One of the very few advantages of having my long history with the diet world is that I can see the patterns perpetuated by the diet industry.
For instance, my first diet was Atkins but not the recent round of that high protein diet. I was on the original diet when I was 10 years old! (Looking back, I was not overweight but my mother was, and she put all of us on a diet to keep her company.)
I’ve lived through various rounds of low fat, high fiber, low calorie, high protein and high carb diets. Tried them all, and felt the impact as they all failed, time after time.
So, what’s next in diet world?
Well, several books are scheduled for fall touting HIGH CARB DIETING!
Yes, you heard it here first. The next trend is high carb. Ready for some pasta?
Yep, it’s making a comeback. Pasta, bread, grains, rice, potatoes. If those are your faves, they’ll soon be “legal” in the world of diet mentality.
Now, you might ask, since they’re now verboten, how can this food suddenly be OK? Well, it’s similar to Weight Watchers changing their point system when profits start to slide: everything is malleable in Diet World. Rotating interest keeps profits high. No doubt the agriculture industry that grows grain has “influenced” the new trend too.
Carbs will be “OK” because the diet will cut fat and protein. All diets cut one or more of the primary nutrients, forcing the body to compensate by burning stored fat, at least for a while. This process ends when the body becomes threatened due to fat loss and starts burning other vital body elements instead of fat, or when cravings overcome. This is the deeper danger of dieting, burning off necessary body tissue like muscle, connective tissue, organ material, ligaments, etc.
It’s just another reason to stay off the diet bandwagon and focus on real lifestyle change. After all, permanent weight loss means losing and maintaining weight loss through all the fads. I remember losing weight by eating real food in reasonable amounts during the low-fat craze, the Atkins revival, high points and low points.
And that first Atkins diet? Well, I learned enough to avoid it the second time around. All is not lost if you learn something from those failed efforts.
5 Responses to Oh no! Not Again!
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- Confused? Most people are. All this is diet advice from the perspective of what I call Diet Mentality. Based in fea… https://t.co/oLbdhU6utw
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- I've always said exercise is more important than food control. What do you think? https://t.co/nRyJeKMZ9y
- Before and after pictures are usually complete fakes, and give us the misconception that the "after" picture is the… https://t.co/QUdTrITjeG
- Take a look! Wisdom! https://t.co/zjh6DbmIh9
Pat, so true! Thanks for alerting us to the next fad trend, so we can ignore it and stay true to ourselves!
I’m seeing there are some benefits to growing (b)older! You can see a bigger picture of the diet industry, and have a good laugh at it!
Pat, I love and respect you, but I think that is an unfair shot at Weight Watchers. The points system changed because WW was integrating nutritional science that has come to light in the last 13 years (since Points were introduced). I do NOT consider WW to be part of the “diet industry” – it is firmly committed to sustainable lifestyle change and not a quick fix. I took part in a 3.5 hour training last night on the Psychology of Weight loss, and you could have written much of the material yourself. I think it’s unfair to take shots at WW without attending current meetings and really studying the materials carefully.
I have total respect for you too, Foodie, but you can’t deny their profits were slipping when they started this new campaign and it has huge marketing tie-ins to products. I have three friends who have quit WW based on the new approach because they have seen through the profit-seeking. And I am aware/informed on their program. Calling a diet a “lifestyle change” doesn’t make it so. It’s still a diet and, in my opinion, robs the dieter of personal power when they have to count/limit their bodies to an allotted point system.
I teach my clients to nourish their bodies in a different way, through body needs/cues, which can’t fit into a “system.” They are just different approaches, one from outside the body, one from inside. My belief is that no one/nothing should tell someone how to nourish their body, except the body. The body’s needs are way too complex for a diet, or eating system.
Thanks for the comment – it’s cool that we disagree and that we have different approaches that work for us. Readers, what are some other approaches you use?
I don’t know. I feel like I’ve totally changed my lifestyle through WW. I haven’t been on a diet and I’ve maintained my weight loss for 2 yrs. It’s all about knowing oneself, and I preach that every week.