Thinking of going on a diet in 2021? Maybe you’re disgusted by the festive over indulgence ? Feeling like you want to lose the belly bulge?

In this blog I’ll give you 4 reasons why dieting will do you more harm than good and why 2021 is the year to break up with dieting for good.

Reason #1 – it normalises hating your body

The diet industry is toxic!  If you don’t already, you’ll end up hating your body. The diet industry preys on YOU feeling bad – you are too fat, too thin, too flabby, too old, too masculine, too feminine, too muscly, not muscly enough, too different - always too "something" compared to the ideal body.

Apparently over 90% of women are unhappy with their body and 54% would rather be knocked over by a bus than get fat. Like what the AF!?

Dieting teaches you to base your worth on your weight and is the reason why girls as young as 7 start dieting. It’s the constant bombardment that you are somehow flawed.

Reason #2 – Diets don’t actually work

Diets have a high failure rate and don’t work. The actual failure rate figure is debated – some say it’s as high as 95%, others say that it’s not quite so high.

A great study by UCLA researchers showed - in their analysis of 31 long-term diet studies - that people tend to lose 5-10% of their body weight in first 6 months. However, within 5 years, 1/3 to 2/3 end up regaining MORE weight than they initially lost.

In fact the authors suggest that the biggest predictor of weight gain is going on a diet!

Reason#3 Labelling food is not good for mental health

Have you ever labelled food good or bad, naughty, treat or cheat? Those kinds of words moralise foods – so you are moralising every mouthful being good or bad every time you eat.

Yes food has different nutrients with different nutritional value, but when you label foods in this way, you are either being good or craving bad.

Focus on just calling the food what it is – a banana, an apple, a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate.

Reason #4 – You are setting unachievable goals

But since a) there is a high failure rate b) your mental health will suffer and c) your hormones go haywire (see this blog post for more info), you are setting yourself up for failure.

Not only does the restriction make you want to eat more from a psychological perspective, but you are also focusing on the outcome (the weight loss) rather than the process (finding an exercise that I enjoy).

The problem with focusing on the outcome (I want to lose 10 kilos) is that this is more likely to lead to feelings of anxiety, overwhelm and feelings of failure - especially if you don’t hit the goal straight away.

Here’s the problem: you’re linking your self-worth on your accomplishments.

It is much better to focus on small, achievable and sustainable habits (for example, walking round the block during your lunch break, committing to twice weekly yoga sessions, cooking from scratch three times a week) rather than only the outcome (I want to be skinny).

If you’d like some help working on your mindset around weight, then this course is for you. A deep dive into helping your mindset support your weight journey.