Is Dieting Healthy?

Dieting is popular but unhealthy. At best, it only works for a short while. But because that works for many people, it’s quite popular. However, what most people don’t know is that dieting backfires.

A study at Florida State University followed women for 10 years. They observed that those women who dieted earlier in their lives were more likely to become obese or overweight later on. Defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

Dieting produces cortisol in your body which not only promotes weight gain instead of reducing it but also has serious negative health consequences. This in itself is more than enough reason to avoid dieting at all costs.

At the end of the day, my personal reason to forego dieting is that I don’t want to sacrifice my happiness by going without my favorite foods. I love myself too much to torture myself in that way. I shudder to imagine a life without ice-cream.

A girl said it was just until her brother’s wedding. In a few months, she’ll start eating again. She wanted to be size zero, you know? And she hated exercise, so dieting it was.

Sorry to say that on the day of the wedding, she had barely enough strength to join the photo session. She said, “Mission accomplished”. I said, “Please eat a full meal as a favor to me.”

When I see someone who’s dieting, I wonder why they’re doing it. It’s really hard and not at all fulfilling(pun intended). Is it body shaming? Is it peer pressure?

I’m always baffled when…

“Have some more, please.”

“Oh, no, no. I’m dieting, you see.”

“Oh, dieting? Wow. I wish I could but you know me. I love pastries.”

Why is dieting a good thing? You’re depriving your body of its fuel. You know, I read somewhere that not eating breakfast can cause brain damage. So if you don’t eat all day, there’s no way it will be good for your health.

For those of us who want to reduce weight, there are many healthy (and tasty) options. Lots of exercises and a well balanced diet will make for a healthy lifestyle.

Say, you go for running, jogging, walking, two days a week each. You have a salad or fruit for one meal every day. You fix one meal per week for high-calorie dessert, one for junk food, one for your favorite but fattening dish, and so on.

My Environmental Science professor once said, “Excess of anything is good for nothing.”

Dieting creates more problems than it solves so I, for one, would like to refrain from dieting.

What’s your take?