When it comes to finding an explanation for why diets fail to shift those lbs, and why those love handles stick like glue, there are lots to choose from. But are they true or just wishful thinking? We take a close look at some old – and new - excuses and see if they stand up to scrutiny
Some of us are just meant to be bigger. It’s in our genes, it’s how we were born. This is what we tell ourselves when we look in the mirror or step on the scales. And up to a point it may be true. But the difference many of those factors make to how much extra weight we’re carrying is usually small – or non-existent - and they don’t affect everyone.
So are you making excuses that don’t hold water? Find out whether those extra inches are due to factors out of your control, or if losing that weight is not an impossible dream.
I’m big boned
We don’t all come in one size. You only have to compare Arnold Schwarzenegger to Kylie Minogue, to know that our bodies vary hugely in build from solid to sylph-like. Anyone with the frame of an action hero is unlikely ever to squeeze into the same cat suit as a pop princess, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take control of your weight. ‘You don’t lose weight from your bones,’ says Dr Beckie Lang of the Association of the Study for Obesity (ASO). ‘You lose weight by losing fat, regardless of whether you have a big frame or not.’
‘By following a low fat, healthy diet, you can be a healthy weight. You need to start off with a realistic goal – it’s no good trying to look like Kate Moss if you do have a big frame,’ says Dr Lang. ‘Set yourself small targets. Start by aiming to lose a small amount, say five% of your current body weight. Even with this small weight loss you’ll see significant benefits to your health. Your cholesterol levels will fall, your blood pressure may drop and your blood lipid levels can alter beneficially.’
‘To achieve this you don’t have to stop doing all the things you like doing. Have one biscuit rather than two, with your afternoon tea, have one glass of wine rather than two, with your evening meal. Make small changes in your everyday life and you’ll be more likely to keep them up.’
I’ve caught the Fat Flu Virus
As an excuse for being over weight, catching a virus that makes you fat seems pretty far-fetched. But scientists at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre, Baton Rouge, USA, discovered in a recent study that this can happen. The researchers looked at the human virus Ad-36, which causes respiratory and eye infections. They found that it turned stem cells taken from fat tissue into fat cells. Stem cells that weren’t exposed to the virus didn’t change into fat cells.
More work is being carried out on this virus – and on others, which it’s thought may affect the body’s storage of fat. However it doesn’t mean that everyone who has this virus will put on weight because of it. And it isn’t an excuse for not following a healthy diet and lifestyle.
It’s my slow metabolism
It seems like common sense, doesn’t it, that if you’re carrying more weight than a slim friend, that you must have a slower metabolism – burn calories at a slower rate - than they do? Unfortunately the truth is exactly the opposite. (Metabolism is the process that breaks down the nutrients in our food to give us energy. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns over a set period, to keep your body running.)
‘There is very good evidence from tightly controlled studies to show that bigger people have a higher metabolic rate,’ says Dr Beckie Lang of ASO.
‘Think about how your body reacts when you carry something heavy, like a couple of suitcases. Your heart rate goes up and your organs and muscles work harder because of that extra effort. It’s exactly the same if you’re overweight. Your body works harder and burns more calories, because it’s having to do more work.’
Bigger bodies have bigger muscles and bigger internal organs that take more energy to keep going. So as an explanation for why you aren’t losing weight, this one’s a complete non-starter.
Your metabolic rate does change though, depending on how fit – or fat – you are. Muscles need more energy to fuel them than fat does, so lean people have a higher metabolic rate than fatter people. However, as we get older we tend to lose muscle and gain fat. You can slow down that trend by exercising regularly.
It’s in my genes
Earlier this year scientists made a breakthrough that links a gene with a higher risk of obesity. The research suggests that the ‘fat gene’, known as FTO, plays a part in controlling feelings of hunger and how full we feel, and affects how much we eat. Fifty percent of the UK population has one copy of the ‘fat gene’. And these people are usually around 1.6 kilograms heavier than those without this gene. Sixteen percent of the population have two copies of this gene, and can be up to three kilograms heavier than people who have none.
More research needs to be carried out, but it’s hoped that ultimately scientists could design a drug to alter the FTO gene and help combat obesity. Until then, this may be one reason why some of us struggle with our weight.
I’ve got the wrong body shape
Whether you’re an apple or pear shape, or any of the others recently defined by style gurus Trinny and Susannah, your body shape is determined by your genes. ‘You get what you’re given in terms of your body shape,’ says Dr Beckie Lang. ‘And there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t change your basic body shape, but how much fat you put on your body is down to you. And that’s down to how you manage what you are eating and how much you burn off. Look at your lifestyle and see what improvements you can make. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, limit your fat intake, eat lots of whole grains and make sure you exercise.’
I eat too late
‘This is a myth,’ says Dr Beckie Lang. ‘There is absolutely no evidence that it has any effect on weight gain. You may read that it’s best not to eat after a certain time at night, but that’s usually because evenings are when people are prone to snack.’
So if you’ve been raiding the fridge for nibbles or have scoffed chocolate or crisps to keep you going until your evening meal, you’ll have put away extra calories on top of those in your chicken casserole or pasta. It’s not when you eat that makes the difference, it’s what you eat. To avoid the snack attacks eat earlier, or if you can’t, plan ahead and have something low-fat and low-calorie to tide you over.
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