It’s just easier to go back to dieting

When you noticed you put on weight it’s likely that your first thought is: right, how am I going to get rid of it again?

With the click of a button you can access a ridiculous number of different diet plans, weight-loss recipes, and communities that support your goals - and you - for doing it. You literally just pick and click - and you are signed up to something that is going to ‘fix it’ for you. And the fabulous thing is that you will get lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement - you are doing something ‘good’ for yourself, you are looking after yourself by making those extra pounds go away again (so, are you ‘too much’ with more of you around?)

We also kind of know that to lose weight we need to reduce calories - eat less and move more. Simple, right? Unfortunately that’s not how bodies work - they are clever and adapt their needs to the energy intake they get. So to keep losing weight you have to keep cutting down what you eat and move more and more - that is eating disorder territory. However, it does sound logical, doesn’t it? AND it is widely accepted in diet land that this is the way to shed weight. And because it is ‘common knowledge’ we don’t get challenged on it. This podcast is super educational on calories and the problems with them - highly recommend it if you want to find out more!

So, of course it is easier to go back to dieting when you gained weight. But let me ask you: deep down, do you have a sense of knowing that it may not work? You have tried it many times before, always re-gained the weight (and then some), never kept it off? (so, are you failing at dieting?)

But then there is the ‘honeymoon period’ of most diets: you feel great, have a sense of achievement, the pounds drop and you have more energy. That’s a big pull! You have experienced it, and it was fab! (but: how did it feel when your weight plateaued and you started craving foods you weren’t allowed to eat?)

You may feel torn - one part of you wants to lose weight, one part of you knows it won’t work. Still, it is easier to go back to yet another diet than to explore the alternative: to work on accepting your body, to make peace with food, to acknowledge that dieting has contributed to your weight, to sit with the discomfort of ‘not fixing’, to connect to your body begin to re-build trust in it. (could this alternative be ultimately liberating and freeing?)

Here is where you may want to pause before you sign up to another weight loss plan: there is reliable evidence that intentional weight loss is likely to lead to weight gain (back to where you started and often a bit more); there is reliable evidence for an increase in risk for a host of health issues as a result of weight-cycling or yo-yo dieting (e.g. Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, depression, eating disorders, digestive conditions), the pursuit of thinness has its origins in racism, patriarchy and eugenics (read more about it in these books: Fearing the black body, Anti-Diet, What we don’t talk about when we talk about fat, You just need to lose weight - and 19 other myths about fat people (how do you feel about these statements?)

I really get it - the shiny object that is thinness very often shines brighter than the alternative that is intuitively knowing how to eat, move and be present in your body - it is vague, non-directive and requires internal work. It’s also bloody hard to swim agains the stream of diet culture!

But what you can get out of this different path can be life-changing: body trust, time and energy to focus on the things that really matter, wellbeing, joy, confidence, self-worth, improved mental health and biomarkers, connection, peace with food and movement, body acceptance and respect, and something that will last a life-time, not just a few weeks or months.

You have complete autonomy over your body and your choices: choose your journey by exploring your ‘why’ and your values. And if you choose the journey of intuitive eating, I and many other providers are here to support you!