Undieting - it's probably what you need.

This dietitian doesn’t want you to diet.

Diets suck.

I want you to back away from those terrible diets that just set you up to fail. I want you to close the door on restriction. 

Like so many people, I bet you’ve dieted for years. Hopping on and off diets that have promised you a quick fix, an easy way to lose weight. The problem with ‘easy’ fixes is that they usually aren’t easy and they do more damage than good in the long run. I’m here to say that you need to stop putting your faith in diets that do nothing but disappoint and screw up your relationship with food. Instead of dieting, you need to “undiet” instead. You need to undo the damage that these diets have done to you. Every diet you go on gets internalized in some way. Food rules become entrenched and deeply rooted in your mind, causing long lasting damage.

What exactly does undiet mean? Well, there’s not really a definition and, honestly, I’m not sure it’s really a word. Nevertheless, I’m going to tell you what I mean by undieting. 

Undieting means ditching the diet rules that make eating so complicated. The ones that dictate what you can and can’t eat. The ones that cause you to choose what you ‘should have’ rather than what you really want. The ones that make you think that you’d never eat healthy foods without these rules imposed upon you.

These diet rules take the joy out of eating and make meal planning so very tedious. Undieting means eating foods you enjoy. It means no food is “off limits”. All foods can be enjoyed in a healthful way.

Scrapping all those previous diet rules can be a bit scary. You probably fear that if there are no rules, that your eating will be out of control and that you won’t eat any healthy foods. While it seems unbelievable, ditching the ‘eat’ and ‘don’t eat’ lists doesn’t result in an eating free-for-all. You may discover that you actually like “healthy” foods and that feeding yourself a balanced diet (yes, with all the food groups) makes you feel satisfied and NOT uncontrollably reaching for snacks to fill a void. 

Undieting means stopping categorizing foods as “good “or “bad”. It means that food is just food - it holds no moral value. Eating a cheeseburger and fries doesn’t make you a bad person, nor does eating a kale salad make you good. Categorizing foods as ‘bad’ only sets you up to feel guilt when you consume them. It also increases the chances that you’ll feel out of control when you actually consume them. And let’s be honest, most “bad” food tastes good, so you’re probably going to eat it - and feel bad…or not eat it and feel bad. It’s a no-win situation.

Undieting means starting to pay attention to your hunger and honouring that hunger. It means not ignoring when you are hungry, in order to follow pre-scripted meal times that diets have laid out for you. It means being okay with hunger fluctuations because hunger can and will change from day to day. Some days you will naturally be hungrier than others. Most diets don’t account for this. Undieting means learning what signals your body gives when you are hungry, and what signals you get when you are full. It means knowing that you’ll always have access to food later, so you don’t have to stuff yourself now. Undieting means learning to trust when you are truly satisfied. Undieting aims to take the fear out of hunger. 

Undieting means not thinking or obsessing about food all the time. How many times have you been on a diet that makes you constantly think about food? You think about what you can eat and what you can’t. You think about the next time you are allowed to eat because you aren’t truly satisfied when you do eat. Honestly, don’t you have more important things to think about? Eating should not take up this much brain capacity!

What if you could eat what you wanted?

What if no foods were forbidden?

What if you didn’t have to time meals based on written rules?

What if you could eat when you are hungry and stop when full?

What if you could just listen to your body?

What if you could eat a so-called “bad” food and just enjoy it, without feeling out of control?

What if your mind wasn’t constantly thinking about food?

What if eating was just simple?

It is possible. You need to ditch the diets and that constant fight you are having with your body. 

Will you lose weight if you stop the restrictive cycle of dieting?  Honestly, I can’t say. But since dieting often results in rebound weight gain, not dieting is probably still a better option. All I know is that living a life dictated by diet rules just doesn’t work. Developing healthy habits can help you find your best weight - that weight where you are at peace with food and have the ability to move your body with joy. A weight that you are not using food to cope with emotions and stress. A weight that you have the energy you need to do the things you love. What I can say for sure is that losing weight as a result of being overly restrictive or pushing it too hard at the gym is often not productive or sustainable in the long-term. A slower, more gentle approach is better. 

Does this mean that I’m against weight loss because I’m telling you to stop dieting? No, what I’m against is forced weight loss - meaning weight loss that is a result of eating waaaay too little and under-nourishing your body. In essence, forcing your body to a place where it naturally does not want to be - a place that you have to work so incredibly hard to get to and stay at. I’m against weight loss that negatively affects your mental, social and physical well-being.

So if no dieting, than what? What does undieting actually mean in practice? 

It means working on healthful eating behaviours - eating regularly, eating balanced meals, fueling your body and not putting yourself at risk of nutrient deficiencies. 

It means developing a healthy relationship with food - challenging your beliefs around which foods are good and which foods are bad. So, in a nutshell - starting to include those ‘bad’ foods into your diet, so that you learn that all foods can fit. It means learning to enjoy food and mealtimes again, instead of them being a source of perpetual stress and anguish. 

Undieting means being compassionate towards yourself - understanding that healthy habits and behaviours don’t change overnight and sometimes you need to work a bit to find out what works for you. It’s learning that just because something doesn’t work the first (or second or third) time, that it’s not YOU failing. A dietary strategy not working as you planned is not about your shortfalls, it is about that strategy not being right for you. 

It means paying attention to other indicators of health (i.e. metabolic, endurance, strength, mental, social and spiritual). Your weight isn’t the only indicator of your health, contrary what we’ve been led to believe.

Undieting isn’t glamorous like many fad diets appear to be. It’s actually sort of boring. It’ll probably feel like you aren’t doing much, especially if you are use to regimented diets. The truth is that you will be making big steps towards your health, even if it doesn’t look or feel like much. Years of dieting didn’t serve you. Maybe it’s time to try undieting instead.