What Are You Missing Out On By Dieting? — Registered Dietitian Columbia SC

That said, as a non-diet dietitian who is big on bodily autonomy, I would never tell a client not to diet. I believe everyone should be able to make up their own mind about what they do with their body. That said, in order to make an informed decision, people need to know the risks of dieting, and to understand what they might be sacrificing by dieting.

Here’s some examples of things you might be missing out on by dieting:

• Social events that don’t have “safe” foods available

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• Time for self care because of the time spent at the gym/cooking/meal planning/etc.

• Foods you love

• Not being able to enjoy holidays or social events because you’re stressing about food.

• Difficulty traveling because there’s no food that fits your diet.

• Mental energy wasted on calorie/point/etc counting or reading about nutrition, not spent nerding out on topics you enjoy.

• Losing sleep to wake up early to exercise (or because you’re waking up hungry)

• Money to spend on fun, frivolous things because you’re spending it on expensive health foods.

If you’re in a place of feeling unsure of whether you want to ditch diets, or recommit to a diet, I think this is a helpful thing for you to ask yourself. What have you missed out on in the past by dieting? What sacrifices did you have to make? Did you lose anything along with the pounds? Was it worth it?

Unfortunately we live in a world where diet culture ignores the risks and consequences of dieting. It treats diets like a medicine with no side effects, when the reality is that if diets were a medicine, no responsible doctor would prescribe them. You deserve to make informed choices when it comes to your body, so I hope you’ll consider the sacrifices that dieting requires before committing to a new plan.

This post was originally published Jun 2017 and has been updated to give you the best possible content.