Why Weight? Why Dieting Doesn't Work

You can’t turn on the TV, drive down the road or go to a party without being confronted with America’s hottest obsession: weight. Diets are a billion-dollar industry; companies spend millions and millions luring you to try the latest diet (low carb, high protein, low fat, no fat, you name it) with promises that this will (finally!) be the solution—your shortcut to a thinner body. Advertising efforts also deeply affect our children, who develop distorted body images and are often on diets as early as 9 or 10 years of age. 

 

Our culture touts diet pills, celebrity workouts, convenience foods and trendy diets to help us achieve our desired weight, but these quick-fix solutions have backfired. America’s populace has reached its highest weight in history. About half of Americans are overweight; one-third are obese. Diets steer us away from our common sense and dip deeply into our pocketbooks while eliciting few, if any, lasting results.

 

Diets don’t work because each person is unique, with different needs based on gender, age, ancestry and lifestyle; how could one diet be right for everyone? Diets don’t work because they are extreme solutions. As in physics, if a pendulum swings to one extreme, it has to swing equally to the other. A diet might work for a short amount of time, but research shows that almost all diets result in a 10-pound gain once off the diet. Diets don’t work because they are too restrictive. People who fail on diet plans are not flawed or weak. Diets by nature require discipline and restriction at levels that are unsustainable by a healthy human body.

 

Most people are disconnected from why they gain weight and see diet as the only culprit. For example, ignoring or discounting emotions is often the first thing to cause weight imbalances. In our fast-paced world, we have lost sight of many aspects of life that truly nourish and balance our bodies, such as slowing down, eating a home-cooked meal and spending quality time with loving people. Eating consciously and making simple lifestyle changes will create positive results and release you from the endless cycle of dieting.

 

Given half a chance, your body will balance out by itself, but this is only possible by getting out of the diet mentality and listening to what you truly need. Imagine taking all of the outward energy you expend on diets, fads and gimmicks and turning it inward, so that you can listen to your heart and inner wisdom. There is no such thing as a quick fix; you already have everything you need within you. With careful thought and loving reflection, you can feed yourself in a nourishing way. Working with your body rather than against it will bring you increased energy, stabilized weight and sustainable health.

 

Want to know more?  Attend upcoming talks on the subject (see my Events page) or contact me to schedule a complimentary health consult.  You’ll be on your way to better health and successful weight loss in no time!



Reflections on Chocolate

Last Monday, as I prepared for the Sugar Cravings talk I was hosting later that day, I reflected on my relationship with sugar.  I find that I love chocolate (who doesn't?) but the better the quality, the less I need to satisfy me. 

I bought some chocolate chips last week, thinking I needed them to make some dairy-free, soy-free chocolate mousse, but instead the recipe called for cocoa powder.  What was I to do with all of these chips?  They are my weakness.  As my grandpa would say, this bag of chips called to me.  I open the bag, and suddenly minutes pass me by while I munch and crunch.... Wait, am I even tasting them??  Am I the only one who can eat chocolate chips by the handfuls without even knowing it?

A better choice is 73% cacao organic chocolate bars.  There's a brand of them made in Boulder, Chocolove, that I do love.  For me, the more cacao and the less sugar the better.  I like that bitter chocolate flavor.  I find I can savor one square -- just one! -- for 5 minutes.  The taste melts in my mouth, so creamy and rich.

So, what have I learned?  That, for me, I would rather eat food that I enjoy tasting and that I notice, rather than a bunch of chocolate chips that have little flavor and are gone without notice!  The former is MINDLESS eating; the latter -- you guessed it -- is MINDFUL eating.

Take some time today with your favorite sweet foods.  Do you savor and enjoy them, as if they are a true treat?  Or do they make their way "from lips to hips" without you realizing it?  By practicing mindful eating, figure out what sweet foods you can truly savor, and you may find you're eating them less but enjoying them more!