Americans spend billions of dollars every year on dieting, hoping the latest celebrity diet doc, “miracle fat melting supplement,” or ridiculous weight loss regime (only take five bites, only eat cabbage, only eat Neanderthal food), will magically burn fat, melt away the pounds and give them the body of their dreams. Guess what…  DIETS DON’T WORK and never have, in fact, diets actually make people FAT, not thin  Yep, you read that right! Today, May 6^th is International No Diet Day, the perfect time to ditch dieting and celebrate and accept your body. However, it’s not a day to go to the all you can eat buffet. Instead the day is dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle that focuses on health at every size and increasing awareness about the potential dangers and futility of dieting. Here are five facts the diet industry doesn’t want you to know about destructive dieting and the damage it does to your body, mind and soul.

1) Diets are dangerous stress inducers

Research shows dieting increases both chronic psychological stress and more dangerously the stress hormone cortisol, two factors that are known to increase appetite and cause weight gain.

2) Diets damage your body

Dieting can lead to both bone and muscle loss, which increases your risk of osteoporosis and lowers your metabolism. Many diets, especially those like Atkins that forbid or limit entire food groups, are nutritionally inadequate and can lead to malnutrition.  According to Dr. Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology/Alzheimer’s Research/Cancer Research, Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California: “Convincing evidence (shows) that a high-protein diet — particularly if the proteins are derived from animals — is nearly as bad as smoking for your health.”

3) Diets train you to ignore hunger

You were born with a hunger instinct. It’s normal. The drive to eat keeps you alive. Diets teach you to ignore your hunger by forcing you to follow rigid rules about what, when and how much to eat.

4) Diets increase the risk of developing eating disorders

While several factors (genetic vulnerability, psychological circumstances and socio-cultural influences), contribute to the development of an eating disorder, these deadly diseases commonly start with dieting and extreme weight loss regimes.

5) Diets make you miserable

When was the last time you enjoyed dieting? NEVER! Diets make you miserable, tired, depressed and grouchy. The lack of calories and carbs and increase in stress also impair your mental abilities. Yes, diets make you dumb. Learning how to eat normally and healthfully without dieting is easier than you think. I know because I’ve helped hundreds of women make peace with food and achieve a healthy weight without destructive dieting. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How many failed diets will you go through before listening to ol’ Uncle Albert? Need help getting the diet monkey off your back? To set up a free consultation and discover how you can feel great about your body and self without dieting contact me at Dr.EllenAlbertson@comcast.net.