Time to Give up Dieting

Often at this time of year we are thinking about “being good” and “getting back on track” after the holidays. Today I want to talk about moving away from diet culture and shifting how we think about food and our bodies. As a Registered Dietitian and Diabetes Educator I have spoken to countless clients who have gone on diets and lost weight only for it to come back. Research shows at 95% of people regain the weight within 5 years¹…and it’s not due to a lack of will power. What if we shift our thinking from “I failed”? to “ the diet failed”. Weight is often blamed for many health issues (including diabetes) but what if the damage of weight cycling and weight stigma are the true underlying causes?² Our culture values thinness and equates it to health, ultimately the constant drive for thinness impacts our physical and mental health. ³

Image from: NEDIC

Diets encourage us to restrict our food and use external cues like calories, points, or portions to guide us on when and what to eat. Even good intentions of trying to be “healthier” can result in us to restrict our food, enter the dieting cycle and stop listening to our hunger. So if we don’t go on a diet what’s the next step? Often we only think about what and how much we eat. Over the next few weeks I suggest you start to listen to your body, and reflect on why, when, and where you eat. Taking a step further back, and understanding our thoughts and behaviors around food overtime, can help us improve our relationship with our food and bodies. Michelle May, MD and Megrette Fletcher, MEd, RD, CDE created the book Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes: A Mindful Eating Program.⁴

Another approach that can be helpful is Intuitive Eating created by two Registered Dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch ⁵. Their approach uses 10 guiding principles to improve your relationship with your body and food. If you want to hear about how to use intuitive eating for blood sugar management take a listen to this podcast Food Psych #224: Diabetes, Diet Culture, and Intuitive Eating for Blood Sugar Stability with Lauren Newman, hosted by Christy Harrison MPH RD, and author of Anti-Diet.⁶

Sometimes we are so disconnected from our internal cues due to a long history of dieting that we don’t pick up on the subtle signs of hunger. Starting to check in with your body before and after eating can help support you to learn to trust your body again.⁷

When we first shift our focus away from dieting and practicing these new skill our stress levels can go up. In the past, if you used food as part of your way to manage stress, your thoughts around food may increase. This is not a linear process, which is why it’s best to practice self-compassion and have some supports in place when taking this new approach on.^7,8

If you want to learn more about mindful eating you can read this handout on our website https://chcnorthumberland.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mindful-Eating-Resouce.pdf or listen to our podcast episodes here:

Or listen to some free mindful eating mediations here

https://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/FREE-Meditations

These are all topics that deserve much more time and explanation than I can cover here so if any of these ideas are something you want to learn more e-mail me at khipwell@porthopechc.ca or contact our office and book an appointment 905 885 2626 ext 238!

References:

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