The Pros and Cons of Five Weight Loss Strategies

Posted on 20 September, 2018

Weight loss can be challenging, particularly when there are so many approaches to choose from, each marketed as “the best.”

Regardless of which strategy you decide to use, a reduction in body weight requires two key factors for it to be successful long-term:

An energy deficit needs to be created

The balance between energy in (through food) and energy out (through your metabolism and movement) must be a deficit – which means less energy going in than going out. The deficit needs to be significant, meaning large enough for your body to make a metabolic shift and start burning more fat than it’s storing. This doesn’t mean starving yourself, but it also doesn’t mean eating everything you can see.

The energy deficit needs to be sustained

One day of a deficit (even one week) is not enough time to see reductions in your fat mass. Any reductions in weight that you see on the scales in the first week or two are usually changes in your glycogen (carbohydrate stored in your liver and muscles) and water levels.

True fat loss takes time. You’ve got to be patient and make sure that the strategy you choose is sustainable over the long term.

Here are the benefits and drawbacks of five popular weight loss methods:

Intermittent Fasting

This diet is characterised by two days of ‘fasting’ (eating only 500 calories) and five days of eating a healthy diet at your maintenance energy level. I’ve written about intermittent fasting before.

Pros

• Creates a deficit very easily with two days at a very low-calorie intake
• You only have to be in a deficit for two out of seven days and the remainder of the week can be at a maintenance level
• A growing body of research supports its use and effectiveness at achieving weight loss if you can stick to it for long enough
• You can plan your fasting days to fit around your social events from week to week
• Suits individuals with a sedentary lifestyle and low exercise levels

Cons

• It may be difficult to stick to 500 calories on fasting days, and the diet only works if you get these fasting days right
• It’s not suitable for very active people, as combining fasting with lots of exercise can result in fatigue, poor recovery, and injury
• Depending on your relationship with food, fasting days can result in overeating or ‘binge’ sessions that may lead to exceeding your energy needs on both your fasting and non-fasting days. If this happens, you’ll cancel out the deficit created and not lose weight
• You only have five days per week to meet your body’s nutrient needs, so if you don’t learn general healthier eating patterns on these days, you’ll struggle to get good long-term results

Calorie Counting

This strategy is characterised by tracking your food intake in a diary or app and counting your energy intake (calories or kilojoules) so that you can stick to a certain amount and know that you are creating an energy deficit each day.

Pros

• It’s very effective if you can consistently stick to the low-calorie intake each day
• It gives you lots of flexibility with what you eat so long as you stay within your energy budget
• You can easily include your favourite foods so long as you stay within your energy budget

Cons

• If you don’t weigh and measure out your food and just guess, you may be creating a false deficit and thinking you’re sticking to a certain energy amount when you’re really not
• This approach neglects diet quality and there is the temptation to just eat anything so long as you stick to your daily calorie quota
• Unhealthy foods can crowd out healthy foods (a 600 calorie piece of cheesecake may mean that now you don’t eat your healthy lunch)
• Many apps and food databases have highly inaccurate nutrition information which may create a false deficit because you’re eating more than you think you are
• It can be difficult to track food that you eat when you’re out and about as you don’t know 100% what you’re eating, nor are you able to accurately estimate how much you’re eating

Whole Foods

This approach encourages you to cut out ‘junk’ or highly processed foods and get your nutrition from whole, fresh, minimally processed foods. It’s often called ‘clean eating’.

Pros

• It helps you achieve a high diet quality by encouraging you to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, wholegrain, and meats
• It reduces your intake of refined sugars, processed fats, salt and preservatives
• A whole foods based diet is rich in fibre, nutrients and helps you feel full on lower energy intakes; an important part of long-term weight loss

Cons

• It neglects the energy content of food and many people are still consuming too much energy from their food
• The ‘clean eating’ movement has popularised ‘healthy’ treats which are often just as high in sugar and fat than their traditional versions, making creating an energy deficit difficult to do
• When followed to the extreme, people can become obsessive and anxious about not eating processed foods which may lead to disordered eating practices
• Many healthy foods are processed and/or come in a packet, and these are unnecessarily avoided by many people trying to reduce their intake of processed foods

Very Low Carb/Ketogenic

This strategy works by forcing your body to use fats for fuel instead of carbohydrates. It requires you to strictly limit your total carbohydrate intake. I’ve written about the ketogenic diet before.

Pros

• Although it severely restricts carbohydrates, you can eat large amounts of fat (within reason) which include lots of yummy foods like nuts, avocados, and fatty fish
• Once your body is in ketosis (the metabolic shift that focusses on burning fat) you experience a decrease in appetite
• Results in rapid weight loss, which is quicker than other weight loss methods

Cons

• Side effects of this diet include constipation due to the lack of fibre
• Without careful planning, you’ll find it difficult to meet you daily serves of fruit and vegetables
• Many healthy, nutrient-rich foods like some fruits, dairy, and starchy foods like potatoes, wholegrain and legumes, are removed as they contain too much carbohydrate
• Can be difficult to eat socially and still stay in ketosis, which is the key reason why the diet works
• Can be a difficult diet to stick to if you engage in regular high intensity or endurance exercise as this kind of activity requires carbohydrates for energy

Meal Plans

This approach involves signing up to a program, app or having a professional provide you with a meal plan which spells out for you all the meals and snacks that you should be eating day-to-day.

Pros

• You don’t have to think about your food, just follow the plan
• If plans are well written they will be suitable for your individual energy needs, offer good variety and encourage an intake of whole foods in the right portion sizes
• They will remove the decision fatigue experienced from having to make food decisions

Cons

• Meal plans are written for the masses and you often have one meal plan written that is then given to thousands of people
• You might not like the foods on the meal plan and be unsure of how to swap it for something else
• They foster an ‘all or nothing’ approach and many people give up if they can’t follow the meal plan perfectly
• Meal plans may not suit your lifestyle, not provide enough energy or be overly restrictive or monotonous, making them difficult to stick to in the long-term

Desert Island

This strategy creates an energy deficit through the dramatic event of you becoming stranded on a desert island. The distinct lack of food and increase in physical activity (trying to find food and running away from the tarantulas) results in a large energy deficit. Due to the fact that you’re stranded, you’re stuck in an energy deficit for months on end.

This is obviously a tongue-in-cheek end to my article, but as you can see there is no one perfect approach to losing weight. There are pros and cons to every strategy.

In the end, you’re going to have to make some long-term changes to your life and that results in making sacrifices in other areas. Your goal is to decide what you can sacrifice and change for the sake of improving your long-term health.

I don’t believe that these changes need to be drastic, however, they do need to be consistent in order for you to get results. You also need to think about the long-term ramifications of dieting. Do you still want to be struggling with food as you do now in twenty years time? Or would you like to feel confident in your food choices long term? If you do, then get in touch with me and my team.