The sustainability factor of a diet

When humans are allowed to eat as much as they want of high quality, high nutrient, wholesome food, studies have shown that they can be satisfied with as little as 1,500 calories. When given refined and processed food, these same people will consume as much as 3,000 calories to feel equally satisfied.

Lessons learned: the quality of the food (in terms of nutritional density per calorie) has an effect on satiety levels, and in the long term, will determine the effectiveness of a weight management strategy. Caloric restriction, without regard to optimizing nutrient content, is difficult to sustain over the long run. I think this is one of the main reasons why typical (i.e., nutritionally defective) “dieting” has a built-in negative loop that makes it extremely difficult to practice and maintain as a lifestyle. It becomes very draining, psychologically and physically, to sustain a non-optimal, low caloric diet over the long haul. In contrast, a high nutrient, mostly plant-based, wholesome diet has its own “positive feedback loop” that makes it easier to maintain as a long-term practice.