Tag Archive for: anti diet

Top 5 Reasons Why Diets Don’t Work

Many people swear by diets. They tell me the diets work, but when I point out tha they go back on the diet when they regain the weight, so essentially the diets don’t work, they shake their head and finally get it.

A diet isn’t just those flashy branded weight loss companies (you know which I’m talking about). Dieting is any form of food restriction such as cleanses, “lifestyle” changes,  restricting foods or entire food groups. It’s all dieting!

Dieting programs and weight loss schemes (yes, schemes!) are a part of a $72 billion industry, therefore it’s no wonder many people fall for its tricks. These companies profit off of telling consumers that “they are not good enough in the body they are in” and they promote “shrinking your body” in order to be happy, healthy, and worthy.

As humans, we naturally internalize these negative and harmful messages and believe we must “fix” ourselves, and therefore give in to the various weight loss products, programs etc. available on the market.

There are numerous reasons why you should avoid diets—they mess with your health, they make you feel shame and guilt about your eating, and they take away from the pleasures of eating.

Let’s look deeper into why diet’s don’t work?

Here are the top 5 reasons why diet’s don’t work:

(1) Diets are not sustainable

Yes, diets may lead to weight loss in the short term. However, once the dieting rules and restriction go away—the weight is regained (plus more)! The literature states that 95% of people who diet end up gaining the weight back that they previously lost. Of the 95%, about 2/3 of those people gained back MORE weight than they started out at.

This cycle of losing and gaining weight brings on the vicious cycles of restrict/binge eating, or yo-yo dieting, which actually causes more harm to your body and your health than good:

  • Impacted metabolism
  • Increased weight gain
  • Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension
  • Negative body image
  • Increased frustration

(2) Dieting is starvation in disguise 

Purposefully restricting meals or food causes your body to go into a state of fight or flight. When your body is not receiving the fuel it needs from food, it will go into full-on survival mode. Restricting food sends the signal to your body saying “hey we are in a famine right now, it’s time to help me survive” .

Your body will then begin to compensate to keep you going by:

  • Lowering metabolism
  • Stimulating a chemical in the brain to make you consistently think about food
  • Store/hold onto fat
  • Shut down non-essential systems to promote survival (like reproductive systems)

With all of these compensating measures at play, this is why it is difficult to lose weight time and time again with dieting and food restriction; your body is working hard to keep you alive (since it thinks there is a famine out there!)

(3) Dieting can cause disordered eating

If dieting goes on for long enough, this can lead to the development of disordered eating or eating disorders, and more commonly, binge eating.

Binge eating is a biological reaction to deprivation (which we know is because of dieting). Here’s what happens: there is a chemical release of neuropeptide Y (NPY) which is secreted in the brain when there is not enough calories being consumed (specifically CHO since this is the brains fuel source). The secretion of NPY increases the motivation to eat, delays satiety and stimulates food intake which can feel like binge eating!

Binge eating is a survival mechanism resulting from dieting and food restriction.

(4) Diets lead to food obsession 

Reducing food intake not only makes you feel irritable, fatigued, have brain-fog, and lack motivation, but you will think about food… ALL.THE.TIME.

As a dieters, you often blame yourself for this feeling (being preoccupied with the thought of food), but it is actually a natural biological reaction to food restriction. Of course you will think about food all the time if your body is hungry!

This biological reaction is, again, a survival mechanism. Your body is doing its job!

However, the diet industry want you to believe that something is wrong with you. But your body is not the enemy!

(5) Dieting causes intense cravings 

Diet programs and “diet rules” tell you what foods you should and shouldn’t eat, or give you a “good” food list and a “bad” food list.

If this idea of “good” and “bad” foods is kept up long enough, you will begin to think about and crave the very foods you are restricting. As humans, we are driven by our unmet needs. If you tell yourself “I can’t have ice cream anymore”, all you’re going to think about is eating ice cream.

So if you think you’re addicted to (insert food here), it’s likely that you’re not actually addicted to it but it’s the dieting and food restriction causing you to think about it and crave it!

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Are you ready to leave dieting behind? Pop your name and email in the boxes below to get started with your Break the Spell of Diets in 3 days online experience.

 

3 Reasons Why Dieting Will Never Bring You Food Freedom

I was once someone who followed the latest fad diets. From carbohydrate restriction to counting calories, I have tried so many “guaranteed weight loss” trends. Even though I did lose some weight on these diets, I always gained it back. While these diets all had different regimens, one thing they all had in common is that I was miserable when I was on them.

 

Dieting is a way of life for many people. You probably know someone who is always bringing their own food to parties and constantly trying to “slim down,” you may even be one of those people. Perhaps you are reading this after breaking your current diet and you are desperate to find another way. Or you are reading this, and you are at your goal weight, having lost the weight by starving yourself, drinking shakes, or eating “clean” but tasteless food.

 

Dieting is no way to live. Although the diet industry wants you to believe that their “program” is a “way of life”, it’s just not peaceful and is filled with worry about whether you will gain the weight back, or whether there will be food you can eat wherever you go. I know I was tired of that life. And my clients were too.

 

Intuitive Eating is a journey that helps you listen to your body’s inner wisdom that you were born with regarding hunger, fullness and satisfaction around food and eating. This approach to eating will help to bring you mind and body peace.

 

Here are 3 reasons why dieting will never bring you the food freedom you desire:

 

  1. Diets Are Always Centered Around Food

 

Most diets will make you track everything that goes into your mouth. Food will constantly be on your mind. You will be thinking, what did I eat yesterday? What did I eat before? What am I eating now? It’s exhausting. Food should not be the center of your day; food should not encompass your entire brain. There is so much more to life that you can be doing than thinking about food all the time.

 

Diets bring food obsession and worry, not food freedom.

 

  1. Diets Cause You to Feel Guilty

 

Every diet has a list of restrictions with the food you can and cannot eat. But what if you happen to want to eat food that’s on the “avoid” list? Well, what usually happens when you are told you cannot have something? Yep, you want it more. You can deny your desire for only so long. So, you indulge, and the guilty feelings and harsh self-talk start.

 

Diets bring food guilt, not food freedom.

 

  1. Diets Cause You to Lose Trust in Yourself

 

Diets make you believe that you have been choosing the “wrong” foods for years and they cause you to blame yourself when you don’t lose weight. Last I checked, you are the owner of your body, your inner signals, and thoughts. You know your body better than anyone or anything. You alone should be in charge of what food you eat, not the diet.

 

Diets bring loss of self-trust, not food freedom.

 

I know now badly you want to be free of dieting, and you want to be free to have food present in your life with ease.

 

Pop your name and email in the boxes below to Break the Spell of Diets in 3 Days. Then, check your inbox for your Day 1 experience.

 

3 Steps to Making Peace with Food

Do you find yourself constantly at war with your food? Are you ready to throw in the towel and finally make peace with food but not sure where to start?

The key to ending the battle with food is by giving yourself unconditional permission to eat.

This concept may seem totally unreachable for you if you’ve been dieting for years. I bet that for as long as you can remember, you’ve been telling yourself what foods you “can” and “cannot” eat, labeling foods as “good” or “bad”, “healthy” or “unhealthy” and depriving yourself from the joy of eating.

Once the deprivation gets to a point where you can’t handle it anymore, you finally “give in” to your forbidden food and eat with much intensity—leaving you feeling shame and guilt.

By granting yourself unconditional permission to eat, these thoughts, feelings and actions can go away! But how do you start?

3 Steps to Making Peace with Food

(1) Create an inventory of foods. Make a list of foods that you consider your “forbidden” foods, or foods you often restrict. Rank them from scariest to least scary.

(2) Plan a time to try. After creating your list, try incorporating at least one of the foods into your eating world. For best results, try the food in a calm environment and at a time when you are not at a level of primal hunger.

(3) Make note of how you feel. Take notes on your experience!

Before you begin eating, make note of—how does the food look on the plate? How does the food smell? What do you think it will taste like? Does the appearance meet your expectation?

While you’re eating—how does the food taste? Do you find yourself enjoying it like you normally do? Does it meet your expectations? What surprises you about the food?

After the meal, reflect on your overall experience—how do you feel now? Was the experience as “scary” as you thought? Do you think you could try another food at another time? What do you think of the food now?

 

I know this isn’t so easy. Please reach out here if you’d like me to support you through the food peace process.

 

 

 

3 Strategies to Keep Moving Forward on Your Intuitive Eating Journey (even when life gets tough)

If you have learned one thing in the past two years, it’s to expect the unexpected. You may think that you have everything under control and then something unexpected happens and throws you off course. As they say, life happens.

 

These unforeseen changes can affect every aspect of your life, including your Intuitive Eating journey. No matter where you are on your Intuitive Eating journey, stressful life events are bound to occur. It’s okay to feel stressed or anxious, but you don’t want to lose yourself to life’s surprises.

 

For many, food is a coping mechanism for stress. Turning to comfort foods and ignoring your hunger and satiety signals however is not the answer. I encourage you to stay focused on your health rather than slipping back into old ways. So next time you find yourself in this situation, what can you do to keep going?

 

Try these 3 Strategies:

 

  1. Remind Yourself Why You Started this Journey

 

Remind yourself why you decided to start on this journey. Instead of taking time to make excuses as to why you cannot do this or that, put that energy towards focusing on the reasons you embarked on your Intuitive Eating journey. Write down your motivation and the messages your body is sending you. You will gain clarity and feel motivated to continue moving forward.

 

Why did you embark on your Intuitive Eating journey?

 

Was it to feel better in your body?

 

Was it to improve your overall health?

 

Chances are your “why” still resonates somewhere within you, even on your darkest days. Let this motivate you. Some days are easier than others but if you keep your “why” in focus, you can navigate the bumps along the way.

 

  1. Prioritize Your Needs

 

When life gets hectic it can be easy to prioritize work or your significant other’s wants and put your own needs on the backburner. You can only help others once you have helped yourself. Become the best you that you can be by prioritizing your own needs. That may mean making a list of goals, tasks to tackle, or taking a mental health day. Each step in the right direction is an important one.

 

You can make the most of each day by scheduling time for your priorities into your daily routine. There is a time for work, a time for taking care of the needs of others, and a time to care for yourself. This includes time to sit down for meals and to be engaged, mindful, and do nothing but focus on your food.

 

  1. Find a New Outlet for Stress

 

There are many healthy ways to deal with stress that does not entail food. Take time to unwind each day, whether that is exercising, taking a bath, or catching up with a friend. You may need to try several activities before you find one that helps you relax. Even just taking 15 minutes to vent to a friend or to decompress your thoughts onto paper will benefit your day and your overall goals. When you let go of pent-up emotions, you will clear your mind and allow more room for mindfulness.

 

The truth is life comes at you fast. You cannot go back in time, but you can make the most of your present and future. Homing in on your Intuitive Eating and mindfulness will help you navigate through life’s obstacles and keep you on the path to being the best version of yourself.

 

Always remember, when you are feeling low, there is nowhere to go but up! If you keep your focus and mindfulness, you will find inner peace.