Male perceptions and experiences of weight reduction initiatives: Considerations for sustainable way of life practices

ST1 Impressions of weight-reduction plan.

Collated findings from the FGIs outlined that on the entire males perceived weight-reduction plan, and related connotations together with weight reduction, in a typically destructive method related to the short-term notion of weight-reduction plan, notably the restrictive nature of the method. This was expressed by members with the next examples:

• “I think diets are often a short-term crash programme and it’s very difficult to sustain those” (FGI 2)
• “I associate diet with dieting as having negative connotations…my perception is that diets are not successful” (FGI 3)

This primarily implied that methods to help males shouldn’t emphasise or concentrate on terminology related to eating regimen or restriction. In addition, the destructive connotations perceived by males round diets and weight-reduction plan, might inadvertently make them be robotically delay by a weight reduction programme (which was famous as being related to denial of meals or a life-style they get pleasure from), doubtlessly leading to a rebellious method to such initiatives. Expressed persistently throughout all focus teams, this was portrayed by members as follows:

• “I think diet is a very negative word because as soon as you mention the word diet everybody automatically thinks restriction, restriction, restriction” (FGI 2)
• “When I’m looking at doing any kind of restrictions or dieting a part of me kind of rebels against it as it were” (FGI 3)
• [Diets involve] “Denying yourself certain things” (FGI 4)

Despite these destructive perceptions, throughout the main focus teams members alluded to (with a level of self-pride) the variety of diets that they had tried. It was due to this fact noteworthy that while diets have been perceived as wholly destructive, there gave the impression to be perceived benefit in accumulating dietary makes an attempt as a necessity for private problem. This was expressed as follows:

• “I’ve pretty much been yo-yo dieting since I’m 18 up and down up and down, so I’ve been in that situation many times” (FGI 2)
• “I’ve done south beach…I tried Lighter Life, that gave me stomach aches, so did SlimFast… I did Slimming world, but I don’t like the Americanised, yeeha meetings…” (FGI 4)
• “I’ve done the 5:2 intermittent 500 calories in a day isn’t really good, I was thinking about doing the 16:8…I’ve tried vegetarian diet but I gained on that one” (FGI 4)

Fundamentally these insights highlighted the often-poor efficacy related to generic, industrial programmes, which members appeared to understand as a sort of problem. If that problem was achieved this equated to weight reduction (sustainable or not); nevertheless, if unsuccessful, might reinforce their destructive views of weight-reduction plan. Furthermore, opinions prompt that diets are cyclic in nature consisting of sustained intervals of weight achieve intermitted with intervals of weight-reduction plan, additional reinforcing the destructive connotations related to weight-reduction plan and weight reduction. Therefore, for weight reduction initiatives to be each profitable and sustainable, terminology ought to goal away from “diets” and “dieting” and positively phrased in direction of a type of private problem.

ST2 Perceived effort and willpower.

Following thematic evaluation, it was evident that there was pertinent dialogue surrounding the self-discipline and energy required in addition to the motivation to interact in such programmes, supporting ST1. The perceived effort required to undertake weight reduction initiatives was raised throughout all focus teams and acknowledged by nearly all of members. It was due to this fact evident that this was an everyday issue impacting programme engagement, as famous under:

• “It’s finding that motivation to actually get on and do it. And I need to be really focused on something to be able to do it on my own” (FGI 1)
• “The issue with a diet. Over the years I’ve actually struggled” (FGI 3)
• “There has to be that willpower, whatever it is as soon as I start to fail I just give up mentally and then it all falls apart and then a year later I try and gain and it’s just a cycle” (FGI 4)

Furthermore, the lads demonstrated that even the smallest of perceived destructive encounters when enterprise a weight reduction programme reminiscent of meals temptations or duties requiring effort, might act to disproportionately demotivate male members in future makes an attempt.

• “Temptation is normally the thing that breaks you” (FGI 1)
• “Even the slightest set back can bring the whole thing crashing down” (FGI 1)
• “Now calorie counting, I’m not going to do it just because I can’t be arsed” (FGI 2)

It was due to this fact noticed that the perceived effort, willpower or motivation wanted to interact in conventional weight reduction or weight-reduction plan programmes was thought of a central think about poor success within the males interviewed, in some circumstances aligned with perceived failure. This highlighted that long term initiatives want to contemplate components that are each simple and achievable, while constructing in acceptable coping methods to offset the potential for relapses or failure.

ST3 Gendered views.

It was evident that males recognized with a male gendered narrative with regards to weight-reduction plan and/or weight reduction. A proposition raised initially by one participant in FGI 2, however subsequently endorsed throughout different members, posited a gendered-binary perspective suggesting that ladies utilise “dieting” as a life-style issue, which contrasts with male-centric aggressive sporting approaches. He did settle for that not all males choose sport or train to drop pounds and highlighted the necessity for different approaches:

• “I think a lot of men, if you like sport, because this is okay if you’re doing it with people who are active….. I’ve done a lot of sport but there’s an awful lot of blokes out there that don’t do sport so you need to try and find another way to challenge them to realise yes, it’s not a diet you’re not a woman just accept the fact you’re a bit overweight and this is the way to do it” (FGI 2)

Clarification as to what the participant meant when suggesting that ladies eating regimen, led to an open dialogue exploring how males understand weight and weight-reduction plan compared with ladies. It was famous that some members felt that weight-reduction plan was a standard method for girls and sometimes mentioned by them, notably round weight and aesthetics, amplified by social media strain. The negativity expressed by the lads inferred that they have been much less inclined to be drawn into the weight-reduction plan tradition. This view was shared throughout nearly all of members, demonstrated as instance:

• “I believe that women to look at dieting a bit differently from men and potentially different reasons” (FGI 2)
• “I feel women pay more attention to their body, the size of their body, the shape of their body compared to men” (FGI 2)
• “When we go down to the pub or socialise, we’re not necessarily talking about our weight or our appearance as such” (FGI 3)

The function of social media and promoting in reinforcing this notion have been additionally famous as a part of this theme:

• “When you look at articles if you go online and they used to have slimming stuff on TV would always have women so there was always an ad there that women need to look slim” (FGI 2)
• “Women it’s part of that conversation because now it’s social media pressure. And it’s there in the magazines and stuff, whereas it’s not the topic of conversation primarily for men. And I think it’s that whole culture change” (FGI 3)

These insights highlighted that for weight reduction initiatives to achieve success for males, a male gendered narrative must be employed, doubtlessly focusing away from connotations of “diet” and being “slim” and extra in direction of a constructive problem, which for some might contain sport or train.

ST4 The weight achieve journey.

Throughout the main focus group discussions there was additionally reference to the lads’s relationships with meals, notably the cyclic nature of weight-reduction plan. Men outlined a pervasive draw in direction of prior dietary habits and their relationship with meals as a key situation with weight reduction initiatives; as instance this was expressed by one participant as:

• “The problem is me; the problem is the background. My relationship to food, the way I’m eating when I’m not dieting” (FGI 1)

Another participant, who talked about that each “culture” and the “root cause” requires tackling, gives additional readability as to the superficial nature of weight-reduction plan (in addition to reaffirming that diets are a brief method), which in flip leaves the dieter prone to relapse.

• “So, if I lose weight and become not big. I then go, right my diet over I’ll return to my normal way of eating. But my normal way of eating made me big. So, I’m going to be big again aren’t I. So, you really have to tackle the culture, the root cause and not the symptoms” (FGI 1)

This weight achieve journey was persistently expressed throughout all 4 teams, with nearly all of members describing a cyclic return to prior habits, as follows:

• “I’d lost my weight and then I thought I’ll have a doughnut today. And then one doughnut became two… and before you know where you are, you’re back at the other end of where you want to be” (FGI 1)
• “So, you can do that for a certain amount of time, but eventually, something will trigger it, or it will creep back and you will end up on the same kind of weight I’ve always been” (FGI 1)
• “I got down to 12 stone with that and as soon as I stopped I went all the way back up” (FGI 4)
• “Everything I’ve tried as soon as you stop doing it and go back to where you were it has to be a lifestyle change not a diet” (FGI 4)

It was due to this fact felt that males’s prior experiences had typically led to the basic perception that diets are unlikely to achieve success based mostly on the destructive weight-loss-weight-gain journey, and that having a greater relationship with meals might possible be a extra sustainable technique.

ST1 Lack of information.

It was evident from discussions that males perceived that having the proper information and knowledge was vital in creating the setting required for profitable weight reduction. This was famous as follows:

• “Knowledge is the biggest one, because there is so much misinformation out there about what makes a successful diet” (FGI 1)
• “I think knowledge is the key here. Knowing processed food is especially bad for you” (FGI 1)
• “One of the things which is a typical male way of living is we know everything we don’t like being told what to do, we don’t like to admit that we don’t know what we’re talking about” (FGI 2)
• “I did MyFitnessPal …. and that was an absolute pain… for me because I’ve got no idea about what calories are or anything… I completely rely on [my wife] so what she used to do was cook the dinner, tell me what was in it and then half the time as I’m trying to find everything and put it in …my phone” (FGI 4)

The final remark, other than outlining a lack of know-how with energy, prompt a dependency on the partner to each put together meals and help the participant’s weight-reduction plan makes an attempt. Spousal help is additional outlined in Theme 4, ST3. This sub-theme highlights the necessity for correct dietary data which must be simple to grasp and comply with. Whilst partly expressed by members (through spousal help), different types of authoritarian or professional opinion could also be vital in decreasing the destructive connotations of misinformation.

ST2 Lifestyle boundaries.

Following on from the prior dialogue, we additionally uncovered how way of life components, specifically working patterns, could be disruptive and will finally undermine adherence to a dietary regime. Occupational and way of life calls for have been raised as vital boundaries throughout three of the 4 teams, notably amongst full-time staff.

• “You come home from work when you sit down because I’ve been working for eight or nine hours doing a physical job… and I don’t want to go out and do stuff, so you want to eat the simplest things which is kind of pasta or whatever without realising the effect” (FGI 2)
• “So I use to do long 12-hour shifts where you would struggle to be able to eat on the shift regardless of what you were trying to eat. And then at home, you’re exhausted afterwards. You don’t want to cook particularly good things. I’ve never found salads and fruit items particularly filling. There might be a psychological factor with that. But I would try and eat something healthy like baked potatoes, beans and a huge salad with it. Build up on the good bits with it. Half an hour afterwards I’d be sitting there going I’m starving” (FGI 3)
• “Other complications of life come into that, such as what my wife eats” (FGI 4)
• “That’s partly what my lifestyle issue is I’m out coaching tonight and I’m not going to get back until half eight and then we’re going to eat then” (FGI 4)

These insights spotlight the necessity for weight reduction initiatives to concentrate on “simplistic opportunity”; that’s, duties requiring minimal time and effort, which could be simply accommodated as a part of a busy way of life. Based on participant discussions this not solely wanted to contain clear and proper data, however simple to handle and sensible methods constructed inside typical recurring life (not as extra necessities).

ST1 Perception of physique/self-image.

Negative physique picture was expressed with persistent emotional depth throughout the main focus teams, with most members capable of recall a particular triggering second the place realisation or self-awareness acted as a key element for private change. Early on it was made clear to the researchers that the lads recurrently noticed themselves and have been overwhelmingly shameful in nature, outlining a destructive aesthetic notion of themselves, which in flip impacted self-confidence. The majority of the lads have been capable of clearly recall, typically intimately, these destructive emotions previous to trying weight reduction.

• “It’s an embarrassment because I’m thinking, people are looking at me thinking I’m fat again I can’t believe I’m the size I am” (FGI 2)
• “Looking in the mirror and just feeling absolutely disgusted with myself” (FGI 3)
• “I actually do like to wear suits and the suits I wear now it’s not flattering anymore” (FGI 3)
• “I walked past a mirror and thought, you’re a fat bastard to be perfectly blunt. A mirror, no T-shirt on and I just thought, Jesus that’s the biggest I’ve ever been” (FGI 4)

ST2 Motivation for change.

Body picture and aesthetic dissatisfaction have been clearly famous as dominant motivators raised spontaneously by most members. However, all through the open discussions, participant responses additionally focussed extra in direction of the triggers to motion and uncovered two core areas of curiosity invoking motivation for change: aesthetic attraction and private identification. Although a unique perspective and acknowledging the overlap with the earlier sub-theme (referring to the extent of dissatisfaction with oneself), the next sub-theme associated extra to self and exterior perceptions of picture and private identification. Responses have been overwhelmingly associated to destructive physique/picture, and it was made obvious that these perceptions, induced a degree by which “enough was enough” and culminated in constructive motion, albeit typically impulsive or sudden.

• “I think for me if I’m completely honest I needed the shame, if that makes sense” (FGI 1)
• “It was an identity thing… I didn’t want to be like this” (FGI 2)
• “So, for me personally it wasn’t about weight, I never look at weight it’s how aesthetically you look that’s what I go on which is why this is massive for me… it’s not about weight I could weigh 100 kilos, 80 kilos it’s how I think I should aesthetically look” (FGI 2)
• “I hated photos of myself” (FGI 3)
• “So, there’s a kind of mismatch between your identity and who you think you are and who you actually are” (FGI 4)

Whilst aesthetic issues dominated, the second largest motivator to vary associated to well being and often triggered significant motion, due a previous well being scare or issues related to well being threat.

• “And then when they said I was diabetic type 2 or whatever it was. They wanted to put me on medication, and I said no” (FGI 1)
• “I had to have emergency open heart surgery. That was a big wake up call. But even more so, the photo was the more, bigger prompt” (FGI 1)
• “I could feel something was not right, and that triggered me to start my exercises” (FGI 2)
• “I had no awareness of how things were [in relation to a routine health check-up]” (FGI 2)
• “At home I happened to read a few cases of heart attack of people who are the same age as me and then I really started thinking about it, I still don’t know whether that was a fear of heart attack or something that triggered me” (FGI 2)

These insights highlighted that males have been extra ruled by aesthetic attraction and private identification (transferring away from destructive physique picture and aesthetic dissatisfaction) how they thought they need to be trying. However, it appeared {that a} vital immediate (visible picture of their bodily self) or a possible well being scare acted extra straight as a “wake up call” to take significant motion. These components if utilised successfully might act to create acute consciousness round their present circumstances and positively incentivize pro-action.

ST1 “The buddy”.

The buddying system was probably the most incessantly cited help construction, raised spontaneously throughout all focus teams and endorsed by nearly all of members. “The buddy” was generally acknowledged as being an vital method to long-term engagement to vary for males particularly. The thought of “competitive socialisation” was proposed as being central to sustained engagement in weight administration programmes and focussed on male-centric social buildings. This degree of social accountability coupled with a sport or aggressive ingredient was extremely famous throughout the FGIs.

• “Having a check in buddy, somebody on the diet who is motivated enough and says “Okay, do you want to check in buddy, do you want somebody you could talk to?” (FGI 2)
• “Surround yourself with people who are on the same mission” (FGI 2)
• “That would be certainly much easier if you were collaborating or even competing with someone, I think that would be an easier thing to do” (FGI 4)
• “But if I knew I was going to meet a bunch of people and run around the park together I’d probably commit more to that” (FGI 4)

ST2 “The mentor”.

Following on from the above sub-theme, in distinction to the necessity for social companionship (or a “buddy”) some interviewees prompt that direct mentorship would possible improve accountability and due to this fact success. Depending upon the person, some males most well-liked the necessity for a educated “mentor” to examine on progress, present recommendation and inspire; accordingly, differing barely in context to a “buddy” system by re-positioning themselves right into a subordinated function.

• “If you have a coach, if you hired a coach and contact them regularly and they motivate you, give you things to do and you are always checking in with them so some sort of mentor” (FGI 2)
• “I think having an accountability partner is key to weight loss” (FGI 2)
• “Because it’s always nice for someone to check in on you and make sure you are sticking to what you say you are going to stick to” (FGI 2)
• “Or just have a professional check-in. Have someone external who can see the progress in some way. I think that would probably be a good push” (FGI 3)

In half, this aligned with Theme 2 (ST1 Lack of information) highlighting the necessity for guided help, monitoring or monitoring doubtlessly from a mentor with skilled experience (i.e., coach, healthcare skilled) which might invoke a level of belief and/or accountability.

ST3 “The spouse”.

The requirement for male-specific tailor-made help methods, whether or not from a educated mentor or peer was a standard suggestion and but curiously, most males additionally outlined how spousal help was pivotal for sustained success and adaptation to way of life change. The males have been vocal when expressing how beneficial spousal help had been and would typically broaden to the purpose of suggesting that the eating regimen was largely orchestrated by the accomplice which inadvertently prompt that the male, once more, acted in a subordinated function by having the partner put together meals and supply recommendation. This was expressed as follows:

• “My wife structures our meal plan, but she does like 10 days shopping in a row. And she’ll say to me, what do you want to eat on these days?” (FGI 1)
• “The snacks she buys me are apples rather than chocolates and stuff like that. That’s half the battle” (FGI 1)
• “My wife helps me now a hell of a lot because she kicks me in the arse when I start to go for the doughnuts again” (FGI 1)
• “For me, it was having the support of my wife. Without that, I wouldn’t have done it because she buys the food, she does the cooking in the evenings because I’m not home till late. If it wasn’t for her doing that then I wouldn’t have got as far as I did” (FGI 1)
• “(Use of a dietary app) because my wife uses it too which is motivationally extremely helpful” (FGI 2)
• “Because my wife made me a packed lunch” (FGI 4)

These insights additionally prompt that the lads might not have totally immersed themselves inside the dietary mindset (or didn’t really feel a have to) and as a substitute capitalised on the supply of spousal help to relinquish virtually full management, together with behavioural features, reminiscent of purpose setting, self-motivation and self-control. As such, spousal help was deemed a key think about sustainable practices which might be moreover helpful in offsetting perceived setbacks.

ST4 Additional supportive components.

Whist recognising the significance the lads positioned on peer help, this didn’t disregard different components deemed vital for dietary success, which different amongst members. The following views have been raised throughout a number of teams, albeit with much less consistency than the three main help buildings, and due to this fact grouped as extra supportive components, together with: clear and translatable information; motivation via common measurements; being real looking with purpose setting; figuring out root causes related to weight achieve; and preserving initiatives easy. Knowledge was a recognised as main talent when embarking and fascinating with a eating regimen (together with when attending group conferences) but in addition outlined the significance of social interplay, regardless of being initially dismissed by one recipient, as instance:

• “Whilst I didn’t get much from the group aspect, one of the things I did appreciate from going to the groups was the knowledge I got. Even people that were doing their diet just like I was learning new things. And they were saying by the way, if you make your own sauces, it’s really easy to do. You just throw this, this and this in. Oh, that’s a good idea. You would get a little bit of knowledge, and you’d get that from like this little messenger group” (FGI 1)

Additional feedback additional outlined the array of opinions as to what may be deemed as vital when embarking on and sustaining a weight reduction initiative for males:

• Motivation: “It’s all psychological as well, knowing that I’ve got to weigh. I don’t know, there’s something about it. It’s acknowledgement that you’ve got to weigh in” (FGI 1)
• Setting real looking achievable targets: “In 2019 I was 14 and a half stone in January. Then I got married 2020 January the second I was 10 and a half, so I’ve lost four stone. And for my frame and my height, I think 10 and a half stone wasn’t really realistic. But I managed to maintain that until COVID hit and had to stop going but I don’t think my target weight which I hit was realistic” (FGI 1)
• Identifying the basis trigger: “It’s knowing it’s a long journey and knowing that lesson I learned. You’re only tackling the symptoms; you need to tackle the root cause” (FGI 1)
• Simplicity: “It needs to be simple; it can’t be something that you have to think about and takes up too much time because I wouldn’t bother, I would go, “Oh yes this is fun” and three days later it’s not enjoyable it’s a drag” (FGI 4)