What’s the real cost of dieting? Yes, there’s a monetary price we pay. But it goes way beyond that.
I was sitting on the couch in my living room, like I had so many times before. The girls (about 5 and 6 at the time) were playing on the floor. They asked me to play, I said, “not today, I’m tired.” I was always tired.
I was tired of exercising to burn off what I had eaten the night before. Tired of planning what the next diet was going to be, and tired of counting and calculating my calories. Tired of judging, comparing, and criticizing myself. And so tired of thinking about food…the food I can eat, the food I can’t eat, the food that is good, the food that is bad, the weight on the scale, the clothes that didn’t fit.
If you’re also tired of comparing yourself to others, you’ll want to read these 5 steps for quitting this habit here.
The girls began to put on a puppet show play, right in front of me. I missed the whole thing. The storyline, the creativity, the faces and the voices. I missed so many parts of their play…of their growing up.
The cost of dieting.
Time, precious time…missed. And that’s only one of the terrible costs of dieting.
Time spent searching online for the next diet plan, thinking about what to eat, what not to eat, how many points or calories there are left for the day. The time spent beating myself up for gaining weight, not losing any or enough weight, not being “committed enough” or “having enough willpower”.
Time spent trying to be “perfect”. Now I know this pursuit of “perfectionist Patty” is a wasted effort—she doesn’t exist!
Time is only a small cost to encounter on diet culture. What about the money spent?
There is a huge cost related to going on a diet, and diet culture. Americans spend millions of dollars a year on diets and dieting plans. Just Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem alone made billions of dollars last year!
I myself tried to add up my own financial contribution to diet culture. Sadly, it was well over $100,000. Forty-five years of programs, plans, packaged foods, books, magazines, and more.
Just a few years ago, accepting this made me mad, sick to my stomach, shame-filled.
Now, it fuels me to spread the word. It drives me to encourage others to really take a look at the true cost of dieting that is happening to them. To guide them to other solutions including self-acceptance, education, body appreciation, self-compassion, self-care, and personal responsibility .
Dieting as a business model.
Dieting is a brilliant business model.
Here…try this diet, this is the one that will work for you (the golden ticket mentality) and guess what! We’ll be right here next year too, so you can invest again to lose the same weight that you lost last year!
But here’s what really happens and what it costs you:
- Wasted money and time and brain space…
- Lowered self-esteem, energy, focus, mood…
- Increased criticism, judgment, comparison….
- Lost relationships, conversations, connections, experiences and memories…
As you can see, the real cost of dieting comes down to much more than just money and time. It’s full-blown quality of life we sacrifice!
The price we pay for dieting.
- Decreases happiness and joy
- Decreases self-esteem and self-worth
- Increases stress, anxiety, worry, and depression
The benefits of NOT dieting.
In the same vein, the benefits of quitting dieting are vast. It allows you to be present with family, friends, work, purpose and yourself. In other words, you get your life, your power, and your happiness back.
This includes:
- Self-acceptance
- Self-worth
- Happiness
- Mood
- Energy
- Focus
- Experience
- Quality of life
Are you ready to make a vow to STOP DIETING and step back into your life?
Here’s how.
Stop dieting.
Here are 5 steps to get you started:
- Give yourself permission to eat all foods
- Trust your hunger (and your fullness) by listening to your body’s hunger cues
- Eat foods you enjoy…eat for satisfaction and satiety
- Slow down and savor your eating experiences
- Release judgment (the good’s and bad’s) of foods, eating, and yourself
If you would like some guidance, click here to schedule a free Body Joyful Breakthrough session.
Already live diet-free? Join the Body Joyful Revolution! A private community of women, regardless of size, shape or weight, committed to feeling comfortable and confident in their bodies and selves…so they can empower others to do the same.
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