Another Study about Why Diets Don’t Work

This article,Why Dieter’s Tend to Regain Weight showed up in yesterday’s  LA Times.  A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has proven that certain hormones stay active in dieters to keep them exceedingly hungry for at least a year after weight loss has been achieved. 500 people were put on a very low calorie diet. After a year, most of the dieters had a rebound in weight gain.  ” 52 weeks after subjects had completed their crash diets and were struggling to maintain their loss, that cacophony of hormones was sending a single message, loudly, clearly and after every meal: Eat more.”

It’s funny because there have been several different studies out there that disprove the efficacy of dieting, and for so many reasons, diets trigger binges, they trigger eating disorders, they slow down metabolism, they limit nutrition, they create food obsession and psychological distress… but this study proves that they actually work against your body and cause rebound weight gain, so the dieting cycle becomes vicious. It becomes addictive. You wind up right back where you started.

But so then what should you do if you feel that you need to lose weight for health reasons? Seeing a board certified nutritionist  to help you learn proper nutrition and appropriate portion sizes is a start. Working with a group or therapist to help you deal with stress eating and emotional eating issues can also be helpful. Read through this blog for several tips on dealing with binge eating, emotional eating, stress eating, etc. Give your body love and respect without trying to punish it for simply being what it is. Care for it and nurture it without depriving or punishing it with either restriction or bingeing.

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