There is so much misinformation out there peddled by influencers, fad floggers and self-annointed experts.

So what’s the real deal?

What does the medical evidence tell us?

Dieting Myths

  • Any diet will result in weight loss. Studies show that dieting alone produces a 5% reduction in weight followed by the slow regaining of that weight over 2 years.

    Unless a person exercises intensely for 2 hours a day, exercise will not result in weight loss. It does improve cardiovascular and mental health so is always recommended!

    70% of the food we eat is used by our bodies to merely exist: breathing, digesting food, organ functioning and maintenance. This is your basal metabolic rate.

    This means only 30% of the body’s daily energy is spent on going about our daily routines.

  • All fad diets and programs cause short-term weight loss. But the rigid behaviours involved are not sustainable. Just think about it: if there was a surefire way to lose weight and keep it off, why are there 1000s of fads and diets out there? Wouldn’t we just need a few approaches if they worked?

  • This is like saying people who are short are short because they haven’t played enough basketball. It’s total rubbish.

    While dietary and behavioural problems (often related to low self-esteem) leads to overeating, overwhelmingly, obesity—like height—is caused our genes.

  • Absolutely not! It takes willpower to lose weight and when we do, our body releases many hormones to slow our metabolism down and to make us hungry. The end result is weight regain. This effect can last for years, even when we have stopped dieting.

    There is hope: new medications have demonstrated to block these hormones and have helped people keep off weight. We use these medications in our program.

  • While newer medications that focus on the hormones that make us feel hungry are a real game changer in obesity management, they are not the sole answer.

    Many people use them incorrectly and have side effects. They are not suitable for everyone.

    Studies consistently show that behavioural interventions combined with medication produces a bigger weight loss and lesser weight regain than medication alone.

  • If only it were that easy! A Tim Tam has 400 kilojoules and it will take a typical person 20 minutes at a good pace to burn those extra calories!

Dieting Facts

What the medical research tells us works

  • Human behaviour tells us that we are more likely to be motivated to persist with change if we are held to account and offered support on a frequent basis. This is what your 6M Life team is for!

  • Every person is different and working out why a person is obese and addressing these causes (be it diet, lifestyle, medical conditions) improves the chances of sustained weight loss

  • For a behavioural change to be sustainable in the long-term, gentle nudges and small adjustments are far superior at creating a lasting change than drastic measures such as fad diets and boot camps.

  • Absolutely! New classes of medications are producing a 15-20% loss in weight as long as the medications are used long-term. The only intervention with a better result (25-30%) is gastric sleeve surgery (where half your stomach is removed).

  • The cliché is true!  A multi-disciplinary team supporting a patient is likely to produce greater and sustained weight loss.