Stop Dieting and Embrace the Intuitive Eater You Were Born to Be
Research shows restrictive diets won’t bring you lifelong wellness, but trusting your mind-body connection can
Diet culture exists on the belief that a smaller body equates to health and happiness. Like 43% of Americans, I bought into this ideal. By meticulously counting my calories, eating only “clean” foods, and engaging in vigorous strength training and cardio workouts, I believed I would live a life of abundance.
That was until my seemingly harmless diet, disguised as a wellness pursuit, turned into an eating disorder and an unhealthy coping mechanism for my underlying mental health issues.
Studies show that diets, concealed as benign “lifestyle changes,” not only fail to help people achieve long-term weight loss, but they often lead to disordered eating and several other long-term consequences like they did for me.
In the depths of my disorder, my dietician changed my life with intuitive eating — a non-diet wellness approach that focuses on tuning in to one’s hunger and fullness cues as opposed to calories or restriction. Through intuitive eating, I’ve rejected diet culture, embraced an “all foods fit” mentality, made peace with my body, and found a way of eating and exercising that supports my mental and physical health.
Whether you are currently on a diet or feel compelled to embark on one in the future, consider breaking free of the unhealthy grasp of diet culture. You can trust your body to regulate itself as you embrace the intuitive eater you were born to be.
Empty promises and alarming side effects
Despite the diet industry’s promise to help consumers shed pounds and achieve sustainable low-calorie lifestyles by modifying their food choices, many studies document that diets do not help people achieve long-term weight loss or lifelong health.
A report on voluntary weight loss by the National Institutes of Health stated that one-third of people who engage in weight loss behaviors regain the weight lost within one year of dieting. Almost all the weight lost is regained after five years.
In 2007, researchers reviewed 31 long-term studies on dieting and found that nearly two-thirds of the dieters regained more weight than they lost. The Australian Research Council found that dieters regained most of their weight within two years of dieting in their 2013 study. Most dieters regained all the weight lost in five years.
Weight regain isn’t the only problem. Many dieters suffer from nutrient deficiencies because of food restriction. A 2010 study of four popular diet plans found dieters to be deficient in 27 micronutrients. Six micronutrients — vitamin B7, vitamin D, vitamin E, chromium, iodine and molybdenum — were found to be low or entirely nonexistent in these dieters.
The NIH further reported that restrictive food behaviors are linked to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and orthorexia nervosa. An analysis of several dieting studies found that 35% of adult dieters developed eating disorders following a period of dieting.
Dieting is also linked to eating disorders in children. One study found dieting to be the most important predictor of new eating disorders in adolescents. Young females who severely restricted food intake or skipped meals were 18 times more likely to develop eating disorders than those who did not diet.
Despite this knowledge, eating disorders are on the rise. A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating disorders have doubled from 2000–06 to 2013–18.
My pursuit of the perfect body through calorie counting and clean eating quickly morphed into orthorexia nervosa, an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. As I continued to further restrict my food, orthorexia morphed into anorexia as I became fearful of most foods, felt compelled to exercise to the point of exhaustion, and weighed myself two to three times a day to get a sense of pride over my continued, extreme weight loss.
Despite my deteriorating physical appearance and mental health, it took nearly six months to recognize my eating disorder. Because mainstream diet culture spoon-fed me messages that my calorie counting, food restriction and lower body weight were all a part of a desired “healthy, sustainable lifestyle change,” I had no idea that my initial diet had become a mental illness.
Dieting behaviors are also correlated with increased stress, lowered self-esteem and heightened social anxiety. In the depths of dieting, I was hyperaware of every morsel I put in my mouth, worried that the apple I had for lunch had too much sugar, or that the meal my husband prepared wouldn’t fit in my calorie allowance for the day. I also became extremely anxious about social situations, leading me to avoid them altogether for fear that people would comment on my body or that foods I “couldn’t eat” would be present.
But the stress and anxiety weren’t just limited to situations surrounding food, exercise and my body — the debilitating feelings permeated my entire life. I became incredibly stressed about my work, afraid I wasn’t living up to the expectations of my boss. I was unnerved around my now-husband, terrified he would see the broken person I had become. I despised calling my parents, as the mere thought of hearing them ask, “How are you doing?” caused me a great deal of anxiety.
Because of dieting, thoughts surrounding food and my body consumed my life, and my work and relationships suffered…until I sought the help of a non-diet dietician who introduced me to intuitive eating.
Finding wellness without obsession through intuitive eating
In their 1995 “Intuitive Eating” book, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch coined the term “intuitive eating” to describe a non-diet approach to health by tuning in to one’s hunger and fullness cues rather than by focusing on calories or restriction. An intuitive eater has permission to eat based on their physical, emotional and mental needs without adhering to a specific diet. By tuning in to hunger and fullness cues, one can reestablish the connections between recognizing when they’re hungry and stopping when they’re full — just like a baby.
When I tell people that I let my body tell me when, what and how much to eat, they are immediately horrified. People who have dabbled in and out of dieting or are hyperaware of everything they ingest assume I must have a herculean amount of self-control to prohibit myself from eating a plethora of “junk food” or compensating for filling meals with excessive exercise.
But it’s just the opposite. Denying my body of the delicious, nutrient-dense foods and peaceful rest days it biologically and emotionally needed required a draining amount of control. With intuitive eating, I’ve released the tight grip on my fitness and nutrition, and in turn, I’ve become the most physically, mentally and emotionally healthy I’ve ever been.
Because intuitive eating is based on curiosity about one’s relationship with food, a major theme of the philosophy is removing the judgement and morality from food. No foods are off limits, just as no foods are deemed “good” or “bad” because everything — from a fruit and vegetable smoothie to a burger and fries — provides some sort of benefit. Because all foods are emotionally equivalent, an intuitive eater can utilize their mind-body connection to eat the right amount and type of food for their body in the current moment.
Removing the morality from food has eliminated the stress and anxiety that I used to experience about my eating choices. I no longer feel guilty or “out of control” for having dessert every night with my husband, and I don’t place myself on a pedestal for choosing a salad for dinner. I’m able to enjoy all foods with pleasure and a present mind, and because my food choices no longer define who I am as a person, I have a developed a greater sense of self — one that’s not defined by my weight or what I ate for dinner.
A 2016 systematic review of 24 studies found intuitive eating to be associated with less eating disorders, more positive body image and higher emotional functioning. These findings, published in the journal Appetite, suggest intuitive eating may reduce disordered eating and promote physical and psychological health and wellbeing.
Intuitive eating is also part of the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement. As stated by Lindo Bacon in “Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight”:
“Fat isn’t the problem. Dieting is the problem. A society that rejects anyone whose body shape or size doesn’t match an impossible ideal is the problem. A medical establishment that equates “thin” with “healthy” is the problem. The solution? Health at Every Size.”
As Bacon suggests, our society glorifies the thin ideal and equates it with health. However, studies have shown that the number on the scale and the body-mass index are poor predictors of disease and longevity, and there is epidemiological evidence to suggest that five pounds “underweight” is more troublesome than 75 pounds “overweight.”
HAES principles include eating for wellbeing, weight inclusivity and life-enhancing movement. The movement promotes the philosophy of finding health no matter your physical size by appreciating your body for what it can do, not what it looks like.
Because my initial desire to slash calories and eliminate “unclean” food from my diet came from a place of wanting to change my body, I spent a lot of time reinforcing the philosophy of HAES in therapy. Now able to disconnect my worth from my physical body, I’m able to appreciate the soft tummy that protects my essential organs, the strong arms that will one day hold a baby, and the jiggly thighs that carry me up mountains.
Dieting is a societal norm. Like many, I turned to the glorified promises of the latest dieting trends to lose weight, embody the “thin ideal,” and achieve lifelong health. Along the way, I developed an eating disorder, exacerbated my underlying mental health conditions and lost all sense of self.
Through curiosity and compassion, I overcame diet culture, removed the stigma around food and my body, and embraced intuitive eating to achieve wellness without obsession.
If you’re ready to reestablish the connection between your mind and body, ditch the diets and put your trust in your intuition. You really do know best.
