Dieting and subsequent weight gain
Many studies suggest that restrictive dieting, proposed as a solution for overweight bodies, is problematic.
Dieting involves restricting oneself to small portions or specific types of food in order to lose weight, leading to short-term starvation.
When your attempts at dieting for weight loss fail, it's important to try not to blaming yourself. Instead, the blame should be directed towards the "dieting" approach.
Let's take a moment to understand why dieting is a problematic "solution."
Why dieting is associated with subsequent weight gain?
1. After periods of dieting, when we resume normal eating, our body tends to store more fat for future needs as a protective mechanism.
2. Dieting itself can slow down metabolism, which means our body burns fewer calories as a way to protect itself.
3. Dieting and food restriction list alone are related to higher risk of disordered eating.
When we forbid ourselves from eating certain foods for a long time, during moments of indulgence, there is a higher chance to lose control and crave those foods intensely, leading to overeating from time to time.
Often, occasional overeating after dieting is interpreted as "lack of willpower" by a lot of people. This can slowly erode our trust in our eating habits and self-esteem.
People might think that dieting is a way of control & performing, something we can achieve through effort.
However, physiological responses and dietary needs are part of human "instincts". Even those with strong willpower, are mostly not immune to our natural physiological reactions, which comes from our genes.
Side Effects of Dieting
1. Dieting can make people lose their sense of fullness and satisfaction.
Dieters may stop eating not because they're internally satisfied but because they've set limits on themselves. Some may skip meals, leading to larger portion sizes later due to extreme hunger and disrupted emotions.
2.Dieters has higher likelihood to be diagnosed with an eating disorder compared to the general population.
3. Psychologically, dieting itself creates stress.
Every instance of indulgence and loss of control can make individuals feel like failures, lowering self-esteem and confidence. Disregarding body shape concerns, just the act of dieting and self-control as an performance is enough to make us deeply anxious.
For overweight patients, they are often told in healthcare settings to lose weight but are not educated on how to do it. Doctors and nurses aren't dietitians, and therefore they may not know, that unhealthy weight loss processes can increase many psychological and physiological risks. They may also associate weight loss with abilities (self-control & willpower).
However, our body size is the same as our height & skin, it is set by our genes, and is changing & evolving with age.
Please remember that eating is not about catering to external scrutiny, judgment, or rigid standards. It is about joy, satisfaction and balance.
Author: Jin Fu, Cassie Peng, Bingdu Liang
