Cutting down ‘better than cutting out’

People are more likely to lose weight and keep it off by cutting down on certain types of food, rather than cutting them out completely, it has been found.

The idea of going cold turkey seems to be an unsuccessful one as far as weight loss is concerned, a new YouGov survey revealed.

Of the 7,592 respondents, 63 per cent believed that successful weight loss requires cutting out certain types of food.

However, the truth seems to be the opposite, with 86 per cent of dieters who lost enough weight to improve their health doing so while continuing to eat biscuits, chocolate, pizza, cakes, crisps and ice cream.

Leading weight loss doctor and obesity expert Dr Ian Campbell said people mistakenly tend to class foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, which is not helpful when trying to change a diet.

“Denying yourself something you enjoy leads to psychologically negative emotions, so many people associate weight loss with denial, hunger and feeling miserable,” he added.

Dr Campbell said that many dieters are unnecessarily harsh on themselves, as taking a more relaxed approach can make losing weight “successful and sustainable” through building a long-term positive attitude towards food.

Do you allow yourself to eat ‘naughty’ food?