HEALTH SPECIAL............... Are diets failing you?

 Are diets failing you?



Picking a diet that considers your eating habits doubles your chances of meeting the goal, say dieticians 

Have you ever started the same diet as a friend to seen the weight drop off them while you barely shed a kilo and continue to feel hungry? It's easy to put your inability to stick to a diet on your frail will power but a recent study suggests that losing weight and maintaining your slender frame has nothing to do with it. What does dictate the outcome has more to do with the kind of eater you are.The various kinds of eaters ­ Feasters, Constant Cravers and Emotional Eaters ­ are categories identified by scientists from Oxford University.Read on to check which category you fall in, and the kind of diet that can help.

FEASTERS

At the end of a meal, do you often feel like you haven't had enough? Do you, at times, start eating and feel like you just can't stop? Do you eat large portions?
Do your friends seem to get full more quickly than you? Have you been nodding all along?
Then you're a Feaster.Everyone loves a buffet but for feasters, they can be a minefield. Dieticians feel that people who fall in this category don't secrete enough hormones from their gut to inform their brain that they are full while eating a meal. Because feasters take longer to realise they are full, a high-protein, low-GI diet has the best chance of keeping them full for longer. “Such people tend to have the `death by buffet' gene and can actually die of overeating,“ says Jyoti Lalwani, consulting dietician. Her recommendation: “The portion size should be strictly defined for such people and they shouldn't be allowed to serve themselves as they can't control the portion size.“

A high-fibre diet will also work as it makes you feel `full'. “A typical Indian meal has 65-70 per cent of carbs. For feasters, this proportion must be reduced to 50-55 per cent,“ says Lalwani, who recommends you replace wheat rotis with jowar. To get your carb-fill, look to fruits and vegetables.

CONSTANT CRAVERS

If you are asked to pass a plate of bis cuits or a bowl of chips, do you often pick one up? Do you constantly feel hungry or think about food a lot? Do you feel tempted to nibble while cook ing? If you've ticked, `yes' to either of these questions, then you are a Constant Craver. Most people look forward to a nice dinner, but for constant cravers, every meal is meant to be savoured.

Such people have a high-genetic disposition to obesity. They could be foodies and think about food a lot.Food determines a lot of their decisions and they spend a lot of time anticipating meals. So, what can you do to keep the weight off when one of your main joys in life is food? Since Constant Cravers are motivated by food, it is going to be a challenge for them to diet every day. A solution would be to opt for an intermittent fasting diet where they only diet for two out of seven days of the week. On those days, they can eat a high-protein, high-bulk 800 calories a day diet.On other days, different healthier eating habits can be inculcated. Since their calorie intake is low on two days, it helps them build a habit for the other days as well.

The type of temptation is also important, explains Lalwani. She says a sweet temptation could also be linked to a Vitamin or Vitamin B-12 deficiency and a savoury or sour temptation can be linked to a mineral deficiency (calcium or iron). “A (til) jaggery laddoo would be an ideal snack for such a person. Since it's sweet, and has both Vitamin and minerals,“ Lalwani suggests.