Dieting Sucks

It’s interesting to me that at the same time more and more information comes out about how diets simply do. not. work., we seem to be just as obsessed with trying the next and newest, in our attempts to control our bodies and our weight. Think about it. Have you ever known anyone who went on a diet, lost weight, and then moved on with their life, never to need to diet again? I haven’t. Dieting messes with your metabolism, and sometimes your mind. For a small percentage of us, it triggers eating disorders, like anorexia and bulimia. For most of us, it means that we can gain more weight while eating less than if we hadn’t dieted to begin with.

What does work? Letting go. Stop obsessing about your weight. About food. About how many calories are in your lunch, and how much exercise you might have to do to work it off. Instead, try to relearn what should be natural to us all. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full. Eat a variety of food from all of the food groups. There is no need to omit entire food groups from your diet. There is no need to resort to gimmicks like protein shakes, diet pills, juice fasts, etc. I would argue that these products are far more interested in making money off of you than they are in promoting actual health. And indeed, the diet industry is booming, even as our collective waistband continues to boom right along with them. Coincidence? Somehow, I think not. I think as our culture becomes more and more obsessed with being thin, we spend more and more money on diets and products, and we mess up our metabolisms again and again, making it easier and easier to gain more weight, in turn making us more vulnerable to those ‘before and after’ pictures, causing us to sign up for yet another diet plan, making someone somewhere more money. This is one ride we should all hop off of, and the sooner the better.

7 Comments

  • Starshine

    I like this post very, very much. Thank you for sharing.

    One thing I am struck by is how Americans are so much fatter than most of the rest of the world. When I lived in Spain, I rarely saw an obese person, in Texas, obesity is commonplace. Also, our society (with the exception of New York City) is generally set up to where we depend on a car to get around. In Europe, one doesn’t typically need a car, but you still have to walk your fanny off (literally, I guess) to get from your house to the subway station/bus stop and then from your departure point to where ever you are going (work, church, the store, etc.)

    As soon as I moved back from Spain to TX, I almost immediately gained 10 pounds, just from walking less and from eating the HUGE portions Americans are served at restaurants, etc.

    It seems like our expanding waistlines have to do with so many factors, and I find it encouraging, but also a little depressing that if I were to relocate to Europe one day (maybe in retirement???), my general health/weight would probably immediately improve.

    I’m not dieting right now, and just trying to let go, as you said. Admittedly, though, I need to re-learn how to stop eating when I’m full. I usually just “power through” until my plate is clean and then feel a little gross afterward.

  • J

    Thanks Starshine,

    I agree that we’re much too dependent upon our cars. Sometimes I walk to the store to get our dinner, but it’s a major decision, a major commitment. I wish that weren’t so. Also, the ingredients in our food is questionable. High fructose corn syrup in our bread, etc. So yeah, there are a lot of factors. I just think if we were able to relax, and learn to enjoy food (like our European friends), and do less mindless eating (my problem) and junk in the car, etc., all of that. Take some effort to eat delicious food that’s real, pay attention, and move sometimes, and maybe somehow, that might be enough. I would like to think so.

  • Cherry

    Each time I feed my daughter I have to laugh at myself.

    I feed her all organically grown produce, healthy nutrient packed foods like quinoa, lentils, organic/free-range/grass fed animal meats and whole wheat pasta/breads. While I sit next to her and shovel in buffalo wings I found in the freezer from Costco of course after melting blue cheese on them and dipping them in ranch dressing. Of course, she will happily eat cheese over broccoli any day, she will also amaze me and pick peas over mashed potatoes with all the butter, cream and salt.

    I don’t diet and believe in everything in moderation, and I hardly move my body, I am also not really that thrilled with my body, but not enough to do much about it. I am generally sore, my joints hurt, and I know the body aches would greatly improve if I were to just MOVE! and then I got in my car this morning and drove the 1.25 miles to my office. LAME!

  • Ted

    Moving is key. I mean, I bicycle, and you do Gilad and walk quite a bit, but do we alter our diet and deny ourselves tasty food? Not really. Well, I do cut down on processed sugar quite a bit, and limit my carb intake, but other than that, I like food too much to say “No” to the point where I get obsessive about it. I guess one thing I am aware of is that I need to exercise at least five times a week since, well, my work doesn’t require much movement.

  • Joan

    Just now catching up on blogs. Really for the first time in my life I’m dealing with having to lose weight. I gained 5 then before I knew it I had put on about 10 more. Ironically I’m running more but that makes me crave carbs (bagels!) Being an accountant and dealing with numbers I did go with tracking – calories in vs calories burned. Being a little of a techno geek, I used an app call Track n Burn to keep up with it all. While I wouldn’t want to do this all the time, it is educational. With that said, I’ve found if I make good, healthy choices I eat plenty in a day without feeling deprived. So far I’ve lost 6 pounds. I try to get in exercise at least 3 to 5 times a week. My aim is to form better habits,not let myself get in this situation again and no I don’t plan on continuing to track my food after I reach my goal.

  • OmbudsBen

    I try to make friends with a little bit of hunger. Feeling hungry was an important biochemical signal for, oh, several million generations during the evolution of primates, but at this point, I don’t really need signals that my body is ready for and wants nutrition.

    Starvation or malnutrition are pretty remote possibilites–fortunately.

    So I just need to override that signal with one from my own forelobes. Not always easy to do, I grant, but I find I can get through a few more hours before mealtime if I just make friends with a little bit of hunger. I’m a little hunry now, and that’s a good thing, don’t stres about it. Then, at mealtime, I don’t eat until I’m stuffed.

    Yeah, it’s ongoing, but I try to be as easygoing about it as I can.