Been stuck in a weight loss-regain cycle? Learn why diets fail.

Everyday women are bombarded with messaging about weight loss, diets, and dieting.

Diet culture portrays dieting as a simple solution to a simple overeating problem. And implies that by dropping the weight you’ll have a happier life, more confidence, your clothes will fit and you'll be instantly more attractive.

In other words, diet culture wants you to believe that losing those ten kilos is the answer to all of your problems.

In reality, dieting is a surface level attempt at fixing a far deeper cause of weight regain. It takes deep self-work and putting aside the shame and blame associated with weight, in order to understand the real causes of your weight, and what you’ve done to try to fix it. Without this diagnostic investigation you’re forever stuck in a weight loss regain cycle.

It important to take a step back and question any dieting trends We can start by asking: what is a diet, anyway?

A definition of dieting

In short, diets are a set of food and eating rules created by a so-called expert.

It is generally believed that if you follow these rules, you’ll lose (insert your desired number) of kilos.

And the rules of dieting are deceivingly simple. Fewer calories in and more calories used.

✔️Eat more of this and less of that.

✔️Eat at this time but not at that time.

✔️Eat less, move more.

The simplicity of dieting is its main appeal. Its rules are easy to follow and are uncomplicated by emotion. They will even work for a period of time.

But life, and our eating patterns, are never quite that simple.

Everyone has their own rules for eating. Built up over a lifetime, they are mostly invisible and more powerful than the rules of a diet.

The real problem of why diets fail

Here’s the truth about dieting. Diets work until they don’t. And they stop working because your body opposes these externally imposed rules.

Dieting fails to address the root of your weight. It doesn’t acknowledge why or how you got to a place where weight loss feels necessary.

Moreover, your weight gain may be the solution you developed for an entirely different problem. A problem that you unconsciously took on in childhood. If this is the case, you can lose the weight but still have the underlying problem. And if the underlying problem remains unresolved, the weight will come back.

For example, you may turn to food for comfort when feeling sad. Or someone may mindlessly snack in excess at their desk during the workday.

For any weight loss to be successful requires you to understand your eating rules and the type of eating they trigger. Examining your dieting and eating history will help you understand what motivates your eating so that you can make different decisions in the future.

For example, when examining her eating history, a woman might realize that she has tended to binge (what I call relief eating) or turn to unhealthy foods in the past when feeling overwhelmed. Knowing this can help her form different coping strategies to deal with stress in the future.

Now, imagine if this woman did not look into her eating history. She could temporarily succeed at losing weight by eating less and moving more. However, when confronted with stress, she may turn automatically to an eating pattern that sets her back again. This cycle can continue endlessly because the underlying issue is not being addressed.

Do you want to get off the weight loss - regain cycle

You have to go back to go forward. Without understanding your history, the initial cause of your weight gain remains under the surface. Getting to the root of your weight problem is the key to making real change.

To start discovering why diets didn't work for you, download my free e-book here e-book or go straight to uncovering your pattern using the diagnostic Weight and Diet History to uncover your dieting/eating history and how this pattern is causing your weight regain,

Please listen to my Podcast 'Before Dieting...' wherever you listen to your Podcasts or try the links below. I'd really appreciate it if you leave a comment or subscribe so other women can find the podcast.

🎧 Listen to Amy’s story on Before Dieting …,

Episode 5 – What diets won’t solve

Apple

YouTube

Spotify

Happy listening - Bronwyn 💚

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