The Dangers of Fad Diets [Dieting After Sixty]

Perhaps Easter time is not the time to write about carbohydrates especially when some of you may have overindulged with yummy hot cross buns and chocolate over this holiday period. My wonderful daughter-in-law gave me a parcel of magazines for Easter this year knowing that I’m an ‘all or nothing’ gal and would have wolfed done in one sitting any chocolates that came my way.

The whole story about carbs in our diets is still as confusing as it always was. As far as I’m concerned even with all the research available it is all still so contradictory. We are told that we need carbohydrate rich foods to give us energy, and not getting enough carbs can make us feel sluggish, irritable and unable to concentrate. Not all carbs are equal of course, refined carbs are high in kilojoules and found in white bread, white pasta, sugar, biscuits and cakes and they have very little nutrition and get broken down and used quickly by our body. Complex carbs found in vegetables, fruit and whole grain foods break down more slowly and subsequently make us feel fuller longer. High quality carbs also come packed with healthy nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals.

We are told that the high protein low carb ‘Atkins Diet’ which has been around forever is not favoured now because although it can shed weight fast there are dangers to our health from too much fat. Consuming a high volume of animal proteins in our diet has been know to lead to medical problems such as heart disease and kidney problem.

The CSIRO diet is more favoured nowadays as it’s a high protein, moderate carbohydrate, and low-fat plan. Even though it does include more animal-based protein-rich foods and less carbohydrate-rich foods it still meets our nutritional needs as it includes plenty of fruit, vegetables, wholegrain breads and cereals.

Whatever we do we are still working against the known fact that our metabolism burns 2%-5% fewer kilojoules every decade after 40 due to our metabolism slowing as a result of losing muscle with age.

Weight issues and obesity can also be caused by a genetic predisposition and today the experts are even saying weight issues can be affected by many modern environmental factors.

Lack of sleep has also been isolated as a factor in weight gain as sleep deprivation can slow ones metabolism. Why not try going to bed earlier with no distractions in the bedroom such as television and mobiles?

Many of us now are also a lot more sedentary than our ancestors were but even those of you who don’t or can’t exercise you can still be more active around the house by getting up more from sitting and going outside a few times a day and doing ten minutes of gardening or raking up leaves. I have a PO box for my mail so I drag myself to my local post office three times a week to pick up my mail, it’s a 30 minute round trip. I count this as my daily exercise on these days and it doesn’t seem like exercise because it’s purpose walking and I have to get my mail anyway.

Millions of people fail in their quest to lose weight and the Dieticians say that it’s due to people following the many fad diets as they usually do more harm than good, and eventually lead to people putting all the weight back on anyway.

Research has proven that those that eat breakfast, have a low-fat diet, monitor their weight and BMI regularly, exercise daily and stick to a plan that meets their nutritional and lifestyle needs are the ones that lose weight successfully and keep it off.

So it really comes down to no one diet suits everyone. For me what works is a diet of low carbs and high protein plus at least five daily serves of vegetables and two of fruit and weighing myself every morning first thing.

So stay with it and take one day at a time. xxx CaroleL

Do you eat carbs? Or do you make a conscious decision to cut them out of your diet? Tell us in the comments below… 

If you would like to communicate with me or for me to cover any particular topic in this column please email me at: [email protected] 

Anyone with a BMI over 25 and over the age of 60 should really look seriously at devising an eating plan that has reduced kilojoules. You need an uncomplicated plan that can also fit in with your lifestyle, and one that you can adapt if necessary for unavoidable social events.

Please note that Carole is not a physician, dietician or nutritionist. If a reader has any issues about their weight that are medically related then a professional opinion should always be obtained before embarking on any changes or restrictions to their diets.

Carole Lethbridge is the author of “Online Dating After Sixty: One woman’s journey of love, lust and losers”. She has been both married and single over the last few decades and she has done her own research, gathering extensive data on relationships between females and males.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.