The staggering failure rate of dieting
Do you wanna know the documented failure rate of conventional dieting? Of course you do. The failure of dieting is a staggering 95.4 per cent.
That’s right, about 19 out of 20 dieters will fail to lose weight and keep it off permanently. Yet still we persist in whipping this dead horse called dieting.
I think it’s because we simply don’t have a clue what else to do when we want to get rid of all the extra flab on our bodies.
We’ve been offered no other solutions.
I also think it’s because we’re in denial about the statistics. We secretly think that the 95 per cent of people who fail at dieting must be doing it wrong.
We won’t do it wrong of course. We’ll be in that five per cent who succeed at dieting! Even though we’ve spent a few years trying to lose weight now but still haven’t quite got there, we are sure that success lies just around the corner. Maybe this new diet we’ve just heard about is finally going to be the magic key, the one that our friend’s cousin’s hairdresser lost sooo much weight on. [Insert latest new diet here… Zone/the 5:2 diet/paleo/raw vegan/low carb high fat/high protein/zero sugar/South Beach, blah blah…] We’ve read enough articles in glossy magazines about people who are now ‘half my size!’ You usually get those articles in January issues of women’s magazines, they have titles like ‘New Year New You!’
1.DIETS DON’T WORK
The assertion that ‘diets don’t work’ has been bandied about for quite a while now. I even saw it written on a teapot at a B&B I stayed at a few days ago. A lot of us even agree with this premise but we’ve been so indoctrinated with the diet culture that even though we know that diets almost always fail, we still walk the dieting path in hundreds of small ways every day. From reading the calorie count on the packaging when we’re buying sandwiches for lunch to saying, “oh no thanks, not for me” when offered a biscuit because “I’m trying to be good” we explain to the biscuit profferer. Gently reinforcing the dieting culture assertion that there’s something morally wrong with eating chocolate or ice cream or pizza or cake. So then when we do eat something like that (and we do), we then feel guilty and ashamed and weak-willed. These feelings trigger the release of all sorts of stress hormones that will actually make us fat. Then these emotions are more often than not assuaged with more of the ‘sinful’ food. And the cycle continues. Or alternatively, we feel rebellious in the way of “how dare anyone tell me I can’t have that, I shall have the whole box just to show them!” It’s just another stop on the circular dieting railroad of self-loathing and self-punishment. So lets get back to the fact that diets don’t work. When you eat fewer calories, your body doesn’t burn more body fat. What it does is slows your metabolism in order to burn fewer calories and it starts burning muscle and other body tissue. So you’ve got less muscle mass and a slower metabolism.
This is a sure fire recipe for ultimately getting fatter. It’s actually tragically sad. The very people who are trying the hardest to stick to low calorie diets; who are forcing themselves to go hungry or survive on slimming shakes with sheer white-knuckled willpower, are actually ensuring that they will get fatter in the long run. And here’s the best bit. Treating your body like this will probably also make you sick in the longer term.
2. SELF-LOVE IS THE FIRST STEP
What’s the answer? A complete change of approach to our bodies, minds and spirits. The recognition that our body is the barometer to our soul. That what goes on in our subconscious mind and in our soul and spirit, ultimately manifests on our body. One way this shows up is through how much body fat we have and where on the body we store it. So, instead of self-punishment and deprivation, we need a complete 180-degree turnaround to self-compassion, understanding, self-respect and acceptance. We need to nourish ourselves emotionally and spiritually as well as physically using foods that God and Mother Nature made – not ‘foods’ made by machines in factories that no longer look anything like they did when they were pulled out of the earth or oceans. It’s about loving yourself thinner and healthier. Because Love is always the answer. To everything.
Coming soon! My book ‘How to Heal Your Weight – a spiritual solution to the global fat epidemic’ is due out in late 2018. Keep in touch so I can let you know when it’s ready to buy. Subscribe to my newsletter: