Diets don't work

May, 2007

by Morella Devost

The greatest obsession everywhere is weight. Diets have become a billion-dollar industry as companies spend millions luring you to try the latest diet with promises that this will finally be the solution: your shortcut to a thinner body. Advertising efforts also deeply affect our children, who develop distorted body images and are often on diets as early as 9 or 10 years old.

Our culture touts trendy diets, celebrity workouts, diet pills, diet bars and shakes, all promising an easy way to attain your ideal weight. But face it, quick fix solutions don't work, and they backfire when you think they do work. Diets entice us to dip deeply into our pockets while eliciting few, if any, healthy habits and much less lasting results.

DIETS DON'T WORK BECAUSE:

Each person is unique. We each have different needs based on gender, age, metabolism, ancestry and lifestyle.
Diets are extreme solutions. A diet might work for a short amount of time, but research shows that almost all diets result in a 10-pound gain once you're off the diet.
They are restrictive in nature. They create a feeling of deprivation and stress which shuts down your body's weight regulation ability.
They usually lead to bingeing once you have been "good" on the diet for a while.
Your body needs nutrition and will naturally ask for it. Restrictive eating is not a sustainable solution.

THERE IS MORE TO WEIGHT LOSS THAN RESTRICTING FOOD

Your body needs good food to be healthy, repair itself, fight disease and maintain healthy weight. So equating food with calories and points is overly simplistic. Another hugely ignored fact is that today's stressful, unbalanced lifestyle is a major culprit, as studies have shown a direct correlation between weight gain and stress.

Our crazy lifestyles have also made us lose sight of the importance of nourishing our souls. Slowing down, eating a home-cooked meal, and spending quality time with loving people are just a few aspects of quality living that have a huge impact on sustaining health and weight.

Given half a chance, your body will balance and heal itself, but it's only possible if you get out of the diet mentality and listen to what you truly need. With careful thought and reflection, you can feed yourself wisely and purposefully. Working with your body rather than against it you will achieve increased energy, stabilized weight and sustainable health.