Explainer | Weight loss comes from eating better and exercise, not diets: experts share how to slim down and stay that way

‘Weight gain is linked to an imbalance in hormones and hormone resistance’, one expert says, which is why weight-loss fads and trendy diets don’t work

To slim down, eat plenty of fibre to maintain your gut microbiome – the community of bacteria and fungi that manages many bodily systems, including weight

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Sammi Jayawardane works out at Guardian Fitness, where nutritionist Lisa Galvin adjusted her diet so her exercise has lasting weight loss benefits.

Published: 2:45pm, 25 Jul 2021Updated: 12:13pm, 26 Jul 2021

Losing weight has become big business – something Dr Michael Greger, a US-based doctor, founder of nutritionfacts.org and author of bestsellers How Not to Die and How Not to Diet, knows well.

“Every month brings us a trendy new diet or weight-loss fad, and they always sell because they always fail. The diet industry rakes in US$50 billion a year, and the business model is based on repeat customers,” Greger says.

“Diets don’t work by definition. Going on a diet implies that, at some point, you will go off it” – and when you go off the diet, the weight goes back on. To work, a diet has to be sustainable, and many aren’t.

“Consider water-only fasting. No diet works better. It’s 100 per cent effective, but also 100 per cent fatal if you stick with it. That’s why an optimal diet needs additional building blocks to ensure long-term viability. And along with being efficacious and sustainable, it needs to be safe.

Dr Michael Greger is a US-based doctor, founder of nutritionfacts.org and author of bestsellers How Not to Die and How Not to Diet.

“Books touting liquid protein diets in the 1970s sold millions of copies, but the diets started killing people. Safety is about losing weight without losing your health.”

Keeping an eye on our weight is important for many reasons – and aesthetics are the least of it. Carrying extra kilos puts us at increased risk for many diseases. One key example: the largest diabetes prevention research study in the world in the last 30 years suggests losing a few kilograms almost halves the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.