Dieting is like cutting your hair – it grows back.
The multibillion dollar dieting industry would not survive if folks knew that restricting food in the name of weight loss is like cutting your hair — it comes back, over and over again.
Just like you know your hair will grow back after a haircut, the latest dieting trend also results in weight regained. However stylish, trendy, expensive, extreme, or celebrity-endorsed this new diet may be: the weight comes back.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy here is that we are taught to blame ourselves. Do you ever blame yourself when your hair grows back? Of course not! You expect this to happen and know that it’s part of normal bodily functioning. But most folks don’t know the ways in which dieting impacts our bodies, both biologically and psychologically.
Your body cannot distinguish between dieting and famine. The 5th chapter of Intuitive Eating (3rd ed) explains how dieting harms body and mind, including decreases in metabolism, confidence, and self-trust alongside increases in binges, cravings, food obsessions, and risk of developing an eating disorder. Your body is on your team here — these are compensatory responses to help you survive the famine it perceives!
The good news is there is another option! You do not need to waste another minute of your life restricting your food in order to shrink your body. The process of Intuitive Eating helps you heal your relationship with food by listening to and honoring the needs of your body and mind. On the IE path you rediscover the joy and satisfaction in eating—and in life itself.
