Why Diets Don’t Work
I love peanut butter. As a kid, I used to eat it out of the jar, spoon first. Although I grew out of the spoon phase, I still love it with bread and honey, with chocolate and in nearly any candy bar. What I never did know about my love for peanut butter, is that it made me sick. I was so out of touch with my body and the effect of food on my body that I never realized that the sick feeling in my stomach was the result of the food I just ate. It took time of working on my food and body issues to put it together and even longer to realize that my tummy rejects peanut butter only when I have eaten more than my body can handle. This is good to know because now, when I get that sick feeling, I just stop eating peanut butter for a while and then I can eat it again. Of course, I always have the choice to eat it, and sometimes I do choose it, even when I know I may not like how I feel later. But, I have a choice and the choice is mine.
Although the above does not fully demonstrate why diets don’t work, it does show the result of dieting and/or listening to what others tell us to eat. When we diet, we stop listening to our bodies and we start listening to what others say we "should" or "shouldn’t" eat. We may become overwhelmed because there are SO MANY others telling us what to eat (doctors, diet creators, mothers, fathers, friends, grandparents, siblings, nutritionists, magazines, TV, radio, the internet, personal trainers, even therapists). As children, we know exactly what our bodies want and need. We eat when we are hungry and stop when we are full. As we grow up, we begin to trust others more than ourselves. We start to diet because we think that is how we become a good, successful, attractive person.
What happens if I tell you to stop thinking about Pink Elephants? Let’s try it: whatever you do, DON’T think about Pink Elephants!
Well, did you think about at least one pink elephant?
This is why diets don’t work. Dieting doesn't keep you from not thinking about your favorite foods, you think about them more.
What does a diet tell us to do? Eat this, don’t eat that, this is good for us, that is bad. But, have you noticed that the "bad" food is usually always your favorite foods? And, even if we love the "good" food, if we eat it long enough, love goes from like, to boredom, to I never want to eat this again.
So, when we stop eating the food we love because the "diet" tells us to, we may lose some pounds, but, the diet stops. Then, what do we do? We eat our favorite food again. However, we rarely will just eat a little of it. Your body and mind think you starved yourself of it (we are told "don’t think about pink elephants") and now you can’t get enough of it. We eat more and more of it. It may become an obsession. If we go back on the diet again, we think we don’t know if we can ever eat it again (because the "diet" said it was bad for us) and so we binge on it just before the diet. We all know this… the "my diet starts tomorrow" philosophy.
In addition, when we do "lose it" and start bingeing on the "bad" foods (even just thinking about the food can trigger this for some), we think we are bad, or weak, or undisciplined for eating it. Of course, for many, that bad feeling just leads to more bingeing.
And, there we are, right in the middle of the binge/purge cycle. Even if you don’t use vomiting to purge, you purge emotionally just by beating yourself up for eating. "Bad food" becomes "Bad me". Bad me leads to bingeing. Get my point?
Diets don’t work. In fact, diets even make you fatter. Researchers are finally looking into the diet phenomenon and discovering this. I have recently noticed diet ads have started to include "results not typical". They certainly can leave you feelings more out of control with food. And, studies show that people who diet gain more weight over time and the yoyo weight gain and loss can lead to more health problems as it is hard on your body to go through this cycle.
Lastly, not dieting is way more fun! Imagine eating what you want and having your favorite foods in the house for weeks, without fearing you will eat it all in one sitting! It is absolutely possible and a great way to live your life.
About the Author: Anne Cuthbert, M.A., is a therapist with offices in Portland who utilizes an experiential approach, works with family of origin issues, incorporates Gestalt, insight and self-awareness, behavioral interventions, and works to create a trusting relationship to support her clients. Anne is available for therapy and counseling and can be reached here http://www.goodtherapy.org/m15_view_item.html?m15:item=anne%40cuthbert.org and at this url http://www.goodtherapy.org/Portland-therapy.htm
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