Why Diets Don't Work...And How to Eat Instead

I feel like we should revisit this very fundamental topic of why it is diets don't work and how you should approach eating instead. It's that time of year where maybe you're already anticipating starting a diet or cleanse in January and I want to save you the trouble. Because scientifically dieting is not a long-term approach to health and can actually do more harm to your health than good. I talk a lot about intuitive eating here and why I, personally, feel it's unethical to recommend a restrictive diet to women and am careful to share a message instead that a peace with all foods is what is most healthy for your body and your mind. If you've been following along with me for a bit but want some scientific background of why diets don't work, read on!

WEIGHT GAIN WITH DIETING IS PROTECTIVE

Let's start with looking back in the day when food wasn't something we just drove to the grocery store to get but was farmed and hunted. Dinner wasn't as easy as pulling up Grub Hub and ordering take out. It took work and sometimes was scarce. Good thing for us, our bodies have protective mechanisms in place to help get us through those tough times when we can't eat adequately for hours if not days!What happens physiologically when our bodies have a decreased amount of calories is that hormone shifts take place causing you to WANT to eat and to do whatever it takes to get that food. Ghrelin, or the hormone that increases your appetite, rises and signals to your brain to find something to eat. Thoughts become about eating. Food becomes more appealing. It's kinda like the whole thing about how when you're trying to suppress thinking about something, all you can do is think about that thing. With scarcity, your body's wisdom keeps you interested in food until you get what you need. For more in depth discussion on this concept and how your weight comes into play, I did a full blog post on set point theory here.

So back in the day this was a good thing. It helped keep humans alive and was part of the perfect plan of our body's creation. Scarcity would drive humans to find food. And when we finally did, we'd eat to probably uncomfortable levels of fullness because who knew when the next meal would come. With that, the body also has an ingenious ability to protect for future scarcity by holding onto that food in the form of fat for future times when meal times were unknown. Intentional reserve builds up for human survival. It's really pretty amazing if you ask me! All of this is a way of our bodies protecting us.

Now, here we are in the 21st century where, like I said earlier, food is everywhere. Most of us don't have a scarcity problem, though I recognize that's not everyone. But if you're reading this you probably don't have a problem with food being available to you. Your problem is self inflicted scarcity. 

DIETING IS SELF INFLICTED FOOD SCARCITY

Dieting and anything that restricts calories causes this self inflicted scarcity. And though times have changed, our brains and bodies haven't in the way they respond to scarcity. Just as with our ancestors, scarcity leads to increased hunger hormones which cause heightened sense for food, increased thoughts about eating, and then weight gain as a protective measure against potential scarcity in the future.And this isn't only those going on super crazy low carb low cal diets. This is anyone who restricts calories less than what their body needs for a period of time.

I remember for me at the height of my eating disorder I probably still wouldn't have said I was restricting calories. Because I wasn't...well, wasn't intentionally. But I was so afraid of food, so afraid of anything that would make me "unhealthy" that I DID end up restricting calories. I wasn't on a "diet", but was dieting all the same by way of not taking in enough for my individual body. This is why it is so important to learn your body and listen to what it needs and possibly even work with someone who can help guide you to eating enough for your body.

The bottom line is this. Dieting and any measure of restriction causes your brain to switch into survival mode. This is why you may feel anxious around "unhealthy" food because you feel that pull to eat or why you may restrict, restrict, restrict, but then give in and eat or even binge. Your body is trying to protect you because it knows that not eating enough can be...NO IS!...fatal. 

SO I'M NOT DIETING, NOW WHAT!?

So, what to do instead. If dieting doesn't work and actually leads to weight gain in the long run, how should I eat? And what if I want to eat healthy but don't know how apart from dieting?

Eating needs to be lead by your body instead of being lead by fad diets or rules that are spoken about eating by our culture. Learn to tune into your body and it's natural God-given cues instead of following a restrictive meal plan. Make peace with all foods, giving yourself permission to enjoy both salads and a slice of chocolate cake all the same. If this seems impossible for you, trust me when I tell you you can do it. Because I was once in your shoes and struggled to eat intuitively.

Because I want all of you to be able to eat and live and move intuitively and feel healthy in your bodies as well as your minds, I'm super excited to announce that I will be releasing my very first e-book just in time for the New Year! It'll be released on January 1st, but follow me on Instagram and I'll be giving away a free copy early!

In the meantime, if you are wanting a walk through of how to start eating intuitively, I have a free e-course doing just that! 

 I hope you are encouraged this year to make this the year you stop letting food control you and turn to your body as your inner knowledge and embrace this freedom with eating and living your best life.