Potsdam - Sunlight has a way of bringing the effects of winter into view. When the thick sweaters migrate back into the depths of the closet, the 'cushions' they've been hiding are suddenly in sight.
There's a reason why spring is the time of year women especially begin dieting. In addition to the sudden visibility of winter flab, spring activities like jogging and cycling are not as much fun with extra pounds. But after just a few weeks of trying, many people fail to lose weight.
'Most people set expectations that are too high,' said Christiana Einig of the German Institute for Nutrition Research in Potsdam. They want to lose 20 or 30 kilogrammes quickly enough to return them to a time when they were at an ideal weight, Einig said.
In fact, trying to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest possible time is in many respects detrimental, said professor Volker Pudel nutrition psychologist at the University of Goettingen.
Most diets work on the principle of avoiding certain foods or by doing without food to the point of hunger, which leads to a form of malnourishment, said Pudel.
Pudel said the well-known 'yo-yo effect' often comes into play. People who radically change their diets often do take off weight noticeably in the first weeks.
'But mostly what's being lost is muscle protein,' he said. Eating nothing will result in a loss of more than 10 kilogrammes in a month, but it is mostly muscle mass and water.
'The body keeps its fat for an emergency,' Pudel said.
When deprived of food, the body lowers its temperature and ultimately stops the weight loss. At this point a person's will to lose weight breaks down and he or she returns to eating with disastrous results.
As the calorie 'saving programme' is still ongoing, the body makes use of the nourishment even better than before. The joy over the lost pounds gives way to horror when after just a short period of time the scale tips back to its old weight.
'I call this weight loss with interest. These types of diets make people fat,' Pudel said.
The art is not the weight loss, but the long-term stabilization of one's weight, according to Pudel. A person who really wants to lose weight should reject every type of crash diet.
People trying to lose weight should not lose more than one pound per week, Einig said. Even a goal of losing just a small amount of weight can be met best by a thorough and long-term change in eating habits.
'Firstly, it's about knowing oneself,' said Einig. It's not just foods that have to be examined, but also a person's eating habits and the amount of physical activity he or she gets.
As a start, snacking should be reduced, Einig said. Alcohol and sweets don't have to disappear completely, but to a certain extent they should be skipped over during the week and consumed only on a weekend day.
'The understanding that things such as alcohol and sweets should be treated as something special has been lost,' Einig added.
In addition, people trying to lose weight should do without processed foods: pizzas, sauces, soups and cake mixes often contain an abundance of hidden fat and sugar. Cheaper foods usually are riskier for dieters.
'Many people simply look at the price when they are shopping, not at the ingredients,' Einig said.
Dieters do not need to select expensive diet products either. Wholegrains, fruit and vegetables are the things that belong to balanced nutrition, said Silke Restemeyer of the German Society for Nutrition in Bonn. Meat should be consumed only in moderation. As with dairy products, it's best to give preference to low fat varieties.
Bread, pasta, rice and wholegrains have no fat and are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are recommended by the society in itspublication Ten Rules to Healthier Eating.
In addition, people who want to lose weight should examine the customs and manners they apply to eating.
These days, there's a lot of casual eating, such as while sitting at the computer or on the run, Einig said. This way of eating distracts people from their meal and they easily miss the signal the body gives when it is full. Abstract rules like 'clean your plate' also can hinder weight loss.
The importance of sufficient physical activity is often underestimated for reaching the proper body weight and maintaining it. Overweight people don't necessarily take in more calories than people of normal weight, Pudel said.
'But they 'save' more calories by being less active,' he said.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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