My earliest memories with regards to dieting
were also some of the biggest lessons on the issue. Here is the second of the
three lessons I will share!
2) Dieting can Lead to Weight GAIN
As I child, I generally enjoyed what came out of
my mother’s kitchen. Despite being a professional, she was a true homemaker in
that most of what we ate was from scratch. The one and only aroma that I
absolutely despised (just thinking of it now, my stomach is turning) was that
of cabbage soup simmering from a massive stainless steel cauldron. This was not
a hearty eastern European recipe (we’re of Irish decent), but yet another
attempt by my parents to shed pounds FAST.
My parents have done
it all; low-carb, low-fat, and of course the cabbage soup diet. My mom would slowly lose weight on these. Just
as slowly as it shed, it would creep back on her. Years later, she was shocked
to realize she was heavier than when she’d initially started her dieting
endeavors. My dad, on the other hand, would nearly consider a diet and pounds would
essentially fall off of his body. On one of his low-carb stints, he lost 40 lbs. in mere
weeks! As kids, we were SO
proud! He had taken his health by the proverbial horns and was almost instantly
“cured” of his near obesity. Much to our dismay, less than a year, he
had gained all of it back plus 15 lbs. more!!!
In my opinion, my parents’ dieting efforts are
true testaments to the results of dieting. Diets are restrictive. Initially,
they may give you a new lease on life; you are about to regain your health
& your waistline. Soon, you feel tremendously limited, unsatisfied and
hungry. You attempt to persist, but there are little slip-ups along the way.
You resolve to do better, but failure is imminent because your diet is not
rounded, is too limiting, and is not satiating you. Over time, resolve to diet combined with the
predisposition to be unsuccessful creates the infamous yo-yo. Weight goes down, weight goes up. Determination to conquer this ensures
the cycle continues…
What Research Says: “the negative effects of
weight cycling [are] alleged to include reduction in lean body mass relative to
body fat…” (Brownell & Fairburn, 2002, p. 94). As a result, “…future weight loss [can become] more difficult,” and can lead to greater obesity
and greater risk of cardiovascular disease. “[R]esearch in humans has found cyclical
dieting has an impact on mortality overall, especially cardiovascular mortality” (p. 94).
In non-obese adolescent women, there is evidence
that “dietary restraint is correlated with feelings of failure, lowered
self-esteem, and depressive symptoms” (p. 95). Dieting has also been “shown to predict stress; however,
stress is not a predictor of dieting” (p. 95).
Solution: Let go of the idea weight loss should be fast. Understand the idea that
people who profit off of their methods of weight loss typically have a bias
that excludes important research and critical health principles. Embrace the
idea that the road to a healthy body
and healthy weight is paved by efficient exercise, listening to your body, and
making educated healthful decisions.Finally, discipline must replace restriction. No matter what
though, there is always room for fun!!!
References
Beach, M. (2012). losing-fat-diets-strength-training-800x800.jpg.
Brownell, K., & Fairburn, C.G. (2002). Eating
Disorders and
Obesity.
Retrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rNbdAGVNIh0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA93&dq=criticisms+of+dieting&ots=ID8v_pclL6&sig=m2WBeGJU1YrVPW3Z_776ReVGygY#v=onepage&q=criticisms%20of%20dieting&f=false
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