Why diets don't work
Dieting is an all too common practice of limiting food intake in an effort to lose weight. There are multiple types of diets, often reinvented with the same false promise, but no sustainable outcomes. In fact, an estimated 95% of diets don’t work. So why do roughly 45 million people continue to fall into the chronic dieting cycle?
The diet cycle refers to the repetitive pattern a dieter falls into. Every diet starts with some variation of restricted eating. There may be specific rules about what, when or how much to eat. As the body is deprived of energy, and the rules become difficult to adhere to, the dieter will eventually break the rules and give the body what it has been deprived of. This is then followed by feelings of guilt, failure and loss of control. The dieter then resolves to get back on track and do better the next time, thus starting the diet cycle all over again. While weight loss is the desired outcome of dieting, the opposite is actually found to be true. The body’s regulation of energy, metabolism and weight are much more complex than many people realize, yet the $71 billion dollar diet industry continues to promise quick, easy results.
What is diet culture?
Diet culture is a system of beliefs that places value on weight loss above all other measures of health. It idealizes thinness and appearance over well-being. Weight loss becomes entwined with an individual’s value and worth and is perceived as a marker of status in our society.
Food choices are demonized or glorified, often tied to morality in terms of "good and bad." More recently, this can be observed in the "wellness" industry, essentially dieting disguised as "healthy" eating. Trendy terminology such as lifestyle changes, clean eating, pure, plant-based, immune boosting and many others are the modernized approach to sell diet culture in a less obvious way.
Our society has created a culture that pursues thinness at all costs. Everywhere you turn you’ll find an advertisement promoting the latest diet, weight loss procedure, cleanse, body shaper, or exercise routine to help you shape up, slim down, lose the weight, feel better, etc. It’s become so normalized that most people don’t realize its extent in our day-to-day lives.
At Alo Nutrition, our anti diet dietitians can help you with your chronic dieting.
How can a registered dietitian help me break free?
An anti diet, weight inclusive dietitian will help you identify disordered thoughts about food and nutrition and understand how they contribute to restrictive dietary behaviors and food patterns.
Chronic dieters often express a sense of failure or lack of willpower when they are unable to adhere to the rigid rules of past diets. Your dietitian will help you realize the fact that you didn’t fail the diet: diets fail, regardless of the person. We will help you rediscover a balanced and more sustainable approach to food.
How can IE be used for chronic dieting?
Intuitive Eating is an anti-diet approach that focuses on reconnecting to your internal body cues and challenging aspects of diet culture that perpetuate dieting.
Learning to trust hunger, fullness and satiety cues allows a chronic dieter to approach food from a place of neutrality and awareness rather than a place of judgement or fear. Intuitive Eating also addresses the role of movement and body respect, areas that are often negatively impacted with chronic dieting.
Extensive research has found that Intuitive Eating is associated with a greater degree of body acceptance, more enjoyment with food & exercise, higher self-esteem, and overall improved life satisfaction. Working with a non-diet, weight-inclusive dietitian versed in Intuitive Eating is the first step to breaking the diet cycle and learning to trust your body.
Why should you choose Alo Nutrition?
Our talented dietitians have years of experience helping clients break free from diet culture. Contact us and we’ll pair you with an expert who can help you restore the balance in your life.