Dieting Is Not Always The Answer

I was introduced to the concept of dieting at the ripe old age of 11. During this time, my grandmother thought I could benefit from Weight Watchers. This began a decade+ of yo-yo dieting and spinning my wheels without achieving my physique and health goals. Adkins, Keto, Plant-Based, The Zone Diet, The Blood Type Diet, Mediterranean, Paleo, Alkaline, South Beach, Intermittent Fasting… I tried it ALL.

Dropping diets with names, eating well, eating often, and eating more based on my physical activity levels. With more than 14 years of my work in the nutrition field, I see this same pattern with countless others. We are inundated every day with influencers, media, and constant communication from the diet and fitness industries that make us believe we must be smaller to be better; that we should eat less and move more. And while YES calories in vs. calories out is important, it’s not the full story. This often leaves people eating WAY less while seeing the opposite of the results they desire.

Food is fuel for our bodies in the same way our cars need gasoline to drive from point A to point B. A car would break down if one attempted to drive from Nashville to Los Angeles on an empty tank. This same concept can be said for our human bodies. Complex metabolic, endocrine, digestive, and even neurological processes impact the state of our body composition. If we consume less calories and/or push physical activity levels to the extreme we may see a change. One of these physiological processes will start to fight our efforts, and eventually it becomes a full systemic assault.

Prolonged periods of being in a caloric deficit reduces thyroid function, sex hormone synthesis, and the overall metabolism. This increases stress hormones that promote adipose tissue gain and negatively impacts the microbiome, meaning we don’t absorb nutrients as well.

We NEED extended times of calorie maintenance and bursts of caloric surplus interspersed with intentional caloric restriction. Higher activity levels NEED more fuel. Have you built a fire? A fire builds and grows with more logs and kindle only which makes it bigger, hotter, and brighter. If there is no feeding being done the fire will eventually burn out. The human metabolism works in much the same way. The longer and harder we diet it becomes very difficult to gain muscle and lose body fat.

When one is working out hard, they are not only burning calories but also expending a lot of minerals and micronutrients. This often-overlooked factor is extremely important, as minerals are the spark plug to the engine of our body’s performance. Once we are better with consuming, absorbing and utilizing more minerals our performance increases, and we see better results for our efforts.

Other important considerations for health are sleep and stress management. You must think of some of life’s stressors—relationships, education and/or career, financial obligations, etc. as drops in a bucket. Then consider dieting becoming a stressor and exercise. Sleeping well is how we recover, restore, and build back from all of life’s stress each day. If your body is fighting you on making changes, or sleep is lacking in quality or quantity these are factors that must be addressed as well.

We must take a step back to keep moving forward. Take an

extra rest day or an overall deload week or month. Increase calories in the way of more high quality and nutrient-dense real whole foods. Make sure to fill your plate with food for the soul, as well as time in the sun and fresh air, with friends, reading a good book, a hot bath with magnesium flakes, or whatever hobby outside of fitness endeavors that makes you feel good. This gives you a sense of community which is equally vital parts of your journey.

Author: NFM Staff

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