefit from eating lots of tiny meals throughout the day, but their job doesn’t allow for that kind of time. Maybe they can’t afford the foods required, or they have families and they can’t afford to cook a separate meal for themselves while feeding their families.
Most diets aren’t sustainable. The best diet is a properly balanced one with a +/- 10% calorie deficit or surplus depending on your goals
Because people lie to others and themselves instead of having to take responsibility for their state. I see it all the time. People will say “i don’t eat too much” while having 3 meals a day over 1000 calories each and polishing off a whole sleeve of oreos as a snack.
I was able to finally lose weight by being honest with myself and tracking every single peanut for the first 6 months. I’m down 75 lbs and reduced my body fat from 35% to 20%. This has made my relationship with food so much more healthy.
Metabolism and other factors that the individual may have. We are all humans, but some may metabolize their food somewhat differently from others, there are also pre-existing conditions that could affect the diet plan that would make them less or more effective for different people.
The biggest problem about a diet plan is not the plan it self, but the willingness to follow it.
Good dieticians/trainers put the plan together together with you so it would have the healthy side and counted calories (for weight loss or gain) but also include meals that you actually eat.
A good plan is an excel sheet with lots of variables. A bad plan is expencting that you eat the same every week
Hunger and metabolism are genetic in nature, so not everyone experiences a diet the same way. People also live vastly different lives, that require different diets.
Take the standard calorie deficit:
That can be difficult to balance for people working active jobs. Too little, you run out of in energy mid-shift, too much, you’re back to square 1.
For people who have more aggressive ghrelin responses, hunger will hit them much harder; they’ll have a tougher time sticking to a deficit.
Diabetics can face problems in general due to how they have to balance their sugars while still taking routine insulin injections.
Some peoples’ bodies are just gonna process food into bodyfat more efficiently, meaning they’re gonna have an uphill battle one way or another.
Fact remains: People are different. If everyone could manage the same thing, the problem wouldn’t exist.
That said, almost everything within reason works; which is why there are multiple diet plans. Pick whichever is best for you, and you’ll likely see results.
diet effectiveness varies from person to person for a few reasons. Some common ones include:
How well does your weekly schedule fit the diet schedule? If you work a 9-5 job, maybe intermittent fasting with a 5-9 eating window works perfectly for you. If you work a 2-10 job, that 5-9 eating window is a surefire way to make sure you fail.
How well does your diet support your lifestyle? If you’re generally sedentary in and out of work, maybe keto will do fine. If your hobbies include weightlifting, hiking, sports, etc then a chronic lack of carbs will leave you sapped of energy regularly.
How well do you confirm to the diet parameters? If you’re consistently over/under portioning, or eating/drinking things not prescribed in the diet, maybe consider meal prepping ahead of time to minimize the moments you find yourself making bad decisions when you don’t have easy access to your diet foods. Also remove access to junk foods in your home and increase access to healthier options.
How well do you track your calories? Failing to account for the accurate intake of food and drink because you “eyeballed it” or deemed something minor enough to completely neglect tracking will detail you so fast.
How often do you adjust the diet parameters to account for your progress, or lack or progress? If you’re trying to lose/gain weight, but it’s been stagnant for 2+ weeks, you better have a plan to adjust your calorie intake to course-correct. Of course the quality of the adjustment relies on the integrity of your prior consistency first and foremost.
Many people are overworked. Overeating is a way to keep their energy up and work longer than their natural tired point, and stress eating is a way to feel good and relax after a day when they worked too hard.
Sad and depressed people overeat or eat treats to feel better.
These groups of people won’t be able to stick to a diet plan in their current circumstances.
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