I’m DONE dieting. NEVER AGAIN.

getNskinny2day

I hereby pledge to NEVER diet again.. However, I pledge to make the LIFESTYLE CHANGE necessary to reach and maintain my health and weight loss goals. Let’s look at a few definitions of “diet” that I found:

1. Food and drink in general.
2. A prescribed course of eating and drinking in which the amount and kind of food, as well as the times at which it is to be taken, are regulated for therapeutic purposes.
3. Reduction of caloric intake so as to lose weight.
4. A special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons

Does anyone see anything in here about “weight maintenance”?? I don’t.. Has anyone else thought about all of their failed diet attempts? So why are our diets failing us?

Here is an interesting quote I found “Many factors can conspire against successful weight reduction, health experts say. Diets can be boring and there’s always a temptation to return to old habits. Serial dieters may also become discouraged and give up when their weight plateaus. People who lose too much too soon don’t learn to make the overall lifestyle changes — eating healthier foods and exercising regularly — that are necessary to keep their weight stable.”

Anyone else catch the keywords “LIFESTYLE CHANGE”? You can’t diet for a few months and plan to keep the weight off if you don’t change your lifestyle.. That’s not my opinion, it’s a fact. So here is why I refuse to diet:

1) Because I've done it in the past, lost a ton of weight, and gained every single pound of it back
2) Because dieting is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution.
3) Because dieting starts with "die" (hehe)
4) Because dieting can get EXTREMELY boring, and makes me more likely to “cheat”
5) Because dieting alone will not produce the results I want and need.

So here I am, pledging to make a LIFESTYLE CHANGE and NEVER diet again. The question is, are you ready to do the same?

gingerfoxxx

Here, here! I like to think of MFP like i do my finances. You gotta balance the checkbook, and you gotta manage what you eat. A little daily maintenance makes a world of difference!

kudos to you!

therealangd

Absolutely. I agree with you 100%. If you are only planning on eating a healthy amount of calories for 6 months and then resume your unhealthy eating once the 6 months is up, of course you are going to put the weight back on.

amdrummer02

Very well said. HIgh quality post!

jennlloyd

Well said!! Totally agree!

80lbslost

Totally agree! That's why I joined MFP!

mlemonroe2

3) Because dieting starts with "die" (hehe)

LOVE IT! :laugh:

Ms_Natalie

Fantastic Attitude...the kind that will get you to your goals in the best possible way! :flowerforyou:

getNskinny2day

I love the positive feedback :happy: We can do this!!

flea2449

I'm there with you!!!!!!!!

Chicka_Boom

Good for you! I love what you have to say about the idiocy of dieting and I totally agree with you - I just wrote a blog post that touched on my personal distaste for dieting and the diet industry in particular. (You should read it if you have a chance!)

Here's a bit of what I wrote:

When you're looking at a diet (whether it's the 17 day diet, the lemon juice cleanse, Atkins, south beach, whatever) you need to ask yourself "Can I do this for the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, you shouldn't do it! Chances are you'll stress your body and send it into starvation mode, causing you to regain any weight you lost once you go off the diet, and probably making you gain more in the long run! Also, when the diet is finished or you invariably fail to follow whatever ridiculous regimen it prescribes (trust me, you WILL eventually break down and eat a carb) you feel like a failure, you get frustrated, and you give up and go right back to your old habits, because you never learned how to change your lifestyle sustainably. Eventually you try another diet, buying more books and meal plans and supplements and whatnot, and the process repeats itself. The only thing that gets thin is your wallet.

People hawking diets make money by keeping you on a yo-yo – it’s worth remembering that if you actually lost weight and kept it off, they'd be out a customer. Their business plan relies on 1) making you feel like there's something wrong with you, and 2) convincing you that it can be fixed if you buy their books and products. Essentially, they prey on (or even create!) your insecurities and offer you an easy fix backed by science that is shoddy at best and usually just outright lies. You think, “Why would I work out every day and completely change how I eat when I can just buy this book and do this one little thing and get the same results?” There is no quick fix that really works (I know, it sucks), but they won’t make any money telling you that. They tell you “You need to drink this shake to cleanse your body of toxins!” You think, “Hey, I don’t want toxins!” But really your body handles its “cleansing” quite efficiently on its own. Anything promising to rid you of mysterious “toxins” is just trying to rid you of your spare cash. You should always be suspicious of ANY diet for these reasons, and even more so if they are promising unrealistic results (weight loss of more than 2 pounds per week, the ability to "target" a certain area of your body for weight loss - it's just not possible to selectively burn fat from one area!, and so on), asking you to buy books, shakes, or supplements, or asking you to completely cut out certain food groups (like our old friend the carbohydrate).

What the people selling diets, hawking pills, and promising quick, easy results will NEVER tell you is that the best, most effective, and simplest way to lose weight and get healthy is FREE. Not only do those people prey on our insecurities, they are actually making us less healthy. When you're promised a quick, easy solution, what you're going to get is at best a lighter wallet, all the weight you lost back (maybe more!), lowered self esteem, and a screwed up metabolism.

A good rule for life in general: If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS.

NoExcuseTina

Here, here! I like to think of MFP like i do my finances. You gotta balance the checkbook, and you gotta manage what you eat. A little daily maintenance makes a world of difference!

kudos to you!

LOVE THIS analogy!!!!!!!

getNskinny2day

Good for you! I love what you have to say about the idiocy of dieting and I totally agree with you - I just wrote a blog post that touched on my personal distaste for dieting and the diet industry in particular. (You should read it if you have a chance!)

Here's a bit of what I wrote:

When you're looking at a diet (whether it's the 17 day diet, the lemon juice cleanse, Atkins, south beach, whatever) you need to ask yourself "Can I do this for the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, you shouldn't do it! Chances are you'll stress your body and send it into starvation mode, causing you to regain any weight you lost once you go off the diet, and probably making you gain more in the long run! Also, when the diet is finished or you invariably fail to follow whatever ridiculous regimen it prescribes (trust me, you WILL eventually break down and eat a carb) you feel like a failure, you get frustrated, and you give up and go right back to your old habits, because you never learned how to change your lifestyle sustainably. Eventually you try another diet, buying more books and meal plans and supplements and whatnot, and the process repeats itself. The only thing that gets thin is your wallet.

People hawking diets make money by keeping you on a yo-yo – it’s worth remembering that if you actually lost weight and kept it off, they'd be out a customer. Their business plan relies on 1) making you feel like there's something wrong with you, and 2) convincing you that it can be fixed if you buy their books and products. Essentially, they prey on (or even create!) your insecurities and offer you an easy fix backed by science that is shoddy at best and usually just outright lies. You think, “Why would I work out every day and completely change how I eat when I can just buy this book and do this one little thing and get the same results?” There is no quick fix that really works (I know, it sucks), but they won’t make any money telling you that. They tell you “You need to drink this shake to cleanse your body of toxins!” You think, “Hey, I don’t want toxins!” But really your body handles its “cleansing” quite efficiently on its own. Anything promising to rid you of mysterious “toxins” is just trying to rid you of your spare cash. You should always be suspicious of ANY diet for these reasons, and even more so if they are promising unrealistic results (weight loss of more than 2 pounds per week, the ability to "target" a certain area of your body for weight loss - it's just not possible to selectively burn fat from one area!, and so on), asking you to buy books, shakes, or supplements, or asking you to completely cut out certain food groups (like our old friend the carbohydrate).

What the people selling diets, hawking pills, and promising quick, easy results will NEVER tell you is that the best, most effective, and simplest way to lose weight and get healthy is FREE. Not only do those people prey on our insecurities, they are actually making us less healthy. When you're promised a quick, easy solution, what you're going to get is at best a lighter wallet, all the weight you lost back (maybe more!), lowered self esteem, and a screwed up metabolism.

A good rule for life in general: If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS.

Great post!! I really enjoyed reading it and 100% agree with your points!

Behavior_Modification

YES I AM!!! :drinker: