Dieting Doesn’t Work…

“Every weight loss program, no matter how positively it’s packaged, whispers to you that you’re not right. You’re not good enough. You’re unacceptable and you need to be fixed. I officially reject that message. I reject it for myself, and I reject it on your behalf, too.” – Kim Brittigham

           

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We live in a dieting society. Almost everyone who will read this will have been on a diet at some point or is currently dieting. I started trying to go on diets and lose weight in elementary school. I had seen my parents dieting and so many shows on TV featured people losing drastic amounts of weight to be happier. Children thinking they must lose weight to be better and happier should not be acceptable, but diets are everywhere. And I have come to find that dieting does not work. I am not saying that someone should not want to lose weight, but going about it in a dangerous way that will not work in the long run is the wrong way to do it. 

            Dieting can be very unhealthy when done the wrong way. Constantly going on and off diets can possibly harm your overall health and can cause cardiovascular complications down the line (Field).  The fact is, most diets will fail. And after going off a diet, the majority of people will gain back the weight they lost and possibly some extra (Wolpert). Diets are a very temporary thing and are not very likely to work in the long run (Thomason). To make weight lose a permanent thing, a lifestyle change needs to be made.

            When wanting to lose weight, remember

1.     Do not diet for other people.

2.     Losing weight will not automatically make you happier/ make your life perfect.

3.     Avoid fad diets.

4.     Avoid weight cycling (losing and gaining weight repeatedly).

5.     Focus on being healthy and fit (not how quickly the number on the scale drops).

Works Cited

Field, A. E., S. Malspeis, and W. C. Willett. "Weight Cycling and Mortality among Middle-aged or Older Women." PubMed.gov. NCBI, 11 May 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.

Thomason, Sue. "We'll Look Back and Laugh That We Went On Diets to Try to Lose Weight." HuffPost Lifestyle. Huffington Post, 30 May 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.

Wolpert, Stuart. "Dieting Does Not Work, UCLA Researchers Report." UCLA Newsroom. University of California, 03 Apr. 2007. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.