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Why (restrictive) diets don't work

Words by Molly

23 December 2019 | 

4 mins

Traditionally, January is a month for dieting and restriction. We’re bombarded with messages of weight loss, diet hacks, juice cleanses and carb fear-mongering from every angle in the media. But if working off the mince pies with a gruelling 6am spin class and eating plain chicken doesn’t sound like it’s for you, we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t need to be.

This year we’re championing sustainability over crash-dieting. A quick-fix diet might help you to shift a few pounds fast, but in the longer term the weight is notorious for creeping back on. A sustainable diet on the other hand, is one you can easily continue in January (and beyond) with balance and enjoyment. Where a crash-diet fails and a sustainable diet thrives is appreciating the place for all different types of food in our diets. Food brings loved ones together, it celebrates culture, and it’s so much more than nutrients, calories, misery and despair.

That’s why, this January, we’re promoting delicious, home-cooked food that leaves us feeling satisfied. After all, cultivating enjoyment, balance and a healthy relationship with food is as much an important factor in health as how much kale you’re eating.

We’re also here to tell you why restrictive diets don’t work.

Restriction leads to overindulgence

There’s just something about a chocolate biscuit that’s so much harder to resist when you’re telling yourself you can’t have it. Restriction is a common trigger for binge eating and can also set yourself up for what psychologists call the ‘what the hell effect’. Remember the time you were on a diet and finally caved for a chocolate biscuit, and then went on to eat the whole packet because the diet was already blown – that’s the ‘what the hell effect’.

Restrict, binge, restrict, binge, the cycle goes on. In both instances here you’ve ended up eating more than you would have done if you hadn’t self-imposed biscuit restrictions on yourself in the first place. It’s a common dieting phenomenon and a real barrier to sustainable healthy eating. Embrace the chocolate biscuit, it all comes back to balance, not a single biscuit.

Dieting messes with our feelings of hunger & fullness

How hungry or full we feel is controlled by a mixture of biological, social and cognitive factors. The trouble is, restrictive dieting can mess with all three of these. The careful balance of hormones which control our hunger are thrown off balance in those who are dieting, perceived reward of food is usually higher when on a restrictive diet (increasing food intake, regardless of hunger) and, quite frankly, restrictive dieting can make us miserable. Depression and low mood are well known factors which act as a barrier to keeping weight off, playing havoc with our feelings of hunger and fullness.

Restrictive dieting creates (or worsens) negative body image

The vicious cycle of dieting. We feel bad about ourselves, we restrict our diet, we stop restricting, the weight piles back on, we end up feeling even worse about ourselves, we start again.

A restrictive diet doesn’t teach us how to eat a balanced, healthy diet, the kind of diet which will genuinely impact our mood and well-being in a positive way. We also know that positive body image is a key factor in successful weight loss, because feeling good about ourselves helps us to lead a healthier life. Not restricting ourselves into misery.

Enjoyment is one of the greatest motivating factors

Ever noticed that you don’t tire as easily when you’re out dancing with friends? It’s because you’re having fun (probably, or at least after a few glasses of wine). The same principle applies to our diet. The chances of sticking to something boring and misery-inducing are minimal, whereas the chances of sticking to something you enjoy are much higher. So unless you enjoy a relentless diet of chicken and rice, you’re better off with a balanced diet for longer-term weight loss.

A restrictive diet doesn’t teach us anything about the (many) other factors involved in weight loss

Food is just one factor involved in losing weight and keeping weight off. If all you’re thinking about is eating less, you’re fighting a losing battle. Our jobs have made us more sedentary and our exercise has taken a hit. Convenience food has become cheaper. Our education around what makes a balanced diet is limited and from questionable sources. The media shouts about whatever makes the best headline, regardless of the science. We sleep less and we sleep less well, messing with our hormones which relate to hunger and appetite (and not to mention making us less likely to attend the gym class we ambitiously signed up to)!

For all of the reasons above and more, we won’t be promoting crash diets this January. Instead, look out for our healthy home-cooked meals which promote balance, sustainable habits and most importantly, enjoyment.

Healthy eating has been wrongly aligned with restriction and this message has been exaggerated by the media and food industry businesses. It’s time to change that.

Molly is a Registered Nutritional Therapist.

The nerdy bit:
1. Beccuti, G., & Pannain, S. (2011). ‘Sleep and obesity’, Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 14(4), pp. 402-412.
2. Blomain, E.S., Dirhan, D.A., Valentino, M.A. et al. (2013). ‘Mechanisms of Weight Regain following Weight Loss’, ISRN Obesity.
3. Burton, A.L., & Abbott, M.J. (2019). ‘Processes and pathways to binge eating: development of an integrated cognitive and behavioural model of binge eating’, Journal of Eating Disorders.
4. Hall, K.D., & Kahan, S. (2018). ‘Maintenance of lost weight and long-term management of obesity’, The Medical Clinics of North America, 102(8), pp. 183-197.
5. Ohsiek, S., & Williams, M. (2011). ‘Psychological factors influencing weight loss maintenance: an integrative literature review’, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 23(11), pp. 592-601.
6. Radwan, H., Hasan, H.A., Ismat, H., et al. (2019). ‘Body Mass Index Perception, Body Image Dissatisfaction and Their Relations with Weight-Related Behaviors among University Students’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(9).