The hottest Dieting Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

ex_dryfast report: 48h of no food, no water

Experimental Fat Loss • 141 implied HN points • 17 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Fasting Weight Loss Dieting Fitness
  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.

ex150-13 report: Man discovers food

Experimental Fat Loss • 198 implied HN points • 09 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Dieting Weight Loss Fitness Supplementation
  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.

What causes obesity & how to reverse it

Experimental Fat Loss • 339 implied HN points • 26 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Obesity Dieting Health trends Wellness strategies
  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.

The Gadfly: Walter Kempner

Experimental Fat Loss • 162 implied HN points • 04 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Dieting Public Health Medical History Patient Care
  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.

ExFatloss 2024: Year in Review

Experimental Fat Loss • 205 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Nutrition 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.
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Post-rice OmegaQuant: 8% linoleic acid

Experimental Fat Loss • 162 implied HN points • 03 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Dieting Health Testing Wellness Trends
  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.

ex150-12 review: Holiday Edition

Experimental Fat Loss • 127 implied HN points • 10 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Dieting Weight Loss Fitness Lifestyle
  1. Following a special diet led to a quick weight loss of about 4 pounds, but it might just be water weight from changes in food intake.
  2. During the holidays, more flexibility in eating was allowed, but it didn't seem to majorly affect overall weight loss.
  3. Future experiments with different diets, like one focused on honey, are planned to see how they compare with previous food plans.

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

Experimental Fat Loss • 261 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Nutrition Mental health
  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.

The weight loss slider

Metabolic Repair • 79 implied HN points • 16 Aug 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Nutrition Weight Loss Mental health Exercise
  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.

Is Keto just a Band-Aid?

Experimental Fat Loss • 176 implied HN points • 12 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Nutrition Weight Loss Metabolism Health trends
  1. Keto can help some people lose weight initially, but it often doesn't lead to long-term success. Many people may gain the weight back after stopping the diet.
  2. People can do keto in many different ways, but not all methods work for everyone. It's important to find what suits your body and lifestyle best.
  3. Keto isn't the only option for weight loss; other diets, like those focused on potatoes or rice, can also be effective. Choose a diet that you enjoy to make it easier to stick to.

Goodbye To Jenny Craig

Weight and Healthcare • 1178 implied HN points • 13 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Loss Body positivity Health Research
  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.

Gear Post 3: Judgement Gear

Experimental Fat Loss • 92 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
🍲 Food & Drink Cooking Nutrition Dieting
  1. A Santoku knife is a versatile kitchen tool that can handle both everyday tasks and heavier cutting, making it a good investment for cooking.
  2. Having a reliable can opener is really important, especially for those who open cans occasionally and want it to work well every time.
  3. Trying fat-free sauces and alternative drinks can help you stick to a specific diet while still enjoying flavorful meals and beverages.

ex150-11 review: weight stable for 30 days

Experimental Fat Loss • 134 implied HN points • 04 Nov 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Nutrition Weight Loss Food Science
  1. After a month on the ex150 diet, the person remained stable in weight with an average around 222-224 pounds. A little weight gain was noted, but it was mostly muscle and fat together.
  2. Eating felt more satisfying during a recent protein refeed. They experienced better fullness from their meals than they had in the past.
  3. The experiment with different foods shows that consuming more cream might help maintain weight. They are now trying out a new diet involving rice to see how it affects their results.

Study Tests the Validity of Weight Loss Research Claims

Weight and Healthcare • 758 implied HN points • 29 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Research Health Benefits 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 Nutrition Fitness Dieting Mental health Lifestyle
  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.

Why You Shouldn’t Put Your Kids On Diets – Full Interview

Weight and Healthcare • 539 implied HN points • 22 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Children's Health Dieting Body positivity Mental health Medical Ethics Weight Stigma
  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 Eating Disorders Dieting Weight Stigma Health Impacts
  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 Nutrition Dieting Metabolism Weight Loss Health Science
  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 Weight Loss Dieting Research Body positivity
  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 Healthcare Obesity Insurance Coverage
  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.

Who Says Dieting Fails Most Of The Time?

Weight and Healthcare • 1198 implied HN points • 06 Nov 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Loss Research Health Outcomes Body positivity
  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.

Bears, Famine, and Dieting Failure

Weight and Healthcare • 678 implied HN points • 18 May 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Dieting Research
  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.

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 Wellness Self-care 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.

Does It Matter That Dieting Can Lead to Weight Gain?

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 15 Jun 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Health Risks Body positivity Mental health
  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.

Myths About the Failure Rate of Dieting

Weight and Healthcare • 439 implied HN points • 16 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Weight Loss Research Body positivity
  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.

Gary Taubes Tragically Flawed Article

Weight and Healthcare • 219 implied HN points • 22 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Body positivity Weight Science Health Inequality Dieting Mental health
  1. Fatness is not solely about a 'calories in, calories out' equation, debunking this myth is important for supporting the rights and dignity of fat individuals.
  2. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the years, but factors like weight stigma, weight cycling, and intentional weight loss attempts are often overlooked in discussions about obesity and health.
  3. Relying on a weight-normative approach and pushing for eradicating fat individuals can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and may not necessarily lead to improved health outcomes for people of all body sizes.

Heart Attack Keto

The Heart Attack Diet • 39 implied HN points • 20 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Physical health Weight Loss Dieting
  1. The author experienced different physical and mental effects while trying the Heart Attack Keto diet, such as running out of mental energy and experiencing 'the ghost of a headache,' indicating possible signs of going into ketosis.
  2. Despite some changes in weight and energy levels, the author did not notice the same spectacular water-weight loss or enhanced mood and energy as with a previous diet, leading to mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the Heart Attack Keto diet.
  3. The author is unsure about the impact of the diet on actual fat loss and is considering returning to their previous diet to observe any changes, highlighting the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of following the Heart Attack Keto plan.

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment - Studying the Studies

Weight and Healthcare • 179 implied HN points • 27 Oct 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Weight Loss Eating Disorders Dieting Psychological Effects
  1. The Minnesota Starvation Experiment in 1944 aimed to understand recovery from famine, with volunteers facing severe physical and psychological effects during semi-starvation.
  2. Comparison to modern weight loss diets showed harmful practices with restricted calories, excessive exercise demands, and negative long-term impacts on participants' relationships with food.
  3. The Experiment's results mirrored common experiences in weight loss struggles, with regained weight, exclusion of 'failed' results, and lasting fears around food scarcity, highlighting the dangers of extreme dieting.

I’ve been on a diet (almost) my whole life

The Shift With Sam Baker • 19 implied HN points • 08 Sep 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Body Image Weight Loss Self-Acceptance
  1. The author has spent a large part of their life on a diet, feeling pressure to lose weight, dating back to childhood and teenage years.
  2. The societal influence on body image and diet culture started early for the author, impacting their perception of self-image and leading to disordered eating habits.
  3. Working in the fashion industry intensified the author's struggles with body image, but the root of their dieting habits trace back to societal norms and personal experiences from childhood.

A North Star Metric for my Personal Life

CAUSL Effect • 0 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Personal Health Dieting Exercise Mental health Lifestyle changes
  1. Using a North Star Metric can help simplify personal goals. It lets you focus on one main goal instead of getting overwhelmed by many smaller targets.
  2. Brushing teeth by 8pm is an effective way to support health goals. It helps avoid late-night snacking, encourages intermittent fasting, and increases energy levels.
  3. Tracking progress is important for staying motivated. By monitoring this specific behavior, you can work towards better health outcomes more easily.

Losing weight the lazy way (2018)

Metabolic Repair • 0 implied HN points • 17 Aug 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dieting Nutrition Weight Loss Fitness Lifestyle
  1. Calorie counting can be an effective and less restrictive way to lose weight. It lets you choose convenient meals without the hassle of cooking everything from scratch.
  2. Eating at places like Subway and Chipotle makes it easier to track calories while still enjoying meals. You can fit in healthy, filling options without much effort.
  3. Staying motivated is key. Weight loss can slow down, but keeping track of your progress and understanding that it's a gradual process can help you stick to your goals.