The Health Benefits of NOT Dieting

Did you know your health can be improved by NOT dieting?!

Counting calories and measuring portions does not bring smiles to many people faces, yet, they do it anyway with the hope that it will improve their health.

According to a two-year study published in an issue of Journal of the American Dietic Association, if you are looking to achieve long-term health improvements, behavior changes and self-acceptance are more effective than dieting any day of the week.

In the study, 78 obese women, aged 35 - 45, were assigned to a dieting group focused on counting calories, restricting food consumption, and monitoring weight. The other half of the group was assigned to a non-dieting group that focused on paying attention to internal body cues about hunger, letting go of restrictive eating habits, and working on negative self image. After two years, the researchers found:

- 92% of the non-dieters stayed with the study while 42% of the dieters dropped out.

- Dieters initially lost weight but regained almost all of it by the end of the study.

- While both groups significantly lowered their blood pressure initially, the non-dieters sustained this and the dieters did not. The same was true for Triglycerides.

- Non-dieters demonstrated improvements in self esteem and depression, dieters had a worsening self esteem.

A couple of "take-aways"...

Dieting, especially yo-yo dieting, can actually increase your risk of heart disease by leading to lower levels of good cholesterol and in potential higher levels of triglycerides, depending on if your caloric restriction is protein/fat centric.

The eating hormone Leptin can be affected when weight is lost quickly. Leptin influences eating behaviors and appetite. It can play into yo-yo diet behaviors.

In addition, more lean muscle can be lost than fat with aggressive restrictive eating. When the weight is regained, it is regained usually as fat tissue, which can have an end result of increased percentages of body fat.

So, you may be wondering, "how am I supposed to lose weight and be healthy if I don't diet?"

- Get regular physical exercise! There cannot be enough said about consistency...

- Be aware of your eating patterns. For example, if you tend to overeat when you are stressed at work, make adjustments. Set up a workplace stretching and deep breathing routine to fill up the time when you may have been mindlessly reaching for a snack.

- There is great metabolic value to a non-eating window and an eating window. It is ok to have both.

- Try to make small changes initially, stick with them, and then add a few more. For example, "I am going to pass on the bread and butter with dinner tonight". Feel the success of of this and stick with it tomorrow night. Another example, if you are still hungry after dinner, drink a big glass of water and wait 30 minutes. If you are STILL hungry, have more veggies and protein.

- Last but not least, stay positive!! Think of the lifestyle choices you are making and consider what they are giving you and not what they are taking away. Get your family involved, or at least trick them into it with banana bread with no sugar or butter in it, a grain free muffin, or a fun “make-your-own-salad” with grilled chicken and all of the fixins for dinner :)

Dr Kate Lynch

Sources:

Journal of American Dietic Assoication 105 (6):929-36/104 (6) 903-12

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