Written By: Sarah Lett; SLU Dietetic Intern
Have you heard of a diet or food trend that promises to help you lose weight, improve your health, or feel better in general? I certainly have! Fortunately, there are some diets that have been shown to improve health outcomes across the board, including more lifestyle change-based diets like the Mediterranean and DASH diets– however, not all diets are created equal. Some popularized diets out there, such as keto, low-fat, and no added sugar diets, involve cutting out a type of food based on the premise that because nutrients like fat or added sugar are “bad” for our health, they should be eliminated from the diet at all costs. Additionally, diets that promote a calorie restriction as a whole to lose weight have also taken the public by storm.
Both types of dietary behaviors can be considered “restrained eating” (otherwise known as dieting), which is defined as purposefully limiting the consumption of certain foods, especially more calorie-dense foods, to achieve a certain weight or for other health reasons1,2. Although you may not have heard the term “restrained eating” before (I didn’t before writing this blog!), a lot of us have either tried a diet or know someone who has tried one before. Oftentimes, these diets stem from the way that society has deemed certain foods “good” or “bad” solely based on their nutritional value. This perspective of food creates a polarizing view on foods that may bring us joy but may not be the most nutrient-dense. Because of this, diets and dietary behaviors like these are likely doing more harm than good to our overall health.
As you may expect, dieting can have negative consequences on our physical health. For example, although dieting may help people lost weight in the short-term, it has been shown to be associated with weight gain as well1. Restricting total food intake or specific foods throughout the day may also cause a person who diets to overeat at the end of the day or once they are safely by themselves, leading to their weight frequently fluctuating2. Restricting specific types of food or food groups can also prevent people who diet from getting all the energy and nutrients they need to function.
What you may not expect, on the other hand, is the mental toll that dieting can cause. For example, that dieter who restricted during the day and overate at the end of the day may have felt guilt for straying from their diet, felt shame for eating foods they “shouldn’t” have eaten, or lost their sense of control around food2. Dieting may also make someone feel self-conscious or isolated from others– if you were at a birthday party for a friend and everyone else is enjoying a piece of cake while you are overthinking whether you should eat a piece or not, that would feel isolating, right?
Of course, it is important to be mindful of consuming certain foods or nutrients if it is medically indicated for certain conditions. For instance, if you have a severe allergy or an autoimmune disorder directly related to food, such as celiac disease, avoiding the triggering foods would be the right thing to do.
As an alternative to dieting, a holistic approach to eating a nutritious and balanced diet while minimizing guilt is intuitive eating, which focuses on listening to your body and its cues for hunger and fullness3. It does not involve restriction– all foods can fit, which allows you to truly be able to eat all the foods you love. Research has shown that, unlike dieting, intuitive eating improves aspects of mental health related to food and body image, specifically anxiety, self-esteem, body satisfaction, and pleasure with eating3. Because of the benefits to mental health, intuitive eating tends to be a more sustainable dietary lifestyle than dieting, which will help prevent trying many different types of diets that don’t work out long-term.
Intuitive eating considers what you eat, but another crucial aspect related to intuitive eating is how eating makes you feel. If you grew up having pizza on Sunday nights for dinner and you want to order a pizza for dinner, it’s better in the long run to enjoy that pizza and not feel guilty for eating it than to eat something else and not feel as satisfied mentally or physically.
If you or someone you know is struggling with yo-yo dieting and can’t seem to find a dietary lifestyle that sticks, try implementing these intuitive eating practices and see how you feel afterwards.
The moral of the story? Enjoy that piece of cake on your birthday!
References
1. Meule, Adrian. “Cultural reflections on restrained eating.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 7, 16 Feb. 2016, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00205.
2. Polivy, Janet, et al. “What is restrained eating and how do we identify it?” Appetite, vol. 155, Dec. 2020, p. 104820, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104820.
3. “Intuitive Eating.” The Nutrition Source, 9 May 2024, nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/intuitive-eating/#:~:text=IE%20allows%20internal%20cues%20to,when%20eating%2C%20and%20body%20satisfaction.
Photo sources: https://unsplash.com/
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