Busting 5 Common Myths About Dieting
Filed Under: Anti-Diet
27 September 2024 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
Diet culture is everywhere. It’s hard to escape it. We are constantly bombarded by messages about what to eat, when to eat, what not to eat and how to lose weight. So much so, that we lose connection with ourselves and our own inner wisdom. Let’s dispel some of these myths.
Myth 1: Dieting is a good way for people to lose weight.
Dieting long-term is a predictor of weight GAIN not weight loss, 95% of people who go on a diet gain back the weight, plus more. Dieting causes weight cycling and weight gain NOT weight loss for the large majority of dieters. Food rules and dieting are one of the main reasons we have a challenging relationship with food.
What can you do instead?
Stop dieting. Let go of rules. Ease up on restriction.
There is a lot of fear around not dieting anymore. Many of my clients are concerned that if they stop dieting they won’t stop eating and they will gain a lot of weight. Dieting gives us a false sense of structure and control. Following a plan or tracking macros and calories occupies our mind and gives us a “purpose”. Think about all the diets you have ever been on. What happens after each diet ends? Isn’t there a backlash after each diet? Dieting is like a pendulum, it swings towards rules and restriction and then it swings to the opposite end of overeating and bingeing. If there were no rules and restrictions there wouldn’t be backlash eating and the pendulum would balance in the middle – that is what mindful eating does, it’s the middle way between extremes. So instead of focusing on the pursuit of weight loss, put your energy into changing your mindset around food. Listen to your body, and learn to trust your intuitive wisdom.
Myth 2: We should only eat healthy foods.
We all know the benefits of eating a wide variety of foods. Yet we think that cutting out sugar and flour is the answer. Having rules about foods leads to feelings of guilt when we eat these foods. One of the biggest reasons we binge, other than emotions, is feeling deprived. Deprivation leads to rebellious eating followed by feelings of stress, guilt and shame. Relaxed and flexible eating is enjoyable and feels good in our bodies.
What can you do instead?
The two main reasons we eat are to fuel and nourish our bodies and for the pleasure of eating something delicious (that may not be nutritious). Allowing ourselves to eat all types of foods helps to avoid the diet-binge cycle which ultimately does much more harm than eating pleasurable foods. If you have restricted yourself for a long time introducing “fun” foods might be difficult at first, the more you expose yourself to your forbidden foods and work on your critical thoughts, the easier it becomes.
As Julia Child says:
“In matters of taste, consider nutrition and in matters of nutrition, consider taste”
Myth 3: The more exercise we do, the better it is.
Exercise is a great way to keep our bodies strong and healthy. If exercise is used for a result on the scale, not only will it disappoint but it will be difficult to sustain. It’s easy to justify over-exercising because it is seen as such a healthy activity. Exercise can become compulsive and cause problems. If you find yourself exercising to make up for eating or if you feel bad because you haven’t exercised and you fear gaining weight, this may be the start of an unhealthy relationship with exercise.
What can you do instead?
Change your mindset around movement to see it as a benefit for overall physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Moving our bodies is a gift we give to ourselves for overall well-being. Choose a type of movement that feels good to you, that is enjoyable and fun. Move your focus way from calories and steps. Sometimes going for a short walk or parking the car far away and walking to the shops is good enough!
Myth 4: People who are thinner are healthier.
There are healthy thin people and unhealthy thin people just like there are people in large bodies that are healthy and unhealthy. Health comes in all sizes!
What can you think instead?
Size is not a determinant of health. There are many other health factors to consider like stress, sleep, exercise, smoking and drinking. Let’s focus on wellness at any size rather than size itself. Embrace body and size diversity.
Myth 5: I have no control and willpower around food.
This is something I hear from many of the successful women I work with. They run companies, own their own businesses and manage a home and family. In order to do these things you need a fair measure of willpower and self-control.
What to think and do instead?
Firstly remind yourself that it’s not a matter of willpower. In fact, control, willpower, restriction and deprivation lead to out of control eating. Develop a flexible mindset to food and eating where you focus on being in charge of your eating instead of in control. The more we try to control our food, the more it controls us.
Which myth have you been believing? Share your thoughts with me, I would love to hear from you.
May we all find freedom from diets.
Wishing you peace,
Xen
Hello, I'm Xen. Welcome!
I help women all over the world drop the struggle with food and their bodies to create a life of peace and freedom.
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