After the stresses of finals are over, the stresses of having a good summer body may start to seep in. Trips to the beach, pool parties, music festivals; the list of possible events goes on and on. Instead of starving yourself with extreme dieting and other intense weight loss regimes, the best thing to acquire this season is confidence.
A recent study reports why six years after dropping an average of 129 pounds on “The Biggest Loser,” participants regained 70 percent of their lost weight since the show’s finale. They were burning about 500 fewer calories a day than other people their age and size.
According to Neuroscientist and Author Sandra Aamodt, this research shows that in the long run dieting is rarely effective, does not reliably improve health and does more harm than good. “The root of the problem is not willpower but neuroscience.”
Your brain will fight your body if you try to drop weight quickly due to metabolic suppression; one of the several powerful tools that the brain uses to keep the body within a certain weight range. The range, which varies from person to person, is determined by genes and life experience. When dieters’ weight drops below it, they not only burn fewer calories but also produce more hunger-inducing hormones and find eating more rewarding.
Not only are you more likely to gain back the weight you lose from dieting, but you also face large amounts of stress and anxiety while doing it. Most of the time, dieting is based on guilt and societal pressures; but although your weight can fluctuate, your self-esteem doesn't have to.
Additionally, the evidence that dieting improves people’s health is surprisingly poor. “Part of the problem is that no one knows how to get more than a small fraction of people to sustain weight loss for years,” said Aamodt.
A 2013 meta-analysis (which combines the results of multiple studies) found that health improvements in dieters have no relationship to the amount of weight they lose. Obese people who exercise, eat enough vegetables and don’t smoke are no more likely to die young than normal-weight people with the same habits.
Long-term changes in weight (and health) have to be sustainable lifestyle changes; don’t expect to keep off any weight from the detox you want to before your trip to Cabo.
Instead of dieting, Aamodt recommends mindful eating — “paying attention to signals of hunger and fullness, without judgment, to relearn how to eat only as much as the brain’s weight-regulation system commands.”
By eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full, you’ll spend less time between meals thinking about food and use that time to enjoy whatever you’ll be doing this summer.
Owning the body you have and being confident in your skin is the best health benefit. All your imperfections are what make you unique. It’s time to stop obsessing over your weight and start embracing your individuality.
