Why Diets Don’t Work
January 2024
Newsletter
January 1st has passed and with it many Americans have chosen the New Year’s Resolution of weight loss which they plan to achieve by dieting. Approximately 45 million Americans go on a diet each year and about 33 billion dollars are spent on weight loss products.
Diets typically encourage eating far too little food which can lead to initial fast weight loss which feels rewarding. However, your body is very smart and will slow your metabolism down to account for this calorie shortage. Your body believes a famine is coming and tries to conserve as much energy as possible. Your brain becomes preoccupied with food and it is all you can focus on. Your body is desperately trying to get you to eat. If you continue to ignore feelings of hunger eventually those will go away too despite needing food. Research shows that diets have an extremely low success rate (98% failure rate) and you end up gaining more weight than you lost while also experiencing increased stress and anxiety.
Many diets categorize foods into “good” and “bad” and have “cheat” days. When you aren’t able to stick to these diets it makes you feel like a failure and leads to low self-esteem. You may fall off your diet, eat more than planned, and then try another diet tomorrow entering a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting and weight cycling. Even if you are one of the few who are able to stick to your diet, you are likely experiencing increased stress, increased gastrointestinal issues, poor sleep, a preoccupation with food, and struggle with social eating situations.
I believe your New Year’s Resolutions should be focused on health promoting behaviors and not dieting. A few examples include getting more sleep, staying hydrated, reducing alcohol consumption, being more active when you can, and eating regularly. Make the focus be on how you feel and not what your body looks like. Your body does amazing things for you.
Eating Regularly
Eating every 3-4 hours (achieved through 3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day) increases your metabolic rate and promotes more sustained consistent energy levels throughout the day. Eating consistently and not skipping meals also promotes better sleep, increased concentration, and improved athletic performance. Sticking to a consistent meal and snack schedule will help you be more mindful about what you eat. More often, you will be able to eat and enjoy your food before reaching an absolute ravenous state of hunger. I do recommend some meal prep and planning ahead to make eating regularly an easier goal to achieve.
Thank you for reading!
🩷 Emily
Sample Day
Breakfast
Chocolate Strawberry Overnight Oats
Snack
Apples and Peanut Butter
Lunch
Turkey Sandwich with Fruit
Snack
Carrots, Crackers, and Hummus
Dinner
Lovely Lentil Soup with Greek Yogurt and Quinoa
Snack
Trail Mix
Racing Update
I have been based out of Belgium since the beginning of November racing the Cyclocross World Cups. This year my goal was to come over to Belgium for longer than I normally do and race some of the bigger races. I have been so fortunate to be able to compete in France, Ireland, and Belgium since arriving. Unfortunately, I have really struggled with sickness this winter so I had to skip the Hulst World Cup this past weekend. Next weekend I will race the Zonhoven World Cup with the iconic sand downhill and then head to Spain for the Benidorm World Cup! I am so excited and looking forward to spending some time in the warmth and sun!
