Chronic Dieting: Everything You Need to Know!

Authored by Meredith LaFrance, RDN, CD

What is a diet? 

People who are dieting are often caught between “what I should eat” vs “what I want to eat.”

It may surprise you to learn that dieting is a form of disordered eating, and the most common form at that. Dieting is defined as the restriction of certain foods or quantities of food with the goal of achieving a smaller body. Some diets are easily identified, such as low-calorie diets, food-specific diets (e.g., low carbohydrate diets, low-fat diets, carnivore diet), liquid diets, fasting, and “detoxes.” Diets can also masquerade as “lifestyle changes” - a recent rebrand to keep folks engaged in dieting. Foods are ranked in a moral hierarchy, leading to judgment towards some foods and elevation of other foods. While these approaches may promise everything from clearer skin, to complete resolution of gut issues, to a longer and happier life, these “lifestyle changes” still vilify entire food groups or types of foods that bring us joy. Ultimately, flexible, normal and intuitive eating evolves into a rigid black and white perspective, fueling a negative relationship with food and body image. 

Dieting often involves consciously overriding natural hunger cues, disrupting our ability to attune to our body’s needs. Sometimes this can lead to a period of binge eating. For some individuals, hunger cues can just disappear altogether because their bodies learn to no longer trust these automatic signals, leaving them struggling to adequately nourish their bodies. Dieting also requires a great deal of emotional, mental, and physical energy. This means less time to devote to activities that bring us joy. Given the countless downsides of dieting, why do so many people continue to engage in this detrimental cycle? Diet culture.

Dieting often involves not just the restriction of certain foods, but the quantity of certain foods as well.

What is diet culture? 

Diet culture centers on valuing thinness and smaller bodies over other bodies and equating this body type to better health and happiness. The more you learn about diet culture, the harder it becomes to escape. Many people casually make comments about “walking off a meal,” refraining from dessert, “needing” to lose a few pounds, or avoiding carbs, unaware of the long-term impact this message has on themselves and on others. Diet culture harms everyone with a body, though folks in higher weight bodies feel the greatest and most harmful impact. Diet culture sets us up to always feel we are failing and normalizes disordered eating. 

What is chronic dieting?

Chronic dieting is a condition or practice of engaging in diet culture over a long period of time. There is an overemphasis on body size and some kind of food restriction. Many people will initiate a diet, follow it for a few weeks or months, and then eventually “give in” to cravings for specific foods or greater quantities of food.

Research studies show that intentional weight loss in pursuit of a smaller body does not work. In fact, this chronic dieting cycle can pose significant health risks - a detail conveniently left out of shiny and convincing diet plans. Yet many people are determined that losing weight is the path to a better life. This perpetuates the cycle of chronic dieting: (1) body image dissatisfaction, (2) food restriction and deprivation, (3) disappointment about eating and body image, (4) bingeing, (5) feelings of guilt, shame, and failure, poor self-esteem. Repeat. At a certain point during the food restriction part of the cycle you might feel good. However, this is temporary and inevitably leads to dissatisfaction, “giving in,” and reinitiation of the restriction phase. 

You can break free from this cycle and discover what it feels like to nourish your body with foods you enjoy and that make you feel good.

Signs of chronic dieting

Does the the diet: 

1. Make promises that just sound too good to be true? Examples include weight loss, reduced inflammation, elimination of gastrointestinal issues, relief from seasonal allergies, etc.

2. Use words like “detox” or “reset” to describe the approach?

3. Blame you in any way and place the responsibility of improving health outcomes solely on your shoulders?

4. Encourage elimination of certain foods (e.g., carbohydrate-rich foods, gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, etc.)?

5. Elevate some foods above others? Look for terms like “superfoods” or “anti-inflammatory foods.”

Signs you may be dieting:

1. Do you view foods as “good” or “bad”?

2. Do you have a fear of eating?

3. Do you refer to days when you include certain foods you really enjoy as “treat days”?

4. Do you know the calorie content of all the foods you’re eating?

5. Do you avoid going out to eat with friends or family because you are worried about what you’ll “be able to eat”?

6. Are you hungry all the time?

7. Do you feel guilty after eating some foods and an urge to “make up for” what you’ve eaten later by eating less?

Exiting the cycle and cultivating a positive relationship with food

Exiting the diet cycle is not an easy task, especially for those with a long history of dieting. It may seem scary at first, but by throwing out the scale, meal plans, and rigid rules, you’ll find that you can lead a higher quality of life. 

Exiting the cycle and practicing intuitive eating allows for a flexible and positive relationship with food.

1. Start by making a list of things you’ll be able to do after you ditch the diet mentality. Think of the time you can put into your job, that new hobby you have been considering, and spending time with friends. 

2. Release yourself from diet culture by allowing yourself to have the foods you want and start intuitive eating. No food is off limits. Reconnect with your hunger and fullness cues.

3. Recognize that we can eat for reasons beyond hunger, too. Eating when you’re happy, anxious, or sad is totally appropriate, as is eating in social situations (like a party) even if you’re not really feeling hungry. 

4. Review your social media and get rid of accounts that make you feel yucky about your body. Follow accounts that are fat positive and size inclusive. Look for hashtags like #FatPositive, #CelebrateMySize, #InfiniFat, and #FatLiberation.

5. Seek community. Find other individuals who understand the detriments of diet culture and are actively fighting against it. 

Leaving diet culture behind takes courage and you don’t have to do it alone. For nutritional or therapy support, please reach out to us by clicking on our Get Started form. 

About the author: My name is Meredith and I am an anti-diet Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. I recognize that chronic dieting perpetuates an unhealthy relationship with food and contributes to ongoing oppression of marginalized groups and folks living in larger bodies. I provide compassionate, size-inclusive care for people in all bodies seeking to reconnect with food in a positive way.

Meredith LaFrance, RDN, CD is a dietitian based out of Seattle, WA. She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating and chronic dieting and relationship with food concerns.