Why The Diet Mentality Sucks (And Is Making Us Sicker)

As I went through undergrad, the one question I would be asked consistently from family and friends pertained to how to lose weight in a short amount of time. In a world where we have access to so much conflicting information with respect to healthy eating and exercise, it makes sense why people are more confused. While healthy eating is obviously very important for other reasons besides weight management, it’s even more important that we create a healthy relationship with food. The idea of ‘dieting’, or creating arbitrary rules around specific foods we can or cannot have is actually more counterintuitive than we think. In fact, some studies have shown that long-term dieting can have lasting negative implications on body image and self-esteem [3].

Relationships with Food

But what exactly does it mean to have a healthy ‘relationship’ with food? One’s ‘relationship’ with food is contingent upon what they perceive the impact certain foods will have on the body. And this has a lot to do with what we pick up from the diet culture that’s surrounding us constantly. For example, in the early 70’s, the Atkins Diet introduced a low fat/low carbohydrate diet as a method of weight loss. Foods that most would perceive as ‘healthy’, including carrots, turnips, bananas, and even apples would be considered a ‘no-no’ for this diet paradigm due to their high carbohydrate and sugar content. This could affect one’s relationship with food – once we start looking at foods as ‘bad’ because they don’t fit into the diet, (even though they provide a lot of important nutrients), we tend to stay away to avoid the ‘consequences’ of weight gain. Slowly but surely, we become rigid in the way that we eat. Instead of viewing food as fuel, we begin to see it in terms of ‘bad’ and ‘good’, which over time takes a huge toll on our mental and physical health.

The Real Problem

I have several problems with fad/trendy diets – all of which pertain to marketing, body image, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. When a diet becomes trendy, you’ll see and hear about it everywhere, including TV and the internet primarily. I can almost guarantee that 9/10 of us have seen a picture of a girl with the most beautiful body on Instagram promoting products like FitTea, or keto-friendly protein powder promising rapid weight loss with a link to where you can purchase it (so they can make commission). This is dangerous for the average consumer. We all want the results, and we want them now. People with a deep understanding of how marketing works are able to leverage sales easily simply by getting attractive, fit people to promote their product. Consumers associate the individuals promoting the product with the way their body currently looks, which isn’t always the case. For many who are dissatisfied with their current physique, seeing ads or promotions like these for products that are way overpriced is frustrating, and creates more anxiety around implementing lifestyle changes.

Being able to sustain a certain way of eating long term is also important when choosing a diet paradigm to adhere to, but this is something that most don’t think about – because remember, we’re naturally attracted to fast results. The keto diet is one of the more recent diet paradigms that’s been shown to deliver fast weight loss results. This high fat, low carbohydrate way of eating forces the body into a state of ketosis. Ketones, which are produced when we’re consuming a low amount of carbohydrates, build up in the bloodstream. Having low to no carbohydrates in the blood forces the body to start breaking down fat to be used for energy – hence the rapid weight loss. What most people don’t know is that this diet was originally created for children suffering from epilepsy, as higher ketone levels in the blood were associated with a reduction in the number of seizures they were experiencing.

There are a number of benefits to the diet, including rapid weight loss which many individuals are motivated by. The problem? This is an extremely strict way of eating, and must be done correctly. Consuming any carbohydrate containing food could kick you out of ketosis, which can slow or prevent weight loss altogether. Additionally, some studies are suggesting that attempting to adhere to this diet long term could cause damage to the liver and kidneys due to its’ high fat nature. For people who’ve ‘tried everything’, the keto diet seems appealing. But realistically, eliminating an entire food group for the rest of your life just to maintain a certain physique sucks – especially when the same thing can be achieved in other, more sustainable ways.

We are all different, and some diet approaches might work better for some than it does for others. The problem with diets is that it creates unhealthy obsessions around food that aren’t necessary. Some of the most common include bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and even orthorexia nervosa (a preoccupation with healthy food) stemming from this desire for the ‘perfect’ body. For some, diets paint a picture of food being the enemy and that certain foods should be avoided at all costs. The reality? Food is fuel that keeps us alive. Food is an important part of certain cultures. Food is how we socialize with one another. Food is medicine – all extremely important reasons why we shouldn’t be afraid of it.

So, how do we break this ugly ‘diet’ feedback loop? Easy – don’t follow one.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be mindful about the foods we’re putting into our body. There are, after all, foods that are less healthy than others. The key is allowing yourself everything in MODERATION. You can still achieve your goals with food by allowing yourself the ‘fun’ foods every so often. Too much of anything (including too much ‘healthy’ food) isn’t necessarily a good thing. These are my ‘food rules’ that I stick to when it comes to creating a healthy relationship with food.

1. Always eat breakfast and don’t skip meals.

2. Make water your drink of choice MOST of the time.

3. The vegetables should fill at least half the plate.

4. Choose foods that were grown (not made in a factory) MOST of the time.

5. Choose the whole grains MOST of the time.

6. Fruit is nature’s candy and is good for you. Choose this MOST of the time.

7. Don’t feel the need to eat it all – save half for later.

8. Don’t feel guilty about eating the dessert – you deserve it.

9. Move for at least 30 minutes every day.

10. Unfollow or unfriend people who don’t make you feel good about yourself – mentally or physically.

Improving your relationship with food is something that can’t be done overnight. But breaking out of the diet mentality is a really good place to start.

What are your thoughts on fad diets?

Best,

Natalie

SOURCE(S):

1. HuffPost, O. A. F. (2019, April 26). 12 Reasons To Ditch Dieting For Good, According To Science. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/reasons-to-ditch-diet-mentalit_n_5c19594ee4b0432554c518f3

2. Mills, D. (2019, August 7). Keto Diet Dangers You Should Know About. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/keto-diet-is-gaining-popularity-but-is-it-safe-121914#6

3. Schuck, K., Munsch, S., & Schneider, S. (2018, January 24). Body image perceptions and symptoms of disturbed eating behavior among children and adolescents in Germany. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5782362/