Diets Don't Work!
The 2004 National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that 1 in 6 adults are on a weight loss diet at any one time. Yes, you guessed it – D is for DIET! We all know that diets and restrictive meal plans work for a short while but are soon abandoned. It’s just not realistic to stick to the rules and regulations.
Rules are not much fun at a party or restaurant are they? And what happens when we ‘break’ the rules or can’t ‘follow’ our set meal plan? We feel like we’ve failed and ditch the diet for the rest of that day, promising to try better tomorrow or maybe next week.
And so the vicious diet cycle begins. Having to follow the strict diet rules will put you under a lot of unnecessary pressure and only sets you up for failure in the end.
Don't say the D Word!
Dieting, and the deprivation associated with it, is simply a combination for disaster. When we deprive ourselves of something we like from our diet we usually end up strongly desiring the very food we are trying to eat less of.
Research has found that restricting children from eating sweets and other unhealthy snacks does not encourage healthy eating habits. It is thought that depriving them of these foods may create a ’forbidden fruit‘ effect whereby these foods become even more attractive and more likely to be overeaten in unrestricted settings.
Well, we’re all just big kids at heart aren’t we? Surely we can relate to this theory. So have your chocolate bar and enjoy your pizza takeaway. Just don’t make it an everyday habit!
No doubt you’ll agree that there’s more to life than following rules and restrictions. There’s no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods. It’s the overall balance that counts.
So stop dieting (or don’t begin!), think of your New Year’s weight loss goal as a healthy eating plan and continue enjoying your food! Diets are about saying ‘I mustn’t’. [GetFit Nutrition] is about saying ’how can I?’.