WHY MOST DIETS FAIL

In 1965, Scotsman Angus Barbieri embarked upon an infamous journey that would baffle medical professionals and scientists alike for many years to come. Under extreme and careful medical supervision, Angus went 382 days without consuming a single bite of food! Instead, he relied only on water and supplements along with the occasional cup of tea or coffee. In that period, Angus lost a frightening 125kgs, shrinking down from 207kgs, to his target weight of 82kgs. Whilst this type of extreme diet should never be attempted by anyone, it does demonstrate the incredible ability of the human body to adapt to severe circumstances.

Our bodies are wired primarily for one thing; survival! Any stimuli that potentially threatens our chances of survival receives an instinctive visceral response. It’s the reason why we feel disgust at the sight or smell of sewage water or rancid food. This is our mind’s way of telling us to stay clear of these potentially hazardous substances.

Similarly, the reason why the human eye can perceive more shades of green than any other colour is because our ancestors needed to be able to detect threats that lay dormant in the plains of the Savannah instead of falling prey to them. Heck, it even applies to social scenarios. Conformity to societal norms like instinctively stopping at a red light alleviates much of our cognitive load allowing us to employ thought more efficiently to scenarios that require greater analysis. If we were forced to reason every basic action such as which side of the road to drive on, or which hand to use every time we shook hands, the accumulation of all these small decisions would leave us heavily fatigued by the end of the day.

Weight loss is no different. As Angus demonstrated in his experiment, fat is a reliable and efficient source of potential energy that is able to sustain us for incredibly long periods of time when called upon. Our bodies know this very well and thus we have developed mechanisms that encourage the storage of this amazing fuel source. This is what allowed early man to survive very harsh conditions in which he would often oscillate between states of feast and famine. Fat storage meant he had enough nutrients contained in his body to allow him to go hunting for his next meal, and so the cycle would continue.

Today, the threat of starvation, fortunately, is not a challenge that many of us face. Food is much more readily available to the majority of people, and yet the basic metabolic system that worked so well for our ancestors still exists today despite our environmental changes. Our bodies still recognise rapid weight loss as a threat to our survival and thus adapts accordingly to mitigate and minimise these losses. One of the ways it does this is by decreasing our rate of metabolism. This is most pronounced in people that perform prolonged endurance exercises like cardio. To compensate for the increased energy demand, the body begins to break down muscle fibre which in itself is extremely demanding of energy, and instead prioritises supply of energy to our primary organs. That is why when someone goes on a calorie restricted diet and combines that with heavy endurance exercise, they are highly likely to put the weight back on again. In fact, they often put on more weight than before, once they inevitably return to a more sustainable diet.

Their metabolism has adapted to using less calories to fuel its vital functions and has become more efficient at storing fat to deal with prolonged periods of being in a caloric deficit. Additionally, the body also becomes more conservative with the excretion of the hormone leptin (the hunger hormone), which is responsible for telling the brain that we are full, in an attempt to increase our caloric intake. Thus, the point at which we feel full is also eroded away and our cravings inevitably become more intense.

This is a harsh reality that contestants of ‘The Biggest Loser’ are dealing with today. A 2016 study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that out of the 14 former contestants that they studied, 13 had regained a significant portion of the weight they lost on the show and 4 of them were actually heavier than they were before the show. The combination of near starvation diets, and extreme forms of cardiovascular exercise for prolonged periods of time meant that their metabolism was slower in 2016 than it was before they began the show as their bodies attempted to adapt to these new punishing demands.

So why is the ketogenic diet any different, you might ask? Well firstly, Keto is not predominantly dependent upon caloric restriction. Instead, the ketogenic diet focuses on the hormones responsible for fat storage. Being in ketosis forces your body into a metabolic state in which the primary hormone responsible for storing fat is bypassed almost completely. This hormones is insulin. Every time we consume carbohydrates they are broken down into glucose. That glucose must be transported through our blood system to our cells for fuel. Insulin acts as the gatekeeper by unlocking our cells allowing glucose to enter. However, any excess glucose that is not taken up by our cells and is not then converted into glycogen (long glucose chains), is then converted into fat and stored in our fat cells. Thus, every time we consume carbohydrate-rich foods, we are stimulating this hormone and encouraging the body to engage in fat storage.

However, when you are in a state of ketosis, in which you are consuming fat as your primary source of fuel and almost no carbs, your metabolism begins to do something fascinating. Ketosis forces your body to imitate the metabolic effects of starvation, without the dire physiological effects, as you begin to burn fat as your primary source of fuel instead of glucose. Once the body has burnt up the nutritional fats which you consume daily, it will begin tapping into your stored fat reserves to fuel your cells even when you are at rest. This means that your body begins to burn fat 24/7, whether from the food you consume or from your fat stores, depending on your caloric intake. Additionally, ketosis also increases the production of the hormone leptin discussed earlier as the hormone is produced by your fat cells. This means you reach a state of satisfaction much quicker and also don’t suffer from cravings or bouts of hunger during the day.

We, here at Keto Kart, take all the hassle out of going Keto for you by delivering a wide array of recipes that are intended to keep you in a state of ketosis. This will ensure that you are burning fat as your primary source of fuel instead of sugar. We also ensure that all your required daily vitamins and minerals are contained in your foods, saving you money on expensive pills. The only thing left for you to worry about is what to do with that box of clothes that won’t fit you anymore. We at Keto Kart personally recommend http://salvationarmy.org.za/, but the choice is yours. ;-)

Have a great day Ketonites!

SOURCE MATERIAL:

Textbooks:

Allen, L. and Prentice, A. (2005) Encyclopaedia of Human Nutrition. Netherlands. Elsevier.

Guyton, A. and Hall, J. (2015) Textbook of Medical Physiology. London. WB Saunders.

Kang, J. (2013) Nutrition and Metabolism in Sports, Exercise and Health. London. Routledge.

Novels:

Berg, E. (2010) The 7 Principles of Fat Burning: Get Healthy, Lose Weight and Keep It Off. Illinois. KB Publishing.

Berry, K. (2019) Lies My Doctor Told Me: Medical Myths That Can Harm Your Health. Nevada. Victory Belt Publishing.

Ferriss, T. (2011) The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman. New York. Penguin Random House.

Fung, J. (2016) The Obesity Code: The Bestselling Guide to Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss. Melbourne. Scribe Publications.

Goldacre, B. and Farley, R. (2010) Bad Science. London. Fourth Estate.

Greene, R. (2018) The Laws of Human Nature. London. Profile Books.

Harari, Y. (2011) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. New York. Penguin Random House.

Noakes, T. (2017) Lore of Nutrition: Challenging Conventional Dietary Beliefs. Cape Town. Penguin Random House.

Pollan, M. (2007) The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. London. Penguin Publishing Group.

Taubes, G. (2016) The Case Against Sugar. California. Portobello Books.

Volek, J. and Phinney, S. (2011) The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. Connecticut. Beyond Obesity LLC.

Wilson, J. and Lowery, R. (2017) The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis. New York. Simon & Schuster.

Courses:

Nowicki, S. (2004) The Great Courses — Biology: The Science of Life. Duke University.

Shaw Academy (2018) — Sports & Nutrition Certification Course