Why Diets Don’t Work and What They Don’t Tell You

Why Diets Don’t Work and What They Don’t Tell You

It is overstated to say that we live in a world that is highly focused on weight loss and dieting. Whether it is the newest diet fad, social media influencers telling us to “eat this not that” or societal pressure to look a certain way, we have all likely experienced or have been affected by diet culture in one way or another.

-The dieting industry capitalizes on insecurities and “quick fix” weight loss gimmicks, blames you when it doesn’t work and then convinces you to try another gimmick.
-The weight loss industry is a $72+ billion-dollar industry that survives and thrives off diets that don’t work and having repeat customers.

Here’s what they don’t tell you:

1. Diets are not sustainable. The reason diets don’t work is not lack of willpower or that you have done something wrong. Research has shown that 90-95% of people who lose weight on a diet end up regaining the weight they lost in as little as 1-5 years. The requirements to cut out whole food groups, count and track every bite of food you put on your fork, buy expensive products or only eat during a few specific hours of the day are not realistic for most people to maintain over time. This ideology is actually very harmful.

2. Diets can create a restrictive mindset and an unhealthy relationship with food and your body. By following a restrictive diet, we begin to see food through a lens of judgement and ignore our bodies natural hunger, fullness cues and cravings. Our hunger and fullness cues are controlled by hormones in the body which are the body’s communication system to have our physical needs met.
-When honored properly, they guide us to get the nutrition our body needs to function well.
-When ignored, they can easily be thrown off and make intuitive eating and fueling our body much more difficult.

Restricting food, dieting and judgment around certain foods can ultimately lead to feeling impulsive and chaotic around certain foods. In turn, we may experience overeating as a result.

3. Our body does not understand dieting. The body’s main goal is to keep you alive and it needs adequate food and nutrition to do so. When we restrict our food intake, over time our body begins to enter what is sometimes referred to as “starvation mode”. This has both physiological and psychological effects.

-Physiological effects: lower physical energy, nutrient deficiencies, inefficient digestion, slower metabolism, and muscle loss
-Psychological effects: mood dysregulation, higher stress and anxiety, increased risk for disordered eating, an eating disorder and decreased enjoyment of food

Healing your relationship with food and your body is a process that is incredibly rewarding. Pushing back against societal weight standards and pursuing health for your whole being (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) can bring so much freedom. This can look different for every person, but can include incorporating joyful movement and working to eliminate food guilt. Learning stress management and honoring your body’s natural cues and cravings can help you to regain respect and trust with your body.

If you are interested in working with a dietitian or therapist to begin this journey, Manna is here to support you!

-Tori Payton, MS, LD, RD, Director of Eating Disorders IOP