Dieting weighs in as a futile endeavor

While I watched celebrity chef Paula Deen blithely place an
entire stick of butter onto a heated pan, my roommate wailed for
the hundredth time, “I’m getting fat!” A lull
followed while she waited expectantly, I sighed in exasperation,
and Paula smiled at the melting butter.

With Thanksgiving almost a week behind us, awkward moments like
this must be plentiful. We are all worried about those extra pounds
from double-sized servings of stuffing and mashed potatoes drowned
in gravy. And we all think we have the answer: dieting.

In reality, dieting is a method that brings little success and
loads of unhappiness. Repeatedly endeavoring to lose those extra 10
pounds is the most tried and untrue solution of weight-obsessed
Americans, a Sisyphean struggle to which you should say,
“forget it!”

Not everyone is like Jared the Subway guy. In fact, most people
don’t even come close. Up to 95 percent of dieters will
regain all the weight they lost within about a year ““ and
perhaps even tack on some additional pounds.

No wonder losing weight is the habitual New Year’s
resolution year after year. Come January, many of my relatives will
no doubt vow to battle their bulges through dieting for maybe the
10th year in a row. And each repeated resolution is evidence of a
previous failed attempt. There’s a reason why dieting is so
popular: It doesn’t work.

And who knows, even Jared might balloon back up to 425 pounds,
and then some.

Cycling through failed weight loss attempts comes with a cost.
In a paper written by Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman, the authors
say that yo-yo dieting is not only physically harmful, but
psychologically hurtful as well. “Worsened mood, difficulties
concentrating, fatigue and irritability” are some listed
symptoms.

Other studies have even found that distress can cause dieters to
overeat. I think Fat Bastard said it best in the second Austin
Powers movie: “I eat because I’m unhappy, and I’m
unhappy because I eat. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Another reason it is so difficult to lose weight is simple
biology. Human beings are born with a genetically determined set
point ““ a weight your body will fight to maintain.

One theory is that if you begin to overeat, fat cells in your
body will start to increase the production of leptin. This induces
the burning of stored fat, a quickened metabolism and a reduction
in appetite. Of course, all these things help bring you back to
your set point.

On the other hand, when you begin to consume less food, leptin
levels will drop. This means that while you may experience an
initial decrease in weight, the eventual disappearance of leptin
““ your most valuable ally ““ causes your metabolism to
slow, your appetite to grow, your fat to be efficiently stored, and
ultimately, your diet to fail.

So holiday weight should be less of a thing to worry about.
According to the set point theory, extra pounds should naturally
melt away as we return to our normal routines.

And for those who are year-round carriers of an extra five or 10
pounds, why fight on a side that is doomed from the beginning,
especially since studies have shown that being overweight does not
necessarily mean being unhealthy?

There is evidence that places the blame on a different
health-ailing culprit: inactivity. While there is a higher death
rate for people who are overweight, we can’t be certain that
it is fat and not a lack of exercise that is the cause.

Someone who is overweight, especially if it is only by a few
pounds, can still be healthy, though this doesn’t mean you
should stuff your face and give up a healthy lifestyle altogether.
Also, it doesn’t matter how many pounds, kilograms or stones
you weigh. Exercise is key to maintaining good health.

The toil of dieting is not worth it. Suffering through the
misery will not provide any gains, unless we are talking about
gains in weight. And think of all the yummy stuff you’d be
deprived of.

For her Thanksgiving show, Paula Deen made a
“turducken,” which is a chicken, stuffed inside a duck,
stuffed inside a turkey. Between the meats are thick layers of
stuffing. It was utter decadence. A quote from George Bernard Shaw
comes to mind: “There is no love sincerer than the love of
food.”

Why fight this love with rigorous dieting when it won’t
even get you anywhere? Perhaps it would benefit our well-being to
be a little more like Paula Deen. Forget weight, forget guilt, and
forget those horrid celery sticks. It’s time to have our
turkey, stuffed with duck, stuffed with chicken, and eat it
too.

If you think you love food more than Tao, e-mail her at
atao@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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