It’s the day after Christmas and now we are all starting to look forward to the new year. We are a few days away from 2019 and a “clean slate”. Many people take this time between Christmas and New Years to reflect on the past year and set resolutions or intentions for the upcoming year.
I do love the idea of setting intentions and think having small and specific goals you’re wanting to work on and accomplish in the upcoming year is great, but to be honest I don’t even remember my goals for 2018. I didn’t write them down (so I will plan to do that this year) but I can tell you one thing that was most definitely not on my resolution list… dieting/food restriction type resolution.
It’s that time of year where the media bombards us with diet and weight loss related propaganda. The gyms are packed, Pressed Juicery juice cleanses are flying off the shelves, #whole30 is trending, and it’s time to trade in the sugar for kale.
I’m not saying having a goal to move more and and add spinach to your morning smoothie is something you should avoid, but I’d like to encourage you to be realistic and set yourself up for success in 2019. That’s why I’m sharing my top 5 reasons why going on a diet in 2019 should NOT be one of your resolutions.
Reason #1: Diets do not lead to long-term weight loss for most
Dieting typically includes some sort of restriction- a restriction of calories, elimination of certain foods and/or food groups, calorie counting, and following a strict meal plan. So of course, most people will initially see results and lose weight. However, as this study from The Biggest Loser shows it’s really difficult to maintain the weight loss for most people.
Diets are typically not realistic for most people to stick to long term, and even if you can stick to the strict diet, your body will eventually start to resist the weight loss. Our bodies interpret the caloric restriction as a form of starvation. So, as a survival mechanism our metabolism slows way down, and hormones that regulate hunger and fullness change.
Reason #2: Dieting disconnects you from your body
I can’t tell you how many of my clients got so frustrated with me that I would not give them a specific diet to follow. I have many reasons for this, but a big reason is because giving someone specific food rules to follow completely undermines one’s internal cues and intuition about food. Diets do not take into account one’s personal preference, life style, and individual needs.
I prefer to encourage client’s to practice intuitive eating and become more connect with their body and internal food wisdom. Yes, I 100% think having a solid baseline knowledge of how to properly nourish one’s body is key and then I teach clients how to layer on intuitive eating principals so they feel less stressed and anxious about food.
Reason #3: Dieting makes you more likely to binge or overeat
Bingeing is a common side effect of dieting. When our body is deprived of calories/nutrition it eventually catches on and will do whatever it can to make up for the deficit. That is why when you’re dieting you might find yourself craving (and eventually overeating) foods like chips, cookies, candy, and crackers. Your body is craving simple sugars AKA quick energy!
After the binge you’ll likely feel like you were so “out of control” and your first instinct is to develop another set of foods rules (a diet) to follow so that you don’t binge/overeat again- and the restrict-binge cycle repeats.
Reason #4: Diets fail and leave you feeling like a failure
You did not fail- the diet failed. If diets were successful then why would new diets continue to come out and people jump from one diet trend to the next.
Once we can come to terms with the fact that diets do not work (long term) and do more harm than good we can start repairing our relationship with food and stop blaming ourselves for not being “disciplined enough” to stick to the diet. This feeling of failure/guilt often results in the starting of a new diet and the restrict-binge cycle.
Reason #5: Dieting increases disorder eating behaviors and can contribute to the development of an eating disorder
Dieting is a risk factor for eating disorders and increases preoccupation with food and body dissatisfaction.
Restriction and weight loss can change the way the brain works in vulnerable individuals and make it very difficult for them to return to normal eating.
What can you do then?
If you are wanting to focus on improving your relationship with food in 2019 then what I do encourage you to do is learning more about intuitive eating (IE). I wrote a post here on IE and provided resources for you to use if this is something you think would be helpful to you.
Bottom line: let’s stop treating our bodies like something that needs fixing and shift the focus to overall health and wellbeing. Focusing on healthy behaviors instead of weight loss and is more likely to lead to better health overall.
xx,
Alix
