Is dieting all good?
Avoiding the diet trap
Did you know that Americans, alone, spend more than $40 billion dollars a year on dieting and diet-related products? That’s roughly equivalent to the amount the U.S. Federal Government spends on education each year. It is estimated that about 40-50% of American women are trying to lose weight at any point in time. But it’s not about women only. Researchers estimate that 40-60% of high school girls are also on diets. However, despite of all these facts and figures, you should also remember that dieting, alone, rarely works. 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight and more within 1 to 5 years.
What is dieting?
Definition of dieting: Dieting is a phenomenon which involves any attempts in the name of weight loss, “healthy eating” or body sculpting to deny your body of the essential, well-balanced nutrients and calories it needs to function to its fullest capacity.
What is a dieting mindset?
When dissatisfaction with your natural body shape or size leads to a decision to actively change your physical body weight or shape, it is known as a dieting mindset.
Risks & complications of dieting
If practiced without caution and improperly, dieti can lead to very serious complications and negative consequences such as:
Starvation: Dieting forces your body into starvation mode. It responds by slowing down many of its normal functions to conserve energy. This means your natural metabolism actually slows down.
Malnutrition: Dieters often miss out on important nutrients. For example, dieters often don’t get enough calcium, leaving them at risk for osteoporosis, stress fractures, and broken bones.
Yo-yo dieting: Repetitive cycles of gaining, losing, & regaining weight have been shown to have negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, long-lasting negative impacts on metabolism, etc.
Physical complications: Dieters often experience physical consequences such as:
• Loss of muscular strength and endurance
• Decreased oxygen utilization
• Thinning hair
• Loss of coordination
• Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances
• Fainting, weakness, and slowed heart rates
Psychological implications: Dieting also impacts your mind. When you restrict calories you restrict your energy, which in turn can restrict your brainpower. Medical studies indicate that people on diets have slower reaction times and a lesser ability to concentrate than people not on a diet. All of the stress and anxiety about food and weight that preoccupy dieters actually can consume a portion of a dieters’ working memory capacity. Numerous studies link chronic dieting with feelings of depression, low-self-esteem and increased stress.
Eating disorders: Finally, dieting can lead to eating disorders. Many studies and many health professionals note that patients with eating disorders were dieting at the time of the development of their eating disorder. Dieting may not cause an eating disorder, but the constant concern about body weight and shape, fat grams and calories can start a vicious cycle of body dissatisfaction and obsession that can lead all too quickly to an eating disorder.
Can I avoid diet and still lose weight?
Indeed yes. We all need to take care of our bodies and make sure that we are fueling them with a nutritional balance of foods, but we don’t need to let the way our body curves or doesn’t curve determine how we feel about ourselves or how we live our lives. The best strategy to lose weight and for long-term is to practice balance and follow the following tips;
Eat a healthy well-balanced diet: You should consume a diet rich in minerals, vitamins & nutrients. You should, in fact, take portions from all three major food sources i.e. proteins, carbohydrates and fats. You should also drink plenty of water and avoid soda and other artificial sugar-added drinks.
Eat frequently but less: Instead of having 2 or 3 big meals in a day, you should go for a4-5 smaller meals on daily basis. This will keep your metabolism active and will prevent any build up of excessive calories.
Exercise: At least 30 minutes of exercise or physical workouts on daily basis such as swimming, brisk walking, jogging, running, basket ball or any other activity that involves physical exertion can be of great help to you.
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