The Realities of Dieting
Dieting can seem seductive — it promises you that everything will be better once you lose the weight. However, you didn’t come to this conclusion on your own. Western society is so ingrained in diet culture that we see it in every form of media — in billboards, TV ads, magazines, social media. The diet industry is worth billions of dollars. Yes, you read that right; in fact, the US weight loss market is worth $72 billion (1). Yet people are unable to keep the weight off when following a diet. Studies have shown that people on diets typically lose 5–10% of their weight within the first six months. However, at least one to two-thirds of people on diets regain more weight than they lost within four or five years (2).
What happens when we diet?
Regardless of which diet you try (and there are endless to choose from) the long-term results are all the same — most people end up regaining weight. With results like these, it’s interesting that people often end up blaming ourselves, rather than the diet. Most people will blame it on a lack of willpower however, dieting seems to go against our biology.
When you diet or restrict, you usually have a decreased intake of energy (calories) and the body cannot tell the difference between a self-imposed restriction and a starvation situation. As a result, the body slows its metabolism as a defence mechanism in order to eat less each day to survive. This mechanism has evolved over centuries of human development, which is why people have been able to survive throughout drought and famine. This survival response also puts food at the forefront of our brains which is why, when dieting, you may start to become preoccupied with food and start daydreaming of the day you can bite into a cheeseburger. This is often the point when people will think, “I have no will power, I am obsessed with food!” But really, it’s our biology fighting back against hunger (3).
Often at this point, the diet has been broken and because of the restriction aspect of dieting, it is common for people to then overeat or binge. Diet lingo has turned these into ‘cheat days’ but really it can begin to create a binge-restrict cycle. Oftentimes this constant cycle can create a sense of guilt and shame around eating foods you once loved but now deem them as ‘bad’ or ‘unclean’.
At this point, after the overeating episode, you regain yourself and think, “Okay, minor blip. Lack of willpower on my behalf, let me try this again.” And so the cycle continues. This is referred to as Yo-Yo dieting — repeated periods of weight loss and weight gain. Yo-Yo dieting also comes with its own health risks. Studies have shown that repeated Yo-Yo dieting has been associated with compromised physical health and psychological wellbeing (4).
So what does work?
Evidence shows that it is the act of engaging in healthy behaviours rather than the achievement of any particular weight which determines health (4). It means that everybody is capable of achieving health regardless of their weight. Some behaviours which can improve health include:
- Engaging in physical activity
- Increasing fruit & vegetable consumption
- Practicing mindfulness
- Reducing alcohol intake
- Quitting smoking
If you are someone who has spent their whole life, or at least a large portion of it dieting, it may feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable to remove rules around eating. However if you are ready for a change or fed up of the dieting cycle, Intuitive Eating (an anti-diet approach) can help you build a healthy relationship with food and improve how you feel about yourself (5).
References
- ltd, Research and Markets. “The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market.” Research and Markets, Feb. 2019, www.researchandmarkets.com/research/qm2gts/the_72_billion?w=4.
- Wolpert, Stuart. “Dieting Does Not Work, UCLA Researchers Report.” UCLA, UCLA, 10 May 2019, newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832.
- “Diet’s Don’t Work.” If Not Dieting — Then What?, by Rick Kausman, Readhowyouwant.com Ltd, 2012.
- Tylka, Tracy L., et al. “The Weight-Inclusive versus Weight-Normative Approach to Health: Evaluating the Evidence for Prioritizing Well-Being over Weight Loss.” Journal of Obesity, Hindawi, 23 July 2014, www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/#introduction.
- Clifford, D., Ozier, A., Bundros, J., Moore, J., Kreiser, A., & Morris, M. N. (2015). Impact of Non-Diet Approaches on Attitudes, Behaviors, and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2014.12.002
Information this week by: Kirstyn Church, an Associate Nutritionist with Nutrition Consulting Services. Tru Valu Supermarket is one of the leading grocery chains in Trinidad and Tobago with five stores and the best customers. Have a question? Email us truvalusupermarkets@gmail.com.
