Diets

Top 10 Reasons to not Diet

Some of us think our lives would be better if we lost 10 pounds. If this is the case, a balanced approach is necessary, not an extreme diet that only serves the profits of the person hawking the diet, and not your health. I’ve compiled my top 10 reasons for why humans should not diet. Please read on…

1. It can be expensive
Plan to spend upwards of $30/day for packaged, processed diet foods. Despite what the media says, eating healthy is not always expensive. When you factor in the cost of eating foods that are not right for your body, the return on health can be high. Diets do not always factor in your individual factors such as activity level, health history, long-term wellness goals, and whether or not your family is supportive of radical changes to their meals.

2. Everyone is not meant to be a size 2
Everyone’s body is different. Some are naturally slim, some pack more flesh. There is nothing wrong with a woman being a size 12 if one is fit and healthy. A woman’s standard of beauty is oftentimes skewed and makes for a dangerous path towards low self esteem and disordered eating. And remember…eating disorders usually begins with a diet.

3. The human body is a system, not individual parts
If you restrict your body of the nutrients it needs so you can be slim, your body will get what it needs from other places. Maintain a sense of homeostasis; that is, everything must be kept in balance. Eating right, exercise, and watching your stress/rest is the best way to be well.

4. Diets are restrictive
Check out the eating styles of elderly fit people. More often than not they did not follow restrictive diets. Elderly fit people tend to eat well-balanced diets throughout their lives and enjoyed life–not counting calories, or following fad diets.

5. Your family will hate you
Ever tried to feed a dieter’s meal to someone that is not dieting? Enough said.

6. Most diets are fads
The majority of diets you hear about are fads; here one day, gone the next. There is zero interest in a person’s success on the fad, but with a multi-billion dollar industry, everyone wants a “bite.” The more bizarre the diet, the more Americans want to try it, fail, and remain fat.

7. You’ll look older
Look at the faces of Hollywood stars who hawk disordered eating. They often look older than they are with exaggerated wrinkles due to the loss of facial fat, smile lines filled with Restylane, neck sagging in their 30′s, and visible bones because they’re basically starving. In other words, they look like death. Don’t diet.

8. You have responsibilities
Many of us have jobs, kids, and community responsibilities. Try dieting and see if you have the energy to get everything done you need to without excess stimulants–it’s hard and unnecessary. A balanced, whole food, plant based approach will give you the energy needed to tackle your toughest tasks.

9. You love, not hate yourself
Why deny yourself whole food groups? The above points should make it clear that dieting is the path to ill health. Oh, and nothing wrong with celebrating your own birthday WITH CAKE!

10. You will fail
The statistics are grim: Diets have a 5% success rate. In other words, you will fail. The best approach is whole foods, plant-based, low sugar food. Not “reduced fat.” Not “low carbs.” Not vegan. I repeat, not vegan. Unless your medical professional recommends a vegan diet, you will fail. It is an unnecessary lifestyle, and should only be followed under medical supervision or recommended by a registered dietician. The rest of us omnivores should take a balanced approach to eating and avoid the extremes.

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