The Problem With Dieting
Hey guys! Ugh, sorry, I can't eat that. I'm on a diet! Yeah, it's a new one. I read about it in Cosmo, and my mom's hairdresser said it REALLY helped her. I'm just trying to lose like, five pounds. Five pounds and then I'll feel good. Five pounds and then I'll really be happy. Just five pounds.
This is the lesson we're taught, over and over again: If I am thin, I will be happy. If I am beautiful, I will be happy.
And that's what we all want right? To be happy. So is it really that much of a sacrifice to put down that piece of cake, to cut out dairy, to cut out sugar, to only eat lean meat, to only drink juice etc etc etc? After all, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels right?
Bull. Shit.
All of those diets, all of those tricks, all of those things your friend/mom/grandma/chiropractor told you are a lie.
Do you know what nutritionists say the number one way to gain weight is? DIETING. Numerous studies have shown that not only do diets fail to make you maintain a lower weight, they actually make you gain weight in the long run. The majority of diets slow down your metabolism, and make you crave high-calorie foods MORE than you would in the first place.
And that's just the first problem!
Why do you want to lost those five pounds, huh? Is it for bikini season? Is it to fit into a pair of pants? Or, maybe your BMI says that you're overweight?
Well here's the kicker: in all likelihood, you don't need to lose weight. Unless you're medically in danger, there's really no point. Weight is not an indicator of health. Weight can be from muscle, it can be from water, it can be from constipation. And yes, it can also be from fat. GASP! HUMAN BEINGS HAVE FAT! In fact, fat is absolutely necessary for us to have. Fat allows our hearts to beat. It gives us energy. It ensures that we don't die. Those five pounds you hate so much? They are keeping you safe from starvation.
Which brings me to my next point.
Where does it stop? At five pounds? At ten? At twenty? At a certain point we have to admit to ourselves that the problem is not our weight. The problem is our culture. A culture that tells us we have to look a certain way in order to be accepted. A media that only shows us one type of woman. A diet industry that makes billions of dollars every year by profiting off our insecurities. So where does it stop? When your ribs start showing? When your mind gets foggy? When your hair starts falling out? When your period stops? When your blood pressure plummets? When your heart slows down? When you die?
Because the hard truth is this: the only thing you will get from restricting your food is unhappiness. Restriction, shame, and punishment might make you skinnier, but will they make you happy? Ask any eight million people who have eating disorders in America . The answer is no. It might get you a thigh gap and protruding collarbones, but it will also give you pain beyond comprehension. It COULD give you a lower weight, but it will take so much more away. Your thoughts, your sleep, your learning, your joy. It will take away your life. So which would you rather be? Thin, or happy? If the answer is thin, there's a problem.
At the end of the day, the only thing that will truly make you happy is being okay with yourself. Not next week, not next year, and NOT five pounds lighter. Now. Here, and now, however you look. I'm not saying it's easy. Hell, I'm miles away from it. But we HAVE to try. Because life is hard enough without hating yourself. We have to liberate ourselves from the prison of expectations.
In the words of RuPaul, "if you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"
If we want the people around us to love themselves, we have to start with us. For our daughters, for our sisters, for our friends, and most importantly for ourselves. The world is a dark enough place without us directing our hatred inwards. Let's let in a little light for a change.
If you don't believe me, here's more info:
On dieting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/04/why-diets-dont-actually-work-according-to-a-researcher-who-has-studied-them-for-decades/?utm_term=.56a6df892028
On eating disorders: https://www.mirasol.net/learning-center/eating-disorder-statistics.php
This is the lesson we're taught, over and over again: If I am thin, I will be happy. If I am beautiful, I will be happy.
And that's what we all want right? To be happy. So is it really that much of a sacrifice to put down that piece of cake, to cut out dairy, to cut out sugar, to only eat lean meat, to only drink juice etc etc etc? After all, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels right?
Bull. Shit.
All of those diets, all of those tricks, all of those things your friend/mom/grandma/chiropractor told you are a lie.
Do you know what nutritionists say the number one way to gain weight is? DIETING. Numerous studies have shown that not only do diets fail to make you maintain a lower weight, they actually make you gain weight in the long run. The majority of diets slow down your metabolism, and make you crave high-calorie foods MORE than you would in the first place.
And that's just the first problem!
Why do you want to lost those five pounds, huh? Is it for bikini season? Is it to fit into a pair of pants? Or, maybe your BMI says that you're overweight?
Well here's the kicker: in all likelihood, you don't need to lose weight. Unless you're medically in danger, there's really no point. Weight is not an indicator of health. Weight can be from muscle, it can be from water, it can be from constipation. And yes, it can also be from fat. GASP! HUMAN BEINGS HAVE FAT! In fact, fat is absolutely necessary for us to have. Fat allows our hearts to beat. It gives us energy. It ensures that we don't die. Those five pounds you hate so much? They are keeping you safe from starvation.
Which brings me to my next point.
Where does it stop? At five pounds? At ten? At twenty? At a certain point we have to admit to ourselves that the problem is not our weight. The problem is our culture. A culture that tells us we have to look a certain way in order to be accepted. A media that only shows us one type of woman. A diet industry that makes billions of dollars every year by profiting off our insecurities. So where does it stop? When your ribs start showing? When your mind gets foggy? When your hair starts falling out? When your period stops? When your blood pressure plummets? When your heart slows down? When you die?
Because the hard truth is this: the only thing you will get from restricting your food is unhappiness. Restriction, shame, and punishment might make you skinnier, but will they make you happy? Ask any eight million people who have eating disorders in America . The answer is no. It might get you a thigh gap and protruding collarbones, but it will also give you pain beyond comprehension. It COULD give you a lower weight, but it will take so much more away. Your thoughts, your sleep, your learning, your joy. It will take away your life. So which would you rather be? Thin, or happy? If the answer is thin, there's a problem.
At the end of the day, the only thing that will truly make you happy is being okay with yourself. Not next week, not next year, and NOT five pounds lighter. Now. Here, and now, however you look. I'm not saying it's easy. Hell, I'm miles away from it. But we HAVE to try. Because life is hard enough without hating yourself. We have to liberate ourselves from the prison of expectations.
In the words of RuPaul, "if you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"
If we want the people around us to love themselves, we have to start with us. For our daughters, for our sisters, for our friends, and most importantly for ourselves. The world is a dark enough place without us directing our hatred inwards. Let's let in a little light for a change.
If you don't believe me, here's more info:
On dieting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/04/why-diets-dont-actually-work-according-to-a-researcher-who-has-studied-them-for-decades/?utm_term=.56a6df892028
On eating disorders: https://www.mirasol.net/learning-center/eating-disorder-statistics.php
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