What you’re eating and what’s eating you!
As a nutritionist I know the science behind weight loss is relatively straight forward. If you consume fewer calories in your diet than you need to maintain your body weight, you will lose weight. This simple equation has been reduced, flippantly in my opinion, to an overly simplistic message of eat less. I hate this message, at its core it’s true, but as an instruction it is useless, often insensitive to the struggles we face and fundamentally misunderstands our relationship with food.
It’s useless because it actually doesn’t give you any meaningful information to work on. Eat less? What does this mean, less in quantity, quality or calories? How can you eat less if you don’t know what you are currently eating? It can lead to people who desperately want to lose weight into cutting out entire groups of food such as carbs, cheese and bread to name a few, without considering that food is not just about calories, but about the vitamins, minerals and fibre that your diet provides and which are essential. But it can also lead to people depriving themselves of their favourite foods in a desperate bid to lose some weight. A healthy diet shouldn’t mean depriving yourself of the foods you love or restricting entire food groups. That’s no way to eat, it’s not healthy and worst of all its potentially dangerous.
It’s insensitive because as a statement it dismisses just how hard it can be for people to change their behaviours and habits. I also think that underneath this simple message there’s also a hidden subtext, that those who are overweight are lazy or greedy. That’s insulting and I think that comments like this say far more about those who utter them than those they direct it at.
And finally, and what will always be missing from the eat less, lose more equation, is that it completely excludes that very real fact that our relationship with food is more complicated than simply fuel for your body. We eat for many reasons, not least because of our emotional relationship with food. When we celebrate, we share food. When we feel bad, we turn to food to cheer us up. When we are bored we nibble and when we want a treat we reach for something sweet and tasty.
There’s nothing wrong with doing this every now and again, but when these become habits and if we are unhappy with our behaviours, we feel guilt and shame. It’s here that often the biggest problems lie, because we trap ourselves in a cycle of guilt and shame and try to alleviate this with food. Focusing on only food will never help us to break this cycle, in fact it can sometimes make the situation worse.
So any advice on eating less and eating healthily must be complemented with support and advice on addressing the underlying reasons why we overeat and how to break these destructive habits. So it’s back to the title of this column, it’s not just what you are eating, but what’s eating you!
I’m afraid however at this point, I’m not going to offer any advice on addressing our self-destructive behaviours. Next week my colleague Julie Fitzgerald will however write up a follow on article with some tips and advice on how you can make positive steps to improve your relationship with food. In the meantime however, you may like to take a little time out of your busy life and take use this to reflect on your bad habits, why you have them and also why you find it hard to break them. By opening the lid on this, you can start to get to the bottom of all the unsaid self-destructive barriers that are holding you back. And by recognising these you can begin to break them down and define and control your path to your own personal success.
Kind regards,
Claire
Even when I'm not hungry I'll eat just because it's there. I amgoing to empty my cupboards of unsuitable food this week.
Comment by VIVIAN42 -
For those who suffer depression, I hav also been victim to this on and off for several years. As hard as it seems a the time when you are in the midst of lethargy and defeatist thoughts, one of the main keys to breaking the cycle is exercise. Going for a short walk each day helps and seems to increase motivation and reduce comfort eating, plus its calorie burning! The hurdle is getting out there, you always feel great when you do though.
Comment by SARAHVW84 -
Def not just the calorie count! A lifetime of carbs has caused insulin resistance at 40 I can't process all the glucose from carbs and it gets stored as fat. I can stick to a 1500 cal carb-inclusive diet and never lose an oz. (no one believes that, but it's true). When I swap my food choices to a protein and fat based diet, it falls off. Carbs also affect leptin, a hormone that regulates hunger feelings the 'full up' feeling can't get to the brain properly. Now I just need CAKE RESISTANCE!
Comment by RACHEL_1972 -
I don't think it's true that if you eat less calories than your body needs you will lose weight. I am always very strict with diets but even so I often have weeks when I don't lose weight or I even put on weight! I think sometimes if we don't eat enough we don't lose weight or if we are not very active we don't lose weight. I think there are a lot of other factors that are relevant to weight loss not just calorie counting - at least that's my experience for what it's worth!
Comment by RACH1001 -
Hi ROSEYJANE,
I'm delighted that you have found this article so useful. If you just focus on the food and don't try and address the unlying reasons why you starting to pick up these bad habits, you'll struggle to success in the long run.
Keep focused and you will get there.
Claire
Comment by CLAIRE@EDIETS -
Hi KATE2012,
When you know what you're doing wrong, acknowledge it and then have a proper structure and plan to correct it, making the change can be easy. And like anything, making the change is so rewarding too.
I'm delighted you're off to such a fantastic start and you are enjoying the plan. Keep it up and all the very best in the weeks to come
Claire
Comment by CLAIRE@EDIETS -
Hi JACHKDLB2011,
This is true, not all addictions are hard to give up - I used to just love coca-cola myself and decided enough is enough, I didn't need the sugar and calories and swapped to water.
But I knew it was a habit more than an addiction with cravings, so I think it was easier. With food you can get into a cycle where you still do it and then feel guilt and shame and it gets worse. It's not the physical act that's hard to break, but the mental challenges that come with it.
Comment by CLAIRE@EDIETS -
I'm looking forward to the next article and will be spending time looking at my relationship with food. I suffer with depression like KATE2012 and comfort eat as I'm sure many do, but I hate being this size. I have wasted a lifetime yo-yo dieting and then feel disappointed with myself for not keeping up the weight loss. Now I am 59, 3st 5lb overweight with a cholesterol level of 8.5. I have great confidence in TD to support me as they have in the past, so here's to the last yo-yoing, thanks all
Comment by PURDEY1952 -
having dieted all my life, and failed at it too!!! i feel very determined having read the article, it all just makes sense to me now. i would go to meetings just to be weighed and then leave, i never stayed for the talks, and i know i should have done. there is so much info on this site, and i dont have to go out in the cold to get it. i constantly have made excuses for not losing weight, but as from hereon in it stops. i desperately need to lose the weight for once and for all, for me!
Comment by ROSEYJANE -
i suffer from depression and comfort eat i constantly snack on low calorie crisps but cant seem to stop
Comment by JAEKWON4ME -
Plain and simple, I was eating too much food with a high fat/sugar content. On TD Light Choices I have food from all of the food groups, with restriction on foods containing fat/sugar. I don't feel hungry in between meals and lost 11Ib in the first 2 weeks.
Comment by CATHERINEMEESON -
Very good article. No all addictions are hard to give up, but with something like smoking you know that you just have to stop, you do not have to decide whether today you have one or two cigars, or perhaps a herbal pipe.
Comment by JACHKDLB2011 -