The hottest Dieting Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

The weight loss slider

Metabolic Repair • 79 implied HN points • 16 Aug 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Weight loss can be painful and hard to maintain. Many diets lead to cravings and a drop in energy, making it difficult to stick to them for a long time.
  2. There are painless ways to lose weight by focusing on simple food choices, like the potato diet or high-fat keto. These diets can help you lose weight without feeling deprived or constantly hungry.
  3. Personal habits and lifestyle choices play a big role in weight loss. Customizing your diet to fit your life can make the process smoother and less stressful.

Goodbye To Jenny Craig

Weight and Healthcare • 1178 implied HN points • 13 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Jenny Craig, a popular commercial diet program, is shutting down after decades. Despite its promises of weight loss, it failed to show long-term results in studies.
  2. Commercial diet programs like Jenny Craig often rely on a cycle of success and failure, blaming clients for weight regain without acknowledging the limitations of restrictive diets.
  3. The closure of Jenny Craig is a reminder of the lack of evidence behind many weight loss programs, as clients are left without sustainable results.

The Worst Doctor Diet Advice?

Weight and Healthcare • 878 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Doctors giving diet advice without evidence can harm patients' health
  2. Mistrust of patients by questioning their adherence to diets is a common issue in healthcare
  3. Healthcare practitioners should reconsider their training on intentional weight loss and biases towards higher-weight patients

Study Tests the Validity of Weight Loss Research Claims

Weight and Healthcare • 758 implied HN points • 29 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Weight loss research often relies on the energy deficit approach despite a high failure rate, leading to misrepresentation of evidence.
  2. Claims suggesting 5-10% weight loss offers significant health benefits lack substantial evidence and may not be accurate.
  3. Weight loss studies tend to overlook adverse effects of dieting, neglect other clinical outcomes beyond weight loss, and maintain an overly optimistic tone despite high failure rates observed in long-term interventions.

What failed in weight loss for me

Metabolic Repair • 19 implied HN points • 17 Aug 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Using stimulants can lead to weight gain instead of loss, especially if you still eat unhealthy foods.
  2. Diets that are hard to stick to or require too much willpower usually fail because they aren't enjoyable in the long run.
  3. Finding a default eating and exercise routine that suits your body is important for maintaining a healthy weight over time.
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Why You Shouldn’t Put Your Kids On Diets – Full Interview

Weight and Healthcare • 539 implied HN points • 22 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Body Mass Index is not a reliable measure of health as people at the same weight can have vastly different health statuses.
  2. Factors like genetics, social determinants, and health-supporting behaviors matter more to overall health than weight.
  3. Research shows that diets are ineffective, especially for kids, and can lead to negative outcomes like eating disorders and weight gain.

Study's Questionable Claims About Eating Disorders and Dieting

Weight and Healthcare • 399 implied HN points • 11 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Study utilizes questionable research to support the idea that weight loss interventions for children won't increase eating disorder risk.
  2. Authors of the study have conflicts of interest as they receive payments from or are associated with the weight loss industry.
  3. The study fails to provide concrete evidence that weight management leads to long-term weight loss or health benefits.

My guess why potatoes creates weight loss

Metabolic Repair • 8 HN points • 24 Aug 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Eating a lot of potatoes may help you lose weight because they can reduce your appetite and cravings. This might be similar to how some weight-loss medications work.
  2. Potatoes might also increase your body temperature and metabolism, making you burn more calories just by being active. The effects can vary from person to person depending on their unique body and genetics.
  3. A mostly potato diet is low in fat and iron, which may also contribute to weight loss. This combination can change how your body feels about food and potentially help you eat less.

Let's Talk About Noom

Weight and Healthcare • 619 implied HN points • 07 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Noom's claims of being a brand new way to lose weight while also helping to keep weight off for good are inconsistent. Long-term efficacy cannot be proven with short-term results.
  2. Short-term weight loss statistics from Noom might not reflect sustained success, as most participants tend to regain weight within a few years, similar to other diet programs.
  3. Studies on Noom's effectiveness often involve low retention rates and short follow-up durations, which are not sufficient to support their marketing claims of long-term weight loss maintenance.

Ghosts of Diet Culture Past

Weight and Healthcare • 579 implied HN points • 24 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Weight is not the direct cause of health issues, and mistaking correlation for causation can lead to harmful cycles in healthcare.
  2. Historically, fat people faced barriers like lack of insurance coverage and delayed care, impacting their health outcomes.
  3. Diet culture's focus on weight loss has often led to harmful practices without long-term benefits, perpetuated by the diet industry and healthcare providers.

What causes obesity & how to reverse it

Experimental Fat Loss • 339 implied HN points • 26 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Cutting down on linoleic acid found in seed oils is key to reversing obesity. This type of fat is everywhere in modern foods and affects how hungry we feel.
  2. Many diets can help, but turning to either a low-carb (keto) or low-fat (carbo) approach can be beneficial, depending on what works best for you.
  3. Restricting protein intake can also aid in weight loss. Some people find eating less protein helps their body shed fat more easily.

Who Says Dieting Fails Most Of The Time?

Weight and Healthcare • 1198 implied HN points • 06 Nov 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Various studies from different time periods show that intentional weight loss through dieting has a high failure rate, with most individuals regaining lost weight within a few years.
  2. Even when weight loss is achieved, it may not necessarily lead to improved health outcomes or reduced mortality risks, compared to focusing on behaviors like exercise and healthy eating.
  3. The research emphasizes the importance of moving away from the traditional focus on body size manipulation to a more evidence-based approach that supports people's health through behavior changes and access to resources.

ex_kempner review: CICO and FO

Experimental Fat Loss • 127 implied HN points • 22 Jun 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. A very low-calorie diet, like the Kempner rice diet, is extremely hard to stick to. People often feel constantly hungry and unsatisfied with their meals.
  2. Drastic calorie restrictions may lead to temporary weight loss but often result in rapid weight gain once normal eating resumes. This can create a cycle of yo-yo dieting.
  3. Individual experiences with diets can vary greatly. Some people might succeed on a strict diet while others struggle, highlighting that dieting is not one-size-fits-all.

Bears, Famine, and Dieting Failure

Weight and Healthcare • 678 implied HN points • 18 May 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Intentional weight loss often results in short-term weight loss followed by long-term weight regain due to the body's biological response to famine-like situations and physical activity.
  2. The body undergoes physiological changes during weight loss attempts to protect against perceived food scarcity and increased physical activity, making long-term weight loss challenging.
  3. Research shows that the majority of intentional weight loss efforts are unsustainable in creating significant long-term weight loss, raising questions about the ethical and evidence-based nature of weight loss interventions.

Why One Donut Isn't Enough

Inland Nobody • 80 implied HN points • 24 Jul 25
🍲 Food & Drink Dieting
  1. Not all foods fill you up the same way. Some might feel like they have fewer calories than they actually do, making it easy to eat more.
  2. Processed and tasty foods can trick your hunger signals. Foods like fast food often leave you feeling hungry even after consuming a lot of calories.
  3. Managing weight involves eating less than you burn while also feeling full. Choosing foods that satisfy you is key to avoiding constant hunger.

Learning to grow, minding your wellness & why midlife women feel like screaming

The Shift With Sam Baker • 179 implied HN points • 24 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Wellness and self-care were not emphasized for those growing up in the 70s and 80s, revealing a societal shift over the years towards prioritizing mental health and well-being.
  2. Midlife women can experience feelings of frustration and exhaustion, often struggling to find their voice and express their emotions after years of conforming to societal expectations.
  3. Embarking on new activities like gardening later in life can lead to unexpected discoveries and personal growth, showing that it's never too late to try something new.

ex150-13 report: Man discovers food

Experimental Fat Loss • 198 implied HN points • 09 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Eating the same meal for a long time led to small weight changes, showing routines can affect weight loss positively.
  2. Trying a variety of foods after years of strict diets resulted in surprising satiety, even from sugary snacks.
  3. Lowering linoleic acid levels might improve overall health and satiety, suggesting dietary adjustments can have significant effects.

Book review: The End of Craving

Experimental Fat Loss • 92 implied HN points • 28 Jun 25
🍲 Food & Drink Dieting
  1. The book discusses how our current food system creates confusion around nutrition due to the fortification of foods, making us unsure about what we really need to eat. This could lead to overeating because our bodies might think they're missing important nutrients.
  2. It introduces the idea of a two-part reward system in our brains: wanting something and then getting satisfaction from it. If these two signals are out of sync, it can lead to unhealthy eating habits, almost like addiction.
  3. The author believes that many processed foods are not really food at all but 'food simulacra' that can trick our taste buds. These foods can be overly enticing, causing us to eat more than we actually need.

Holy S&*t, is my Non-24 gone?!

Experimental Fat Loss • 261 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Non-24 is a sleep disorder that makes your body clock run on a different schedule than normal. It feels like having constant jet lag and can seriously affect your daily life.
  2. Following a ketogenic diet helped one person manage their Non-24 symptoms, giving them a regular sleep schedule for years. When they tried adding carbs, the disorder returned quickly.
  3. Surprisingly, after experimenting with a rice diet, they found their non-24 symptoms didn’t come back. This was unexpected and raises questions about how different diets impact circadian rhythms.

ExFatloss 2024: Year in Review

Experimental Fat Loss • 205 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. In 2024, there were many experiments and personal weight changes, with weight fluctuating but often hovering around the lowest point in several years.
  2. Tools like the Omega Tracker and various calculators were created to help people understand their dietary impact and weight loss journey better.
  3. There are new goals for the future, focusing on sharing knowledge and enabling others to experiment with their diets rather than just personal progress.

Does It Matter That Dieting Can Lead to Weight Gain?

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 15 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Intentional weight loss through dieting often leads to weight regain, and in some cases, people end up gaining more weight than they initially lost.
  2. Diet culture and fatphobia can perpetuate harmful physical and mental health consequences associated with dieting, even if the intention is to promote weight loss.
  3. The argument against dieting can be framed by highlighting the health risks and ethical concerns of prescribing weight loss as a healthcare intervention, despite its ineffectiveness in achieving long-term health benefits.

The Gadfly: Walter Kempner

Experimental Fat Loss • 162 implied HN points • 04 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Walter Kempner was a doctor who developed a strict rice diet that helped seriously ill patients, particularly those with kidney problems, see improvements in their health. The diet was simple but very restrictive.
  2. Kempner's approach was controversial, and he often faced criticism from other doctors. However, he backed his claims with detailed data and had notable success in treating patients.
  3. Despite his initial success and fame, Kempner's methods aren't widely recognized today, and the rice diet hasn't been successfully replicated outside of his clinic.

ex_dryfast report: 48h of no food, no water

Experimental Fat Loss • 141 implied HN points • 17 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Dry fasting for 48 hours felt easier than expected. The experience didn't match the scary stories I'd heard online about serious difficulties.
  2. I lost about 5-7.5 pounds after the dry fast, mainly due to water weight. It was surprising how quickly the weight dropped without eating or drinking.
  3. This experience made me more interested in trying dry fasting again. It seems less daunting now, and I have noticed that many people are exploring it more as a way to lose weight.

Myths About the Failure Rate of Dieting

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 16 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Research shows that the majority of people regain weight after intentional weight loss, often gaining back more than they lost.
  2. The failure rate of intentional weight loss applies to all methods, not just 'fad' diets, with statistics dating back to the 1950s showing low success rates.
  3. The idea that weight loss fails because people don't do it correctly is a misconception; with around 95% of individuals regaining lost weight, the approach itself may be flawed.

Post-rice OmegaQuant: 8% linoleic acid

Experimental Fat Loss • 162 implied HN points • 03 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting
  1. Eating very low-fat diets, like a rice diet, can deplete the body's linoleic acid faster. When you stop taking in certain fats, your body starts using fat stored in your tissues.
  2. The OmegaQuant Complete test can give a rough idea of linoleic acid levels, but it's not completely accurate. It's a useful tool, but results should be interpreted carefully due to various factors.
  3. Body fat levels and diet can greatly affect fatty acid profiles. If you're on a low-fat diet, your body might produce more of its own fats, which can influence test results.