Stop dieting.

[cdub938]

From my experience (and I've got a lot of it in this regard), dieting is a big mistake. I have been successful dieting but the pounds have always come back with reinforcements.

I am a huge believer in the power of exercise to transform a person inside and out, and I really honestly wish that the concept of "dieting" was recognized as ineffective and frankly awful for the body as it is.

The human animal does not do well with restriction. Our bodies and minds rebel and it's adaptive that we do so. Our forebears would have bit the big one if they did not have the amazing fat-gaining skills that we have inherited. Sadly those skills are anachronistic nowadays.

If there's anyone who's interested in learning how to lose weight without dieting, but instead creating new sustainable life long eating and exercise patterns, I highly recommend these books:





For me what has been most successful has been the combination of two things--jogging once a day (although that's been hard to do in the winter hence the relapse and my current existence on said forum) and asking myself a simple question before I eat anything--"Am I hungry?"

Even though I find myself eating despite answering no to this question, I try not to beat myself up about it, and I find just being mindful of when I'm eating for reasons other than hunger goes a long way from stopping myself from eating more than I need to.

What do you think? Do you think dieting is a mistake? I'm really interested in having a conversation with people about this. I actually looked for a forum that was about weight loss that didn't have the word "diet" in it but no luck! Guess that's the paradigm we're in.

 

[burneeed1]

yah its not like dieting is impotant lol...

 

[maleficent]

dieting -in certain concepts is a huge mistake...

Where a person drastically cuts back their calories, or cuts out certain food groups for a short term and does nothing to change their actual behavior or relationship with food - they then get close to their goal weight - and go back to their old habits generally gaining everything they lost and then some.

What works -is a lifestyle change where you learn new habits and new behavior and can lose weight at a reasonable pace where it will stay off.

Paying attention to diet and what you're eating is important - Dieting itself is ineffective long term..

 

[Steve]

From my experience (and I've got a lot of it in this regard), dieting is a big mistake. I have been successful dieting but the pounds have always come back with reinforcements.

That's got more to do with mental conditioning than the diet itself, IMO.

I am a huge believer in the power of exercise to transform a person inside and out,

I agree, exercise does the mind and body good.

and I really honestly wish that the concept of "dieting" was recognized as ineffective and frankly awful for the body as it is.

This I don't agree with. Blanket statements aren't very good.

Maybe you should start by defining what you mean by the word, "diet."

If you simply mean a caloric deficit, you're fighting a losing battle.

If you mean a mindset based on short-terms viewpoints with no real consideration for lifestyle modification, than I hear ya.

A temporary way of eating will always lead to temporary results.

"Awful for the body".... hmmm, you're going to have to do a bit more than that to prove a point.

The human animal does not do well with restriction. Our bodies and minds rebel and it's adaptive that we do so. Our forebears would have bit the big one if they did not have the amazing fat-gaining skills that we have inherited. Sadly those skills are anachronistic nowadays.

I agree 100%

If there's anyone who's interested in learning how to lose weight without dieting, but instead creating new sustainable life long eating and exercise patterns, I highly recommend these books:

Ohhhh, ok.

I'm replying as I read your post.

That's a bad habit I have to kick!

But with this above statement, I now understand what you mean by the word diet.

My usual beef with people who come in here clamoring about dieting being bad is the simple fact that losing weight requires a caloric deficit. There's no other way around it. That deficit can come for a restriction of food intake, an increase in energy expenditure, or a combo of the both. And the kicker that most of these clamoring fools (not you) don't realize is a deficit is a deficit no matter which way you slice it.

To boot, there's only so much exercise one can do without causing issues..... and for people who have a LOT of weight to lose.... they're going to need more than exercise to reach their goals in any appreciable time frame.

Again, context is everything when making statements like this.

Even though I find myself eating despite answering no to this question, I try not to beat myself up about it, and I find just being mindful of when I'm eating for reasons other than hunger goes a long way from stopping myself from eating more than I need to.

That works for some, sure.

For others, it goes beyond a lack of willpower or controlling thoughts. For them, it's a matter of an addiction.