Imagine an effective weight-loss plan that involves no
dieting, exercising, calorie-counting, or meal plans.
It sounds too good to be true, but that's precisely what
a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire claims
to have devised, the British Psychological Society announced
in a September press release.
In what is being billed as the
first 'no-diet diet,' patients are encouraged to act
unlike themselves, shake up their routine and when they're
no longer living their lives on autopilot, it's hoped
they will then think before they eat. The plan is the
brainchild of Professor Ben Fletcher, Head of School
of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. So
far, a study with 55 participants was conducted. The
findings were promising: the subjects lost an average
of 5 kg over a four-week period, and not only did they
keep the weight off, but in some cases, they kept on
losing. Some participants shed over 18 kgs by the time
the study hit the one-year mark.
FIT
& DON'T YOU KNOW IT
The study, based on what Dr Fletcher calls his FIT (Framework
for Internal Transformation) habit-breaking science,
required participants to step out of their comfort zones
by trying something different each day, and breaking
their usual habits. Dr Fletcher is declining media interviews
while he prepares to publish his results in a book and
none of the information released by the University of
Hertfordshire explains what controls were used in the
study.
Dr Fletcher did, however, grant
an interview to British psychiatrist and Daily Telegraph
reporter Dr Raj Persaud which sheds some light on the
trial methods. Dr Persaud reported that participants
were asked to choose a different daily option from 15
pairs of contrasting behaviours to try out. This included
choosing between reactive/proactive or introverted/extroverted
behaviours.
Participants had to try out new
behaviours in their relationships without telling their
partners and, twice a week, were required to complete
an out of the ordinary activity, such as listening to
a new radio station or reading a different magazine.
INTRIGUED
BUT NOT SOLD
Dr Gwen Chapman, registered dietician and Associate
Professor of Food and Nutrition at the University of
British Columbia, says Dr Fletcher's approach is worth
looking into. "It's kind of an intriguing idea," she
says. "Maybe some of the factors they're working on
are easier to intervene on than food choice, because
they may be in some ways less complex." She adds, "they're
getting out of character, so they may get out of character
in other aspects of their lives, too."
Dr Chapman stresses that much more
goes into people's food choices than health or weight
concerns. Other factors include convenience, taste,
cost and social considerations. "In people who have
problems with losing weight, there may be some combination
of genetic, metabolic factors combined with personal
habits, life history and the environment they live in,"
she says.
A
COMPONENT, NOT A CURE
Dr Christine Courbasson, food addiction expert and Associate
Professor at the University of Toronto's Department
of Psychiatry, adds that most overeating has an emotional
component to it. Any weight loss plan, she feels, has
to take this into consideration.
"Many people begin to gain weight
with emotional eating. When they have strong emotions
they try and push the emotions away by eating, instead
of saying how they feel," she says. Shaking up one's
routine might help to break the behavioural associations
between food and emotion, she adds, but "doing more
than just acting differently would probably be best."
Dr Chapman remains sceptical of
the 'no-diet diet.' "People have to understand why they
overeat. Just acting differently might not necessarily
solve the problem, because we don't know why they are
overeating," she says. "I don't think there's ever going
to be a magic silver bullet for helping people to lose
weight in a way that they can sustain. A trial of 55
people is a pretty small trial. A two-year follow-up
would more tell the tale."
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