Nearly 65 percent of dieters return to their pre-diet weight within three years, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program, and only five percent of those who lose weight on a very restrictive diet (like a detox or a no-carb diet) keep the weight off. What kind of odds are those? Not good ones!
Instead of depriving yourself of your favorite foods or even cutting out entire food groups, forget about diets all together and focus on changing your outlook on food and weight loss. You’ve heard it a million times before: “It’s a lifestyle change.” AND IT’S TRUE. Diets don’t work. Sure, maybe you’ll lose 5-10 pounds the first few weeks, but then you usually stop losing weight, you cheat because you’re deprived and losing hope, and then before you know it you’ve gained all the weight back and then some.
But why is dieting so hard? There are a number of reasons, and ultimately it depends on the individual, but a big reason is that diets are too hard to stick to longterm. You can’t give up carbs forever; in fact, you shouldn’t give them up ever. Your mood and eating are highly linked biochemically. That’s why comfort foods are, well, comfort food! People on restrictive diets just want the forbidden food even more, eventually binging on it and feeling terribly guilty afterwards. Dieting puts you on such an emotional roller coaster, and lack of certain food groups, especially carbohydrates, reduce those feel-good hormones. Ever notice how cranky people are on low-carb diets?!
Moreover, people on restrictive diets end up restricting their social outings, too. Spending time with family and friends makes you happy and healthy, and declining social events because you’re on a diet just makes you miserable. You can only say no to happy hour for so long!
Research also shows that dieting is bad for your kids, especially teens. 72% of girls whose mothers “diet a lot” engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors, such as skipping meals and binge eating. And teens who diet a lot increases a teen’s risk of developing an eating disorder to 1 out of 5, compared to a risk of 1 out of 500 for kids who don’t diet.
Dieting isn’t healthy for anyone.
Yo-yo dieting is one of the most frustrating, depressing things you can do to yourself, and will eventually make you give up on getting healthy all together. That’s why making a lifestyle change is stressed so highly by health and fitness professionals. According to the CDC, 34% of Americans are obese, but clearly dieting isn’t the solution. Instead of jumping from one unsuccessful diet to the next, make a plan that you can actually stick to long term. Make exercise a priority by squeezing in just 4, 30 minute cardio sessions a week with at least one strength training session. Make sure you’re eating a healthy diet of whole grains, lean protein and dairy, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Talk to your doctor about what you can do to make a healthy lifestyle change, and get off the diet roller coaster for good!
