Dietitians and Experts Explain Why Diets Don't Work
Why Should You Stop Dieting? Because Diets Don't Work — Experts Explain 7 Reasons Why
How Can You Stop Dieting?
- Ask Yourself, Has Dieting Worked For You in the Past?
O'Malley suggested being honest with yourself and asking, what has dieting done for you in the past — mentally, physically, emotionally, socially? Has it lived up to your expectations? Were there any side effects?
She said that it's OK if there are pieces of dieting that you really liked or miss. Some common examples of this are the community aspect that many diet programs offer and the structure or feeling of control. Finding a community around non-dieting can be so helpful, and social media is a great place to start. "Let's bust the myth that not dieting means chaos and eating whatever you want whenever you want! There can be and definitely is structure around intuitive eating and a non-diet approach," O'Malley said.
- Reject Diet Mentality
Previte said this is one of the 10 principles of intuitive eating. "This has to come first. You can not have one foot in diet culture and one foot in food freedom," she said.
Unfollow social media accounts that are triggering, delete calorie-counting apps, throw away the fad-diet pills, and cancel your diet subscription. Seek out a support group, a non-diet dietitian, and a therapist to help you say no to diet culture. Find non-diet resources to educate yourself on intuitive eating and ditching diets. Previte also said to "Give yourself grace! This is hard if your whole life has been consumed by dieting for years on end. It takes time to break down these diet culture neural pathways in the brain and create new ones."
- Make Peace With Food
This is another of the 10 principles of intuitive eating. Previte said there should be no morality tied to your food choices — no food is good or bad. She added, "Once we truly believe this we can drop the guilt, self-judgement, and shame associated with our food choices and start becoming curious about why our behaviours are the way they are."
Allowing all food to be available to you is part of this, said O'Malley. In the beginning, this might mean eating more of certain foods than usual, especially if they're foods you've restricted in the past. "This is normal! As you continue to allow yourself access to those foods, the more intense cravings will reduce and you'll be better able to make food choices without the guilt or 'bad' labels," she reassured.
- Honour Your Hunger and Respect Your Fullness
These are two more of the 10 principles of intuitive eating. Previte said, "Learn to shift your focus from external diet rules to focusing on how you feel related to your food choices."
- Remember That It's a Process!
Think about how long you've dieted or restricted certain foods or tried to lose weight, O'Malley said. "For many, it's years, so it makes sense and is completely normal for this process to not all come at once."
She said that it's helpful to celebrate the small wins throughout your journey, like being able to go order something off a menu that you really want, saying "yes" to spontaneous plans with friends, keeping something like ice cream in your house, or buying a pair of jeans even if they're a different size than usual. "Those pieces add up to really big shifts and freedom in the short and long term," O'Malley said.
- You Don't Have to Do It Alone
This is a lot to navigate on your own, and you may be more successful with a little support. There are tons of intuitive eating and antidiet resources, like podcasts, books, and Instagram accounts.
If you need more support, "Finding the non-diet movement and dietitians, therapists, and doctors who work from a non-diet approach can help you find a more sustainable, healthy relationship with food, exercise, and your body," O'Malley said. So reach out for help if you need it.