WHY It’s time to rethink dieting
Our society is one that promotes losing weight or maintaining low weight should be a priority for everyone. However, most people know that when we attempt weight loss, we end up having the same experience: we lose weight…. only to gain it all back (if not a little more).
Weight Is not a good indicator for health
There is very limited research showing that fat is a causative factor for poor health. What studies do show is that weight cycling or yo-yo dieting has a great number of negative health outcomes, including insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension & CVD. Constant dieting doesn’t just have a negative impact on physical health, it takes a serious emotional toll too. Dieting behaviours are associated with increased risk in in anxiety, depression, lowered self-esteem and self-confidence.
Most people believe that if they were to lose weight, reach their ideal number, fit into ‘that’ dress or look how they did 10 years ago then they would be happier and more accepting of themselves. This is a lie that diet industry feeds us.
Your emotional needs are never met through changing your body.
The diet industry does a great job at blaming the consumer (YOU) when the diet doesn’t work. They take credit for the initial weight loss and then blame you when you regain the weight. What they don’t tell you is that the weight REGAIN is a natural biological response OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. It is actually your body protecting you from what it has perceived as a famine (reduction in energy input)
The diet industry also does a great job at painting a narrative that anyone can be thin and have the ‘ideal’ body as long as they try hard enough. The problem with this is that we all designed to have completely different body types and for most people IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to have the ‘aspirational’ body we see in the media, unless we severely manipulate our bodies, and AT WHAT COST?
For most people this means they are chasing a never-ending merry-go-round of chronic dieting with little results other than low self-worth, poor confidence and a sense of failure.
WEIGHT FOCUSED DIETS….
teach us not to trust our own bodies
promote perfection in the way we eat, exercise and view our bodies
convince us that weight loss is our ultimate goal
lead to food and body preoccupation
cause repeated cycles of weight loss and regain
Distract from other personal health goals
Perpetuate low self-esteem
It is important to remember that weight is NOT behaviour. You can change a behaviour, for example eating more fruit & vegetables, which supports a diverse gut microbiome without seeing any weight changes. The problem we face today is the emphasises is primarily on weight loss as the ultimate marker for health, therefore despite making beneficial changes, you think what you are doing isn’t working and give up the helpful habits.
Instead of focusing on weight as a marker of health, the goal is to get a better understanding of ‘how you are feeling “physically, mentally and emotionally.
LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORT?
I offer one-on-one coaching support to help you find food freedom and move towards intuitive eating- check out my nutrition programmes