Why Diets Fail and What Actually Works: (Part 2)- What Diets Really Do to Your Body

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Tired of feeling like your body betrays you every time you try to lose weight? You're not alone, and it's not your fault.

The second installment of our "Why Diets Fail" series dives deep into the biological reality behind weight loss struggles. When you drastically cut calories, your body doesn't celebrate – it compensates. This isn't a lack of willpower; it's survival physiology at work.

We examine eye-opening research, including how Biggest Loser contestants still had metabolisms suppressed by 500 calories daily six years after the show ended. The science reveals why up to 35% of diet-induced weight loss can come from muscle rather than fat, creating the perfect storm for weight regain. Your hormones undergo profound changes too – leptin drops, ghrelin rises, cortisol spikes, and thyroid function decreases – all conspiring to make you hungrier, more tired, and primed to store fat.

This explains why over 80% of dieters regain their weight within two years, but there's a better way forward. I share the evidence-based strategies we use with our THI Rebuild clients: modest deficits that don't trigger survival mode, strength training to preserve muscle, adequate protein, strategic diet breaks, and lifestyle support. The 2017 MATADOR study confirms this approach works better than continuous restriction.

Ready to stop fighting your body and start working with it? Join us next episode as we explore sustainable habits for long-term success, or visit transformhealthcoach.com to apply for our elite coaching program that's helping people in their 40s and 50s transform their health for good.

Show Study References:

1. Fothergill, E., Guo, J., Howard, L., et al. (2016). Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity, 24(8), 1612–1619.
   
   
   
2. Weinheimer, E. M., Sands, L. P., & Campbell, W. W. (2010). A systematic review of the separate and combined effects of energy restriction and exercise on fat-free mass in middle-aged and older adults. Nutrition Reviews, 68(7), 375–388.
   
   
   
3. Leibel, R. L., Rosenbaum, M., & Hirsch, J. (1995). Changes in energy expenditure resulting from altered body weight. New England Journal of Medicine, 332(10), 621–628.
   
   
   
4. MacLean, P. S., et al. (2015). Biological control of appetite: a daunting complexity. Obesity, 23(3), 490–497.
   
   
   
5. Byrne, N. M., et al. (2017). Intermittent energy restriction improves weight loss efficiency in obese men: the MATADOR study. International Journal of Obesity, 41(12), 1672–1679.

     6.  Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., et al. (2007). Medicare’s search              for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. American                    Psychologist, 62(3), 220–233.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Win On Purpose podcast, where we
cut through the fitness fadsand health myths to reveal
evidence, real talk, realresults.
I'm your host, coach Adam Kelly, and this is episode two in our
series why Diets Fail and whatActually Works.
Last time, we exposed thepsychological traps behind
dieting, why willpower aloneisn't enough and how diet
culture keeps people stuck incycles of guilt, restriction and

(00:22):
failure.
Today, we're going to go alittle bit deeper, because it's
not just your mindset thatsuffers on restrictive diets.
It's your body, from yourmetabolism and muscle mass to
your hormones and hunger signals.
Chronic dieting can cause realpsychological and physiological
damage.
So if you've ever thought, whydoes my body fight against me
every time I try to lose weight,then this one is for you.
Let's start by looking at howyour body actually reacts to

(00:46):
restriction.
We'll see you on the other side.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast From health and
fitness, business, personaldevelopment, relationships and
more.
We promise you will findinspiration to help you win on
purpose in all areas of yourlife journey.
Now for your host, adam Kelly.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
What is going on everybody?
Welcome back to the Win OnPurpose podcast with Coach Adam
Kelly, hosted by TransformHealth Initiative, our elite
coaching program that is here tohelp people in their 40s and
50s who are exhausted and tiredof the yo-yo, dieting, the back
and forth, the misinformationand just failing at feeling
better, and finally want thetrue solution that's going to
last them for the rest of theirlives.

(01:27):
All right, guys, thank you fortuning back in.
We are picking up on ourfour-part series.
All right, this is episodenumber four and we are talking
about what diets really do toyour body.
All right.
So episode one, we looked atmore of the psychological side
of things.
This one, we're going to lookat more of a physical aspect of
what's actually happening withyour body when we are over
restricting in our dietingexperience, okay, so this first

(01:48):
part we're going to look at isthe survival response, how your
body adapts.
Okay, and it's probably notwhat you think, because a lot of
people have heard of starvationmode and all that, which is
complete lies, but theirsurvival response does appear to
be a real thing, all right.
So when you cut calories hardand fast, your body doesn't

(02:11):
celebrate.
It compensates.
This is known as adaptivethermogenesis, which is your
body's built-in way ofconserving energy when food
becomes scarce.
So a 2016 study published inObesity followed contestants
from the Biggest Loser you guysprobably remember that show.
It was huge.
If you don't know, look it upthe Biggest Loser and they found
their metabolic rate stayedsuppressed by 500 calories per
day, even six years after theweight loss.
Their bodies had adapted todieting.
By slowing down aggressively,your body lowers energy output,

(02:35):
ramps up hunger hormones andburns fewer calories when this
happens.
So it's not sabotage, though.
It's survival, and thissurvival response doesn't just
impact how many calories youburn.
It also affects what kind oftissue you lose.
All right, so let's talk aboutmuscle Muscle loss versus fat
loss.
Hey guys, real quick.
Sorry to interrupt the episode,but I have a little question
for you.
What if this was the last timeyou ever had to start over?

(02:57):
The THI Rebuild is an elite90-day transformation experience
built for high-performing menand women in their 40s and 50s
who are done with the crashdiets, the quick fixes and
waking up feeling tired,frustrated and just simply stuck
in a body that doesn't matchwho they know that they could be
.
This isn't a meal plan and afew workouts.
This is a total rebuild of yourenergy, your strength, your
identity, backed by realcoaching, real accountability

(03:20):
and a step-by-step systemdesigned to fit your life, not
take it over.
We combine high-level strategywith personal support, so you
never have to guess again.
Our clients don't just loseweight.
They become unrecognizable tothe version of themselves that
once settled for trying and whenyou're ready to stop trying and
start transforming, here's whatyou do Go to
transformhealthcoachcom, clickapply and tell us why you're

(03:42):
ready.
Spots are limited, guys, and weonly accept those who are
actually ready for seriouschange, because this time it's
not about trying harder, it'sabout doing it differently.
This is the THI Rebuild, and itcould be the last program you
ever need.
All right back to the episodewhen most people say that they
want to lose weight.
What they really mean is thatthey want to lose fat.
Right, but extreme diets do notmake that distinction.

(04:05):
When you're in a caloriedeficit, meaning you're eating
less calories and your body'sburning, especially without
resistance training or enoughprotein, your body breaks down
muscle tissue for energy, rightalong with fat.
So a 2018 meta-analysis andnutrition reviews showed that up
to 35% of total weight lossduring dieting can be lean body
mass, particularly withoutstrength training.

(04:26):
So without strength trainingadded in, we're not getting
adequate protein.
We can see up to 35 percent oftotal weight loss coming from
your muscle, not your fat, andthis is a problem.
Muscle is crucial for not onlyaesthetics and strength.
Okay, it's not just abouthaving a nice body, but for
keeping your metabolism elevated, amongst many other things.
But it's not just about havinga nice body, but for keeping
your metabolism elevated,amongst many other things.
But it's not just your musclemass that takes a hit.

(04:48):
Let's look inside.
What's happening to yourhormones.
When you're chronically dieting, hormone fallout, what diets do
to your internal signals.
So food isn't just fuel, it'sinformation.
And when you drastically reduceintake, your body responds
hormonally to preserve balance.
And when you drastically reduceintake, your body responds
hormonally to preserve balance.
Key hormones like one leptin.
So this is your fullnesshormone.

(05:09):
It tends to go down.
Ghrelin, which is your hungerhormone, tends to go up.
Cortisol, which is a stresshormone, tends to rise.
Also, and our thyroid hormones,such as T3 and T4, tend to drop
, which slows our metabolism.
A 2011 study in the Journal ofClinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism confirmed that 10weeks of calorie restriction

(05:31):
significantly decreases leptinand thyroid hormones, making fat
loss harder.
To here.
These shifts make you hungrier,more tired and more prone to
weight gain, even when eatingmodestly Sorry, guys, I can't
speak Even when eating modestly.

(05:52):
Okay, so now you've lost someweight, but at the cost of
muscle metabolism and hormonalbalance.
So what happens next?
Let's talk about the regaincycle.
Okay, many of us have been inthe regain cycle, the weight
regain trap.
All right, this is what mostpeople experience post-diet the
weight starts creeping back up.
You haven't changed that much,but the scale says otherwise.

(06:14):
Why?
Because your body has adaptedto less food and less muscle.
Now, when you return to normaleating, the surplus calories are
more likely to be stored, oftenas body fat.
A 2007 review in AmericanPsychologists found that over
80% of dieters regain the weightwithin two years, often gaining

(06:35):
back more than they lostinitially.
And I would beg to argue thatthat number is way higher than
80%.
But that's just from myexperience.
From working with dozens anddozens of people and being in
gyms for years and years, andall the conversations I've had,
I would bet that that's a lothigher than we realize.
And this is not failure, guys.
This is psychology.
No, sorry, this is not failure.

(06:56):
This is physiology, notpsychology, physiology.
Your body fights to return toits former weight set point and
without muscle and metabolicsupport, it gets there very
quickly.
So if extreme dieting does moreharm than good, then what's the
alternative?
Let's talk about what actuallyworks, all right, so what you
should do.
The solution isn't giving upall right, that's never the

(07:17):
answer.
It's to shift your strategy toone that works with your body,
not against it.
Okay, to one that works withyour body, not against it okay.
So here's what we focus on withour clients inside the THI
Rebuild, which is our 90-dayTransform your Health project
system service that we offerokay.
Number one modest caloriedeficits that avoid triggering

(07:37):
survival mode.
Okay, not dieting too hard, tooaggressively at any given point
.
Number two strength training topreserve and build muscle,
which is super important for ourmetabolism, the way we look,
the way we feel, the way we move, all of that.
Number three high proteinintake, which helps support
metabolism and recovery.
Okay, super important.
Number four strategic dietbreaks to reset hormones and

(07:59):
reduce metabolic slowdown.
This is something we typicallywork with with our long-term
clients who have been throughfat loss phases with us, that
have went through our programtransform their health, and now
they're figuring out how to goto the next, bigger, more
challenging goal.
And this is where we startimplementing more strategies
like diet breaks and so on, soforth.
And number five sleep and stresssupport to stabilize cortisol

(08:19):
and insulin, which also helpswith hunger cravings, with not
being productive so manydifferent things that regular,
consistent sleep and stresssupport benefit.
A 2017 Matador study showedthat participants who took two
week diet breaks every otherweek lost more fat and preserved
more lean mass than those whorestricted continuously.
So it's not always about doingmore, it's about doing it

(08:42):
smarter.
Ok, so now let's bring it alltogether with some practical
takeaways that you can apply,starting right now, because
that's what we want to do isempower you and all that you do,
and that's why we do what we do.
So some practical takeaways.
If you're thinking about dieting, or you've done it in the past,
then you want to keep these fewthings in mind.
All right.
Number one metabolic slowdownis real.
Your body adapts fast.

(09:03):
Keep that in mind.
Number two muscle loss isavoidable, but only if you train
and eat smart.
I'm going to couple that withgetting adequate sleep, stress
control, stress managementthings like that your lifestyle
is going to help you avoidmuscle loss.
Number three hormones respondto restriction and not in your
favor, all right, so restrictionis not always a good thing.

(09:25):
Number four weight regain isn'tjust about habit.
It's a biological rebound.
Your body is wired to try toget you back to the certain
amount of body effect, thecertain body weight that it
became comfortable with that youlived in for so long.
Number five sustainable fatloss is built on respect for
your biology, not justrestriction, understanding what
works best for you, yourcircumstances, your life and

(09:47):
your lifestyle.
You do not have to suffer tochange.
Okay, but you do have to bestrategic, all right.
So thank you, guys, for tuningin to this second part.
In our why Diets Fail series,we've talked about how
restrictive dieting impacts yourbody, but next time we'll shift
towards the solution how tobuild sustainable habits that
actually create long-termsuccess.

(10:08):
So if you're done playing theweight loss game and you want a
proven, personalized strategy tofinally rebuild your health,
strength and energy the rightway, then it's time to apply for
our elite coaching program, theTHI Rebuild.
Just go totransformhealthcoachcom.
Click apply now to submit yourapplication.
If you're a good fit, we'llconnect and map out a custom
plan that actually works.

(10:28):
All right, guys, until nexttime, do something good for your
health, something good forthose you care about and,
whatever you do, make sure youwin on purpose.
Talk to you next time, thankyou.