New Year’s Resolution… NO DIETING!

Here’s to the 2022 “Roaring Twenties” vibe we thought we’d get before the world fell apart after New Year’s Eve two years ago. It’s been a heck of a tumultuous ride, and along the way perhaps you’ve gained the “COVID-19.” Many have stopped exercising due to fear of catching COVID, or due to lack of motivation.

Maybe you find yourself vowing to do what you’ve done other previous New Year’s: start a diet! Are you vowing to stick to Intermittent Fasting, Paleo, Keto or some other diet du jour? Many friends and clients, despite my advice to the contrary, begin diets on January 1^st each year. But we know what D-I-E-T stands for…. “Die with a “T!” Ninety five percent of all diets fail, often leading to binge behaviors, feelings of guilt and shame, and unhealthy weight cycling.

Weight loss and healthy eating plans come in and out of fashion like bell bottoms and Calvin Klein’s. Low fat diets used to be all the rage, then low carb. There was the South Beach Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, Weight Watchers (now called WW because they know diets don’t work!) and so on. Many have healthy components to them. But that doesn’t mean diets simply don’t work!

There are over 200 peer research studies which show when people go on a diet, they go off it at some point,  and the picture isn’t pretty. Many, including my private patients, lose 20 pounds then gain 30 pounds, lose 30 then gain 40, lose 40 then gain 50…. you get the idea. What started as a weight loss journey becomes a weight gain trip that isn’t exactly a pleasure cruise.  There are serious health consequences to weight cycling. Research shows it’s more dangerous to our health to lose and then gain than it is to stay at a stable weight, even with a BMI which is considered overweight.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, or there’s another way: it’s called “Intuitive Eating,” or the “Non-Diet Approach.”  The classic book Intuitive Eating was first written twenty-five years ago by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, eating disorder dietitians. I highly recommend this book, along with checking out www.HAEScommunity.com which stands for Health at Every Size. This amazing movement seeks to de-stigmatize weight and has transformed lives with its message about compassionate self-care. There are many excellent books written, and support groups, podcasts, a good therapist can also help us make peace with our bodies and food.

Intuitive, or mindful, eating involves listening to your hunger and fullness cues, along with gentle goal setting that doesn’t exclude any food groups. If you hear: “Don’t eat any sugar,” how do you feel? Or avoid all high fat foods? What’s the first thing you think of? For me, it’s “I want a cookie!” I had a patient years ago who lost 100 pounds eating a candy bar every day. When her OA sponsor told her to stop eating it, she gained all the weight back!

Focusing on what you DO want instead of what you CAN’T eat is a powerful psychological tool that works for both weight loss and achieving overall improved health.  How do you want to feel? Would you like to have more energy? More focus? Less joint pain? Perhaps you have smaller sized clothing you want to fit into again? Many people require the gentle support of a professional who is trained in the non-diet approach. The right professional can help teach you about nutrition and exercise without creating diets or meal plans which can be cheated on or “failed.” And long term lifestyle changes are what sticks.

Let 2022 be the year when you’re a gentle cheerleader for yourself and your lifestyle goals, without the dreaded “D” word. In my next blog, I’ll give helpful tips to put mindful eating into practice. Cheers to a happy and healthy New Year!

Sheri Weitz, RDN, CDE is a Registered Dietitian and functional nutritionist with a private practice in Los Angeles. If you are interested in nutrition counseling for lifestyle changes using the non- diet approach, or  to find out how food sensitivities and functional nutrition can affect your health, contact Sheri for a free consultation: Sheri@MovetoWellness.net or visit www.MovetoWellness.net.