No More Dieting!
May 6, 2010 by Dana and Hilary
An article to honor International No Diet Day.
Today is International No Diet Day (INDD) - a day to stop dieting and engaging in hazardous weight loss behaviors. INDD celebrates a shift to a 'non-diet, health at every size' approach to food, weight, health and well-being. One of the goals of INDD is to present the facts about dieting and the inefficacy of commercial diets.
In the world of weight management, dieting is the cultural paradigm by which we attempt to control our weight. Many people in our community are dieting to lose weight every day and yet the majority (>95%) regain all of the weight back and more. In fact, dieting seems to be the greatest predictor of weight gain over time! We often ask clients where they think their weight would be if they had never dieted, and 99% say it would be lower than it is now. And yet, our society continues to promote dieting as an effective means on managing body weight. What is even more disturbing is seeing shows like "The Biggest Loser" promote eating disordered behaviors for weight loss.
Some of you may think "I'm not dieting, I'm just watching what I eat and trying to eat healthy." Underneath these good intentions often lies a diet mentality - wondering if you deserve to eat, trying to find a way to 'make up' for eating heavy foods, feeling guilty after eating a heavy food, describing a day of eating as either good or bad, and viewing food as the enemy. When change in body weight is our main measure of progress, we'll always be in a 'dieting' frame of mind when it comes to food.
In the book Intuitive Eating, authors Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch use the term 'diet backlash' to describe the common experiences of many people who have repeatedly dieted. These characteristics may include: increased rigidity regarding good and bad foods, restriction leading to increased bingeing, reduction in trust of self with food, feelings about not 'deserving' food, social withdrawal, and shortened duration of dieting episodes. Minds require a new view of progress to let go of dieting and become an intuitive eater - health and well-being, not weight loss.
To reject the diet mentality, we must recognize and acknowledge the damage that dieting does. Dieting is a form of starvation, even if voluntary, and teaches the body to retain more fat when you start eating again. Dieting slows the rate of weight loss with each successive attempt, decreases metabolism, increases binges and cravings, and causes satiety cues to atrophy. Weight cycling, or yo-yo dieting, increases risk of premature death and heart disease and causes body shape to change - people typically regain weight in their abdomen.
Dieting is also linked to increased risk of eating disorders, feelings of failure, low self-esteem, and social anxiety. Dieting erodes confidence and self trust. People who've dieted repeatedly assume they have fundamental character flaws that make weight loss so hard, while most of their symptoms are the result of dieting.
The good news is that there is an alternative to dieting and 'pseudodieting' that is not the 'screw it' plan. We'll be hosting a free event this Saturday, May 8 from 10 to 11:30am to talk about ways to heal the dieting mind and move toward a more authentic relationship with food. We hope you'll join us and be part of a new conversation about health!
Reference: Intuitive Eating by Tribole and Resch