December 4, 2023 • 23 mins
Ever wondered why those fad diets never seem to stick? What if we told you that they can have detrimental impacts on both your body and mind? Yes, you heard it right! The allure of diets - the short-term 'gains' they offer - often blinds us to the long-term costs, such as the decrease in metabolic rate from drastic calorie restriction and nutrient depletion due to the elimination of entire food groups. We're going to expose these hidden health hazards, which include fatigue, weakened immune systems, and impaired cognitive function that can be the result of such dietary restrictions.
But the harm of diets goes deeper than just the physical. We'll also be focusing on the psychological impacts of restrictive diets, revealing the cycle of failure many face and the emotional toll it takes. With an increased risk of developing eating disorders, heightened food cravings, and a fixation on forbidden foods, diets can lead to a negative self-image and feelings of inadequacy. But fear not, we won't leave you in despair. We'll debunk some common diet myths and talk about starting the healing process. Our goal is to guide you towards building a relationship with food and your body that's free of stress and filled with confidence, joy, and peace. Get ready for an enlightening discussion that could change your relationship with food forever!
GO DEEPER
🌟 Apply for My Signature Live 4-Month Program, TRUE Food and Body Image Freedom
🎉 Get my Free Minicourse- Love (v) Your Body and Achieve ULTIMATE Food and Body Confidence
HELP OTHERS FIND THIS SUPPORT:
⭐ Leave a 5-star rating!
💬 Did this episode help? It may also help a friend! Share!
🔔 Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Let's dive into all the ways that diets wreak havoc
on your body and your mind,talking about the truth about
dieting Now, I know it's soalluring to restrict, to listen
to these external rules andthese you know, quote unquote
diet gurus.
Let's talk about the facts.
Let's dive into your experienceand let's dive into the
(00:24):
research behind how diets wreakhavoc on your body and on your
mind.
So we're going to be divinginto this and really assessing
if dieting is truly this goldenticket to your health, or is it
actually wreaking havoc on yourbodies in all these unsuspected
(00:45):
ways?
So let's uncover the truthabout diets and the impact on
our overall well-being.
Now, this attraction to dietsis, of course, very
understandable, because we arein a world where this quest for
the ideal body is constantly,constantly glorified.
It's no wonder that diets havecaptured everyone's attention
(01:07):
and we're trying all thesedifferent diets, from keto to
paleo to vegan, intermittentfasting.
I mean, these plans reallypromise these various benefits,
right, they say that you'regoing to lose weight, you're
going to have improved energy,you're going to have better
confidence, right?
But beneath the surface, what'sreally happening to our bodies,
(01:28):
what's really happening to ourminds and mental health when we
embark on these diets.
Let's dive into it.
So, first of all, we have thesevery short term gains quote
unquote gains with these longterm costs.
At first glance, and when we'refirst setting out on a new diet
(01:52):
, many diets seem promising,leading to these quick fixes
that really allure us and we maylose weight as the diet
promised at first, and we mighteven, because of this experience
the sense of like a boostedconfidence, okay.
However, research paints a verydifferent picture and reveals
(02:17):
the hidden costs of diets.
Now, the first cost ismetabolic impact.
Drastic calorie restriction,you know, just manipulating your
body and food in that way, avery common element of many
diets can cause metap metabolicrates to just plummet.
(02:40):
So a study published in thejournal in 2016, I don't like to
say this word because so it'sthe, I'm gonna call it the O
word so a study published in thejournal quote unquote the O
word 2016 showed that extremedieting significantly lowers
metabolic rate, making itdifficult to sustain weight loss
(03:02):
over time.
So let's dive deeper into thistopic.
Okay, of metabolic impact andwhat's going on.
Okay, so caloric restrictionand metabolic rate.
Now, when individuals engage indrastic restriction, the body
perceives this as a form ofstarvation.
So, in response, the body'sgonna initiate various adaptive
(03:26):
mechanisms to conserve energy,and one of these adaptations is
a reduction in metabolic rate,which refers to the number of
calories the body can burn atrest to maintain these basic
physiological functions.
Right, like keeping our heart,heart going, get the breath, all
those things that happen withinternally.
Okay, a study published in 2016investigated these impacts of
(03:50):
dieting on the metabolic rate,and the findings revealed that
participants who underwent thesecaloric restriction in these
diets experienced a substantialdecrease in their metabolic
rates.
Okay, so this means that theirbodies were burning fewer
calories at rest than beforethis dieting.
Okay, so, number one, what wejust covered is that your body
(04:14):
thinks that you are starving,goes into starvation mode when
you are restricting it andyou're trying to manipulate it
through these diets, and whathappens is you end up burning
less calories.
You metap, your metabolismslows down, and the reason it
does that is because it's justbest trying to take care of you.
So if it's not getting enoughfood, it's gonna go whoa, whoa,
whoa.
We need to conserve our energy.
(04:36):
We need to conserve the littleenergy that we are getting.
So let's slow down ourmetabolism so it's not working
as hard, so we're not burning asmany calories, because we know
those calories for our all theseother functions.
We have to continue to do, andI'm worried we're not gonna get
those calories we need, so let'sslow it down.
In closing up, how metabolismis impacted by caloric
(04:57):
restriction, let's talk aboutthe adaptive responses to
caloric restriction, and that isthe fact that the body is
remarkable in its ability toadapt to these changes in the
caloric intake that we have onthese diets, and so, when faced
with this, it responds byslowing down all these processes
in the body for survival, whichincludes hormone levels, such
(05:22):
as a decrease in thyroidhormones, and this plays a
crucial role in regulatingmetabolism as well.
So impact on metabolism isabsolutely there and research
backs it up.
Let's talk about the next impactthat dieting has on your body
nutrient depletion.
Nutrient depletion is somethingI see so often, and it refers
(05:45):
to a situation where the body isnot receiving an adequate
amount of essential vitamins andminerals that are necessary for
our proper psychological andphysiological functioning.
So diets that eliminate theseentire food groups or call for
just an extreme calorierestriction, that you're not
getting enough of the nutrientsright, they can significantly
(06:08):
contribute to nutrient depletionand not getting enough of those
nutrients that help us to befeeling great and be giving our
body all it needs to do, or allit needs to do all that it does.
So to back this up with someresearch, the British Journal of
Nutrition published a study in2018 and it highlighted the
(06:29):
consequences of theserestrictive diets on nutrient
intake.
When essential vitamins andminerals are not obtained in
sufficient quantities from yourdiet, it can lead to various
health issues.
So some of the commondeficiencies that were found and
often the common deficienciesthat I see as well include
(06:50):
vitamins like A, c, d, e andminerals such as calcium, iron,
magnesium and potassium.
Now, nutrient deficiencies canmanifest in various ways,
including just feeling verytired.
That fatigue right.
Weakened immune systems I seeit all the time.
Impaired cognitive function,like your brain actually changes
(07:13):
.
A starved brain actually looksdifferent if you were to take an
MRI of that.
Also, brittle nails, hair loss,skin issues and so much more.
So each vitamin and mineralsand each mineral play a very
unique role in supporting allthese different bodily functions
and in the absence of these,they can have very like just
(07:38):
cascading effects on our overallhealth, and I really want to
highlight this weakened immunesystem.
So this is a very notableconsequence of nutrient
depletion.
Essential vitamins and mineralsare crucial for your immune
function and their deficiencycan compromise the body's
ability to fight off infectionsand illnesses and you're just
more prone to sickness.
(07:58):
And this really, reallyunderscores the importance of
just a variety of foods in yourdiet, a well-balanced diet,
enough of these nutrients,enough calories, enough food to
get in all the differentnutrients in the right amounts
that we need to support youroverall health and resilience.
Diets are not about your health.
(08:19):
They're not about your health.
They are rooted in fatphobiaand the thin ideal they run and
kept up by.
It's a money-making industry.
We already named two things andwe have so many more.
But that diets, how they hurtour health.
(08:42):
Anyways back, I got a littlesidetracked, but prolonged
nutrient depletion just hasserious impacts and these
chronic deficiencies can like ifyou're consistently dieting, it
can lead to just thedevelopment of these various
(09:03):
health conditions later as well,like anemia, osteoporosis,
cardiovascular issues,neurological disorders there's a
lot.
So the body really requiresthis harmonious blend of
nutrients to maintain thatoptimal health, and imbalances
are going to disrupt thesedelicate systems.
So it's super important.
(09:26):
Now let's talk about thepsychological toll of diets.
We chatted about a couplephysical impacts of dieting and
I want to move to thepsychological toll.
Restriction of foods andrestriction of certain foods can
really trigger these obsessivethoughts and, of course,
(09:46):
research backs this up.
But ask yourself how doesdieting impact you?
How does it impact yourrelationship with food and your
impact and your relationshipwith individual foods that you
are restriction, restricting,when individuals deprive
themselves of certain foods orfood groups, it's gonna lead to
these heightened cravings andthese heightened preoccupations,
(10:08):
feeling obsessed or feelinglike you can't stop thinking
about that food, ruminating onthat food.
It's just always on your mind.
The desire for forbidden foodscan become just all consuming so
stressful, contributing to justhuge psychological stress, and
this is so common.
Many people will blamethemselves and say what's wrong
(10:30):
with me?
Nothing's wrong with you, youare in this cycle.
That is inevitable.
Inevitable if you arerestricting food, if you are
using external rules, if youdon't have body trust and if you
are on the dieting hamsterwheel.
So a study published in theJournal of Appetite in 2008
investigated this psychologicalimpact of these restrictive
(10:52):
diets and the findings revealedthat individuals on these diets
exhibited increased foodcravings and preoccupations.
I'm gonna say that again thefindings revealed that
individuals on such dietsexhibited increased food
cravings and preoccupations,whereas prior to the diet they
were not preoccupied with it.
They didn't have these samecravings.
(11:13):
But what happens when you geton these diets and you take out
foods you take out enough foodyou are going to become more
obsessed, more preoccupied withfood, and that is the result of
taking out food.
So this is just one study Imentioned.
There are numerous studies thatsupport this.
(11:34):
All right, so, as we chattedabout preoccupation with food,
obsession with food definitelyincreases with dieting and
that's one of the psychologicaleffects.
But if we keep moving towardwhat it can, how it can present
and how it can unfold when youcontinue to diet, let's talk
about the statistics aroundeating disorders.
One of the most challengingaspects of dieting is the cycle
(11:58):
of failure that many individualsexperience because you're set
up to fail with these diets.
Nida, the National EatingDisorder Association, reports
that 35% of quote unquote normaleaters progress to pathological
dieting and, of those, 20 to25% develop full-blown eating
(12:19):
disorders.
This constant cycle ofattempting and failing at diets
can contribute to these feelingsof inadequacy, frustration and
negative self-image, leading toeating disorders or chronic
dieting.
So again, I'm gonna say thatagain.
So NIDA reports and found that35% of normal eaters progress to
pathological dieting.
(12:41):
Once they start dieting, theybecome chronic dieters and of
those 35%, 20 to 25% developfull-blown eating disorders,
binge eating, anorexia and youjust on and on the spectrum of
disordered eating and eatingdisorders.
That is so sad and also, ifthat is something you're
experiencing, you are not aloneand help is out there for you.
(13:04):
So development of eatingdisorders is huge.
With dieting, it's a hugeconcern and this, just this
restrictive eating patterns withdieting, combined with this
pressure to achieve theseunrealistic body standards and
this thin ideal we have inWestern culture, it can really
contribute to the onset andcontinuation of conditions and
(13:26):
disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and,
yeah, it makes me so upset.
Another psychological impactthat diets have, of course, is
impacts on self-esteem.
I mean, this goes hand in handwith what we were just talking
about, but I just wanted to nameit that impacts on self-esteem.
Feeling like you have repeatedfailure can really start to just
(13:48):
erode your self-esteem, andconstantly striving to meet
these unrealistic weight orappearance goals or these food
goals and consistently fallingshort is really going to create
this negative feedback loop thatreinforces your feelings of
worthiness and disappointment.
And then you try another dietto feel better, but then you
just feel worse because youcan't maintain it and you quote
(14:11):
unquote fail and it's just athis never ending feedback loop.
And lastly, on your mentalhealth.
What else happens is body andstress greatly increases with
your time dieting.
Many people, if they'restarting to experience some body
and stress, they think that orare told that dieting is going
(14:33):
to help them, that restrictingfood, manipulating their body,
changing their body, is what'sgoing to help them.
They hear, if you don't likeyour body, you can change it and
then you will like your body,and that is absolutely false and
there's a ton of podcastepisodes on this that you should
check out.
But this is false.
You cannot disrespect and treatyour body in a poor way and
(14:54):
then expect to have aself-compassionate relationship
with your body.
That is not what makes up bodyimage.
That is not what helps bodyimage.
So this relentless pursuit ofthis quote unquote ideal body,
through these diets, throughdisrespect, are absolutely going
to contribute to body imagedistress and so many people
(15:14):
struggle with body and stressand they don't know how to heal
their body image.
And dieting absolutely is nothelping.
It leads to individualsdeveloping this really unhealthy
preoccupation with theirappearance and just leading to
like dissatisfaction, negativeself-perception and just an
impacted life, and it's just so,so tough.
(15:37):
So I can go on and on with allthat dieting does, all the havoc
it wreaks on your physicalhealth and your mental health.
But I think I explained enoughtoday, so I'm just going to wrap
it up with some facts, in hopesthat these facts will further
(15:58):
ground you, further help you,further help you raise awareness
around your relationship withfood and body and what is the
next best steps for you.
I want to break down three mythstoday as we wrap up, so that we
can bust some of these mythsthat you hear often, that truly
perpetuate these allure of thesediets.
Okay, so the first one is onesize fits all that if you were
(16:22):
to eat the same and exercise thesame and be on the same diet as
your, your favorite fitinfluencer right that are
promoting their ways, even ifyou were to eat exactly the same
way, you are going to lookdifferent.
Everyone's body is different.
If everyone in the world ateand moved the same, we would
(16:45):
still all look very, verydifferent, and we need to eat
differently as well.
And the only way to know how toeat is to listen to our bodies
by building body trust,understanding our cues, getting
uncomfortable to bring all foodsback in to really have this
grounding, self compassionaterelationship with food and body.
(17:05):
Research published in theJournal of annual review of
nutrition 2017 emphasizes theuniqueness of individual
individuals responses to all ofthe different ways of eating.
There's no one size fits allapproach to nutrition and our
bodies metabolize and react tofoods differently, and we and we
have a diverse array of bodies,and that is a wonderful thing.
(17:28):
Although we hear so often thatthere's one ideal body, we are
all meant to be of differentjudgments, shapes and sizes, and
trying to fight that is onlygoing to wreak havoc on your
body and make you miserable.
The second myth I want to bustis quick fixes and the promise
of a magical life with yourideal body that's promoted
(17:50):
through dieting.
Now again, when you are workingon having a better body image
and having a better relationshipwith food, these quick fixes
through diets to all of a sudden, through this diet, find your
best relationship with your body, to love your body and to know
exactly how to eat by justfollowing these rules.
(18:11):
It's just, it's very promotedthat you're going to have this
ideal life if you're able topursue this ideal way of eating
and this ideal body and we knowthat's not sustainable and we
know it causes a lot of problemsalong the way True health, true
compassionate, respectfulrelationship with food and body,
(18:32):
that's a journey and there's alot of things to explore.
It's not this just quickdestination that you're going to
arrive through this diet and Isay this time and time again in
the, in the podcast and with myclients.
And that is, if you want a selfcompassionate, accepting,
(18:53):
respectful, trustingrelationship with food and body,
which is, of course, what we'retrying to obtain, even if we
are seeking that through diets.
If you want that kind ofrelationship with food and body,
it has to be built on that.
And diets are not built ontrusting your body, respecting
(19:15):
your body, listening to yourbody, speaking kindly to your
body.
It's not built on that.
We are using the wrong buildingblocks with dieting and we will
never get there through dieting.
And myth number three happinesshinges on the ideal body.
Happiness hinges on the idealweight.
I can tell you through myexperience with working with
(19:39):
many clients and experience withmyself and research and working
with colleagues that findingand obtaining a healthy
relationship with food and bodyhelps to bring happiness and joy
and peace.
And people are stuck on tryingto obtain their ideal body.
Even if they were to obtaintheir ideal body momentarily,
(20:05):
it's never enough.
It does not bring joy.
Those are not equivalent andit's very short lived, and
there's a lot of research toback this up as well.
And the problem thismisconception is that really
people believe that weight andobtaining this ideal body equals
body image work.
No, that is not how you fixnegative body image.
(20:27):
A study in the journal BodyImage in 2007 demonstrated that
body dissatisfaction and lowself-esteem persisted despite
weight loss and weight lossattempts.
This is reallymulti-dimensional and shouldn't
solely depend on the number onthe scale.
And shouldn't depend on thenumber on the scale.
(20:48):
This myth is absolutelyincorrect and one of the worst,
because it really leads peopleastray.
When people genuinely want towork on their relationship with
body and feel better in theirbody, usually what they find is
a diet, and that is the lastthing they want to do in order
to feel better about their bodyand to feel better about their
(21:10):
relationship with food, to feelmore in control and more
confident.
So I hope those myths busted,help to just ground you a little
bit more, raise a little bitmore awareness around diets and
the havoc on your body.
All right, as we close up here,I want to ask you, if this is
helpful to you, please subscribe.
(21:30):
It's super helpful as,especially as a new podcaster
with a new podcast helps toreach other people, so this is
helpful.
Download the episodes and giveme a five star rating.
That would be awesome.
Share with your friends who youthink would benefit from
hearing this.
Also, if you are interested inlearning more about your
relationship with food and bodyand you are curious about where
(21:53):
would be a helpful place tostart when it comes to your
relationship with food and body,what are you strong in, what do
you do well in and what needswork, and where can you get
started with doing some of thathealing work when it comes to
healing your body image, go tomy Instagram at JamieRD
underscore, and there is afreebie on my link tree that you
(22:13):
can download, that you can,where you can take a quiz to
find out more about your uniquerelationship with your body and
the areas that are doing well,that you can encourage, and the
areas that you're not doing sowell in, and you'll get your
some resources as well that comealong with it that you can get
(22:34):
started with to help you withyour relationship with food and
body.
So, anyways, you are so awesomeand wonderful and you should pat
yourself on the back for beinghere.
I'm just so proud of you forlistening to, maybe, an
alternative way of thinking thatgoes against that strong part
of you that wants to diet orthat has a lot of distress with
body image.
(22:55):
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you are willing tohave these little seeds planted
to help blossom yourrelationship with food and body
into a relationship with foodand body.
You absolutely deserve one thatis free and full of confidence
and full of joy and full ofpeace.
Until next time, stay radiantand we'll chat soon.
Let's dive into all the ways that diets wreak havoc
on your body and your mind,talking about the truth about
dieting Now, I know it's soalluring to restrict, to listen
to these external rules andthese you know, quote unquote
diet gurus.
Let's talk about the facts.
Let's dive into your experienceand let's dive into the
(00:24):
research behind how diets wreakhavoc on your body and on your
mind.
So we're going to be divinginto this and really assessing
if dieting is truly this goldenticket to your health, or is it
actually wreaking havoc on yourbodies in all these unsuspected
(00:45):
ways?
So let's uncover the truthabout diets and the impact on
our overall well-being.
Now, this attraction to dietsis, of course, very
understandable, because we arein a world where this quest for
the ideal body is constantly,constantly glorified.
It's no wonder that diets havecaptured everyone's attention
(01:07):
and we're trying all thesedifferent diets, from keto to
paleo to vegan, intermittentfasting.
I mean, these plans reallypromise these various benefits,
right, they say that you'regoing to lose weight, you're
going to have improved energy,you're going to have better
confidence, right?
But beneath the surface, what'sreally happening to our bodies,
(01:28):
what's really happening to ourminds and mental health when we
embark on these diets.
Let's dive into it.
So, first of all, we have thesevery short term gains quote
unquote gains with these longterm costs.
At first glance, and when we'refirst setting out on a new diet
(01:52):
, many diets seem promising,leading to these quick fixes
that really allure us and we maylose weight as the diet
promised at first, and we mighteven, because of this experience
the sense of like a boostedconfidence, okay.
However, research paints a verydifferent picture and reveals
(02:17):
the hidden costs of diets.
Now, the first cost ismetabolic impact.
Drastic calorie restriction,you know, just manipulating your
body and food in that way, avery common element of many
diets can cause metap metabolicrates to just plummet.
(02:40):
So a study published in thejournal in 2016, I don't like to
say this word because so it'sthe, I'm gonna call it the O
word so a study published in thejournal quote unquote the O
word 2016 showed that extremedieting significantly lowers
metabolic rate, making itdifficult to sustain weight loss
(03:02):
over time.
So let's dive deeper into thistopic.
Okay, of metabolic impact andwhat's going on.
Okay, so caloric restrictionand metabolic rate.
Now, when individuals engage indrastic restriction, the body
perceives this as a form ofstarvation.
So, in response, the body'sgonna initiate various adaptive
(03:26):
mechanisms to conserve energy,and one of these adaptations is
a reduction in metabolic rate,which refers to the number of
calories the body can burn atrest to maintain these basic
physiological functions.
Right, like keeping our heart,heart going, get the breath, all
those things that happen withinternally.
Okay, a study published in 2016investigated these impacts of
(03:50):
dieting on the metabolic rate,and the findings revealed that
participants who underwent thesecaloric restriction in these
diets experienced a substantialdecrease in their metabolic
rates.
Okay, so this means that theirbodies were burning fewer
calories at rest than beforethis dieting.
Okay, so, number one, what wejust covered is that your body
(04:14):
thinks that you are starving,goes into starvation mode when
you are restricting it andyou're trying to manipulate it
through these diets, and whathappens is you end up burning
less calories.
You metap, your metabolismslows down, and the reason it
does that is because it's justbest trying to take care of you.
So if it's not getting enoughfood, it's gonna go whoa, whoa,
whoa.
We need to conserve our energy.
(04:36):
We need to conserve the littleenergy that we are getting.
So let's slow down ourmetabolism so it's not working
as hard, so we're not burning asmany calories, because we know
those calories for our all theseother functions.
We have to continue to do, andI'm worried we're not gonna get
those calories we need, so let'sslow it down.
In closing up, how metabolismis impacted by caloric
(04:57):
restriction, let's talk aboutthe adaptive responses to
caloric restriction, and that isthe fact that the body is
remarkable in its ability toadapt to these changes in the
caloric intake that we have onthese diets, and so, when faced
with this, it responds byslowing down all these processes
in the body for survival, whichincludes hormone levels, such
(05:22):
as a decrease in thyroidhormones, and this plays a
crucial role in regulatingmetabolism as well.
So impact on metabolism isabsolutely there and research
backs it up.
Let's talk about the next impactthat dieting has on your body
nutrient depletion.
Nutrient depletion is somethingI see so often, and it refers
(05:45):
to a situation where the body isnot receiving an adequate
amount of essential vitamins andminerals that are necessary for
our proper psychological andphysiological functioning.
So diets that eliminate theseentire food groups or call for
just an extreme calorierestriction, that you're not
getting enough of the nutrientsright, they can significantly
(06:08):
contribute to nutrient depletionand not getting enough of those
nutrients that help us to befeeling great and be giving our
body all it needs to do, or allit needs to do all that it does.
So to back this up with someresearch, the British Journal of
Nutrition published a study in2018 and it highlighted the
(06:29):
consequences of theserestrictive diets on nutrient
intake.
When essential vitamins andminerals are not obtained in
sufficient quantities from yourdiet, it can lead to various
health issues.
So some of the commondeficiencies that were found and
often the common deficienciesthat I see as well include
(06:50):
vitamins like A, c, d, e andminerals such as calcium, iron,
magnesium and potassium.
Now, nutrient deficiencies canmanifest in various ways,
including just feeling verytired.
That fatigue right.
Weakened immune systems I seeit all the time.
Impaired cognitive function,like your brain actually changes
(07:13):
.
A starved brain actually looksdifferent if you were to take an
MRI of that.
Also, brittle nails, hair loss,skin issues and so much more.
So each vitamin and mineralsand each mineral play a very
unique role in supporting allthese different bodily functions
and in the absence of these,they can have very like just
(07:38):
cascading effects on our overallhealth, and I really want to
highlight this weakened immunesystem.
So this is a very notableconsequence of nutrient
depletion.
Essential vitamins and mineralsare crucial for your immune
function and their deficiencycan compromise the body's
ability to fight off infectionsand illnesses and you're just
more prone to sickness.
(07:58):
And this really, reallyunderscores the importance of
just a variety of foods in yourdiet, a well-balanced diet,
enough of these nutrients,enough calories, enough food to
get in all the differentnutrients in the right amounts
that we need to support youroverall health and resilience.
Diets are not about your health.
(08:19):
They're not about your health.
They are rooted in fatphobiaand the thin ideal they run and
kept up by.
It's a money-making industry.
We already named two things andwe have so many more.
But that diets, how they hurtour health.
(08:42):
Anyways back, I got a littlesidetracked, but prolonged
nutrient depletion just hasserious impacts and these
chronic deficiencies can like ifyou're consistently dieting, it
can lead to just thedevelopment of these various
(09:03):
health conditions later as well,like anemia, osteoporosis,
cardiovascular issues,neurological disorders there's a
lot.
So the body really requiresthis harmonious blend of
nutrients to maintain thatoptimal health, and imbalances
are going to disrupt thesedelicate systems.
So it's super important.
(09:26):
Now let's talk about thepsychological toll of diets.
We chatted about a couplephysical impacts of dieting and
I want to move to thepsychological toll.
Restriction of foods andrestriction of certain foods can
really trigger these obsessivethoughts and, of course,
(09:46):
research backs this up.
But ask yourself how doesdieting impact you?
How does it impact yourrelationship with food and your
impact and your relationshipwith individual foods that you
are restriction, restricting,when individuals deprive
themselves of certain foods orfood groups, it's gonna lead to
these heightened cravings andthese heightened preoccupations,
(10:08):
feeling obsessed or feelinglike you can't stop thinking
about that food, ruminating onthat food.
It's just always on your mind.
The desire for forbidden foodscan become just all consuming so
stressful, contributing to justhuge psychological stress, and
this is so common.
Many people will blamethemselves and say what's wrong
(10:30):
with me?
Nothing's wrong with you, youare in this cycle.
That is inevitable.
Inevitable if you arerestricting food, if you are
using external rules, if youdon't have body trust and if you
are on the dieting hamsterwheel.
So a study published in theJournal of Appetite in 2008
investigated this psychologicalimpact of these restrictive
(10:52):
diets and the findings revealedthat individuals on these diets
exhibited increased foodcravings and preoccupations.
I'm gonna say that again thefindings revealed that
individuals on such dietsexhibited increased food
cravings and preoccupations,whereas prior to the diet they
were not preoccupied with it.
They didn't have these samecravings.
(11:13):
But what happens when you geton these diets and you take out
foods you take out enough foodyou are going to become more
obsessed, more preoccupied withfood, and that is the result of
taking out food.
So this is just one study Imentioned.
There are numerous studies thatsupport this.
(11:34):
All right, so, as we chattedabout preoccupation with food,
obsession with food definitelyincreases with dieting and
that's one of the psychologicaleffects.
But if we keep moving towardwhat it can, how it can present
and how it can unfold when youcontinue to diet, let's talk
about the statistics aroundeating disorders.
One of the most challengingaspects of dieting is the cycle
(11:58):
of failure that many individualsexperience because you're set
up to fail with these diets.
Nida, the National EatingDisorder Association, reports
that 35% of quote unquote normaleaters progress to pathological
dieting and, of those, 20 to25% develop full-blown eating
(12:19):
disorders.
This constant cycle ofattempting and failing at diets
can contribute to these feelingsof inadequacy, frustration and
negative self-image, leading toeating disorders or chronic
dieting.
So again, I'm gonna say thatagain.
So NIDA reports and found that35% of normal eaters progress to
pathological dieting.
(12:41):
Once they start dieting, theybecome chronic dieters and of
those 35%, 20 to 25% developfull-blown eating disorders,
binge eating, anorexia and youjust on and on the spectrum of
disordered eating and eatingdisorders.
That is so sad and also, ifthat is something you're
experiencing, you are not aloneand help is out there for you.
(13:04):
So development of eatingdisorders is huge.
With dieting, it's a hugeconcern and this, just this
restrictive eating patterns withdieting, combined with this
pressure to achieve theseunrealistic body standards and
this thin ideal we have inWestern culture, it can really
contribute to the onset andcontinuation of conditions and
(13:26):
disorders like anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and,
yeah, it makes me so upset.
Another psychological impactthat diets have, of course, is
impacts on self-esteem.
I mean, this goes hand in handwith what we were just talking
about, but I just wanted to nameit that impacts on self-esteem.
Feeling like you have repeatedfailure can really start to just
(13:48):
erode your self-esteem, andconstantly striving to meet
these unrealistic weight orappearance goals or these food
goals and consistently fallingshort is really going to create
this negative feedback loop thatreinforces your feelings of
worthiness and disappointment.
And then you try another dietto feel better, but then you
just feel worse because youcan't maintain it and you quote
(14:11):
unquote fail and it's just athis never ending feedback loop.
And lastly, on your mentalhealth.
What else happens is body andstress greatly increases with
your time dieting.
Many people, if they'restarting to experience some body
and stress, they think that orare told that dieting is going
(14:33):
to help them, that restrictingfood, manipulating their body,
changing their body, is what'sgoing to help them.
They hear, if you don't likeyour body, you can change it and
then you will like your body,and that is absolutely false and
there's a ton of podcastepisodes on this that you should
check out.
But this is false.
You cannot disrespect and treatyour body in a poor way and
(14:54):
then expect to have aself-compassionate relationship
with your body.
That is not what makes up bodyimage.
That is not what helps bodyimage.
So this relentless pursuit ofthis quote unquote ideal body,
through these diets, throughdisrespect, are absolutely going
to contribute to body imagedistress and so many people
(15:14):
struggle with body and stressand they don't know how to heal
their body image.
And dieting absolutely is nothelping.
It leads to individualsdeveloping this really unhealthy
preoccupation with theirappearance and just leading to
like dissatisfaction, negativeself-perception and just an
impacted life, and it's just so,so tough.
(15:37):
So I can go on and on with allthat dieting does, all the havoc
it wreaks on your physicalhealth and your mental health.
But I think I explained enoughtoday, so I'm just going to wrap
it up with some facts, in hopesthat these facts will further
(15:58):
ground you, further help you,further help you raise awareness
around your relationship withfood and body and what is the
next best steps for you.
I want to break down three mythstoday as we wrap up, so that we
can bust some of these mythsthat you hear often, that truly
perpetuate these allure of thesediets.
Okay, so the first one is onesize fits all that if you were
(16:22):
to eat the same and exercise thesame and be on the same diet as
your, your favorite fitinfluencer right that are
promoting their ways, even ifyou were to eat exactly the same
way, you are going to lookdifferent.
Everyone's body is different.
If everyone in the world ateand moved the same, we would
(16:45):
still all look very, verydifferent, and we need to eat
differently as well.
And the only way to know how toeat is to listen to our bodies
by building body trust,understanding our cues, getting
uncomfortable to bring all foodsback in to really have this
grounding, self compassionaterelationship with food and body.
(17:05):
Research published in theJournal of annual review of
nutrition 2017 emphasizes theuniqueness of individual
individuals responses to all ofthe different ways of eating.
There's no one size fits allapproach to nutrition and our
bodies metabolize and react tofoods differently, and we and we
have a diverse array of bodies,and that is a wonderful thing.
(17:28):
Although we hear so often thatthere's one ideal body, we are
all meant to be of differentjudgments, shapes and sizes, and
trying to fight that is onlygoing to wreak havoc on your
body and make you miserable.
The second myth I want to bustis quick fixes and the promise
of a magical life with yourideal body that's promoted
(17:50):
through dieting.
Now again, when you are workingon having a better body image
and having a better relationshipwith food, these quick fixes
through diets to all of a sudden, through this diet, find your
best relationship with your body, to love your body and to know
exactly how to eat by justfollowing these rules.
(18:11):
It's just, it's very promotedthat you're going to have this
ideal life if you're able topursue this ideal way of eating
and this ideal body and we knowthat's not sustainable and we
know it causes a lot of problemsalong the way True health, true
compassionate, respectfulrelationship with food and body,
(18:32):
that's a journey and there's alot of things to explore.
It's not this just quickdestination that you're going to
arrive through this diet and Isay this time and time again in
the, in the podcast and with myclients.
And that is, if you want a selfcompassionate, accepting,
(18:53):
respectful, trustingrelationship with food and body,
which is, of course, what we'retrying to obtain, even if we
are seeking that through diets.
If you want that kind ofrelationship with food and body,
it has to be built on that.
And diets are not built ontrusting your body, respecting
(19:15):
your body, listening to yourbody, speaking kindly to your
body.
It's not built on that.
We are using the wrong buildingblocks with dieting and we will
never get there through dieting.
And myth number three happinesshinges on the ideal body.
Happiness hinges on the idealweight.
I can tell you through myexperience with working with
(19:39):
many clients and experience withmyself and research and working
with colleagues that findingand obtaining a healthy
relationship with food and bodyhelps to bring happiness and joy
and peace.
And people are stuck on tryingto obtain their ideal body.
Even if they were to obtaintheir ideal body momentarily,
(20:05):
it's never enough.
It does not bring joy.
Those are not equivalent andit's very short lived, and
there's a lot of research toback this up as well.
And the problem thismisconception is that really
people believe that weight andobtaining this ideal body equals
body image work.
No, that is not how you fixnegative body image.
(20:27):
A study in the journal BodyImage in 2007 demonstrated that
body dissatisfaction and lowself-esteem persisted despite
weight loss and weight lossattempts.
This is reallymulti-dimensional and shouldn't
solely depend on the number onthe scale.
And shouldn't depend on thenumber on the scale.
(20:48):
This myth is absolutelyincorrect and one of the worst,
because it really leads peopleastray.
When people genuinely want towork on their relationship with
body and feel better in theirbody, usually what they find is
a diet, and that is the lastthing they want to do in order
to feel better about their bodyand to feel better about their
(21:10):
relationship with food, to feelmore in control and more
confident.
So I hope those myths busted,help to just ground you a little
bit more, raise a little bitmore awareness around diets and
the havoc on your body.
All right, as we close up here,I want to ask you, if this is
helpful to you, please subscribe.
(21:30):
It's super helpful as,especially as a new podcaster
with a new podcast helps toreach other people, so this is
helpful.
Download the episodes and giveme a five star rating.
That would be awesome.
Share with your friends who youthink would benefit from
hearing this.
Also, if you are interested inlearning more about your
relationship with food and bodyand you are curious about where
(21:53):
would be a helpful place tostart when it comes to your
relationship with food and body,what are you strong in, what do
you do well in and what needswork, and where can you get
started with doing some of thathealing work when it comes to
healing your body image, go tomy Instagram at JamieRD
underscore, and there is afreebie on my link tree that you
(22:13):
can download, that you can,where you can take a quiz to
find out more about your uniquerelationship with your body and
the areas that are doing well,that you can encourage, and the
areas that you're not doing sowell in, and you'll get your
some resources as well that comealong with it that you can get
(22:34):
started with to help you withyour relationship with food and
body.
So, anyways, you are so awesomeand wonderful and you should pat
yourself on the back for beinghere.
I'm just so proud of you forlistening to, maybe, an
alternative way of thinking thatgoes against that strong part
of you that wants to diet orthat has a lot of distress with
body image.
(22:55):
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you are willing tohave these little seeds planted
to help blossom yourrelationship with food and body
into a relationship with foodand body.
You absolutely deserve one thatis free and full of confidence
and full of joy and full ofpeace.
Until next time, stay radiantand we'll chat soon.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.