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DIET – The four-letter word that strikes fear in so many of us!

‘Dieting’ conjures up thoughts of restriction, bland food, no fun, deprivation, punishment!!!!

Let’s be honest, dieting is code for a time when you eat food you don’t like very much and are still hungry! The concept of ‘dieting’ really came into its own in the UK in the second half of the 20th century with the launch of Weight Watchers and Slimming World in the 1960’s – and so has been part of our culture for 50 years!

So why haven’t we cracked it yet?

There is so much negativity around the ‘D’ word; the vocabulary and vibe around the subject is in fact extremely detrimental to the process of losing weight!

How often do we hear comments like ‘She’s on a diet again, she’s being ‘good’’ or ‘Should you be eating that, I thought you were on a diet’!

These comments are accusative and imply that the ‘dieter’ is usually not ‘good’, they are unhelpful and will usually leave the ‘dieter’ wanting what they are trying to refuse even more!

My ‘dieting’ journey

It began when I was just 15 when I joined a slimming group. I think I learnt some good nutritional tips – but I also picked up some very bad habits that took me 20 years to break.

I was suddenly fixated with the scales (jumping on and off daily), focusing on the weekly group weigh ins and, what I could ‘get away with’, became a top priority!

Over the years I was frequently drawn to tantalising headlines offering me the opportunity to drop a dress size in 10 days, lose 7lbs in 7 days etc etc.

Over those 20 years, I actually gained almost 4 stone in weight!

Liberation

Came when I moved aboard for a few years. Having once again lost weight with a slimming group I was terrified I would put it all back on once my safety net, the slimming group, had been taken away.

Instead of throwing in the towel, I took a deep breath and decided to be mature about it!

It soon became apparent that by reading food labels, eating (and drinking) in moderation, eating nutritious food (ie not out of a jar/packet) I was really able to maintain my weight.

All by myself!

Slowly, and really quite unconsciously, this became habit – and here I am, 6 years on after leaving the slimming group, still maintaining my weight – AND weighing myself only every couple of months.

By ditching the D word, you can really start living and lose weight!