Day 24 - Dieting's Dirty Secret

Driving to work I was listening to the local radio station. My interest peaked when I heard the DJ talking about dieting. I slowly turned up the volume (my daughter rolled her eyes at my so incredibly predictable interest).

"So how much are your customers losing?" the young female DJ said in a infomercial tone.

"Some are losing as much as 2 pounds a day!" the woman responded.

"Wow! And this is not a fad diet. This has been approved by doctors."

"That's right! We work in tandem with some local doctors to help customers lose weight with a sensible diet and exercise."

Later the DJ voiced that she herself used this program to lose 20 pounds in the past and that she loved the results so much that she always comes back to it when she wants to get 'beach body ready.'

GAG!

I could not help but wonder if anyone out there listening realized the irony of this sales segment. Yes, people can lose weight but the point is; are we gaining health, confidence, vitality and lasting changes that permeate our very existence? Obviously the DJ didn't. She had to go back whenever she wanted to lose weight. It reminded me of a movie I watched with my daughter; a woman having to touch a flower of immortality to look young again, only to whither within a short amount of time when she had to leave it and live life.

A diet is a regulated selection of foods that is prescribed for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss. There is not a day that goes by where its marketing magic is not on radio, television, in print and spoken about by word-of-mouth. American's spend upwards of 60 billion dollars to discover the next diet or weight loss technique and yet we are getting more and more overweight than ever before. What is the common denominator in this flawed system?

Imagine going to the doctor and getting prescribed a medicine for your headache that improves your condition for a few weeks, only to stop working and causing your migraines to worsen in the long term. Would this be something that you would take? What about a cold medicine that actually caused you to contract more illnesses?

Dieting is a prescription that initially appears as an antidote to weight gain when in reality it causes more pounds to pack on. Would you diet if you knew that it promoted weight gain?

Here is some evidence*:

• A team of UCLA researchers reviewed 31 long term studies on dieting and concluded that dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain - up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost (1).
• Research on nearly 17,000 kids ages 9-14 years old concluded, "...in the long term, dieting to control weight is not only ineffective, it may actually promote weight gain." (2).
• Teenage dieters had twice the risk of becoming overweight, compared to non-dieting teens, according to a five-year study (3). The dieters did not weigh more than their non-dieting peers, exhibiting that becoming overweight could be linked to the independent factor of dieting in and of itself.

Dieting is harmful for weight management and health. Here are some of the physical reasons why:

• Low calorie dieting doubles the enzymes in the body that store fat.
• Dieting slows the rate of weight loss with each new attempt.
• Metabolism is decreased by as much as 40% and may take up to a year to heal.
• Binge eating episodes and intense cravings are exacerbated. 
• Premature death and heart disease are at an increased risk for yo-yo dieters.
• Other side effects of dieting: headaches, menstrual and hormonal imbalances, rapid aging, fatigue, dry skin and hair loss.

Emotionally, dieting has also been linked to an increased risk of developing a progressed eating disorder, heightened stress, depression, moodiness and social anxiety. In my personal practice I have seen an even more profound theme in dieters; complete dis-empowerment and loss of hope for inhabiting the body.

I am going to clue you in to a secret. Dieting is not what healthy and sexy people use to achieve their physique. These people are just active and joyous inhabitants of their bodies. They are awake and intuitive eaters.  

Now you know dieting's dirty little secret. Just like the flower of immortality; it may seem to change you and give you a gift. The only caveat is that its effect is an illusion; a trap. Every time you go back for more you become weaker and more dependent on its misconstruction. It has the exact opposite effect of what you are desiring. There is no diet that has been invented already or will come out in the future that is the key to your dreams - that is all within you right now. 

Nat

For nutrition counseling programs designed to awaken your inner intuitive and conscious eater, check on Natalie's website www.rootednutrition.com.

*Studies compiled and cited by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD.


[1] Mann, T. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. Am. Psychologist, 2007; 62(3): 220-233.
[2] Field AE et al. Relation Between Dieting and Weight Change Among Preadolescents and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2003 112:900-906.
[3] Neumark-Sztainer D. et al. Obesity, disordered eating,and eating disorders in a longitudinal study of adolescents: how do dieters fare five years later?J Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106(4):559-568.