Are weight loss sites dangerous?
In today's culture, we are innundaed with weight loss messages - weight loss supplements, weight loss drugs, weight loss with ozempic, best weight loss diets, weight loss programs, and the list goes on and on.
There's always a new "fast way" to "find perfection." Unfortunately - it doesn't work (research shows people people are 'successful with dieting' after a year which is why the studies don't show past year. A reporter recently interviewed me about weight loss sites and programs so I am letting you in on my expanded thoughts below. I'm not here to get down on any one particular person or place but to inform you of the reality of what I see every day.
In what way can weight loss sites make an impact on someone's relationship with food?
Take it from me - I have been doing research and direct client work in this area since the beginning of my training in 2003. The diet industry has not changed - it is a constant cycle of promises of a better, more fulfilling life when the research consistently shows anything but those things as the actual outcome. Weight loss sites and weight loss programs may be intended to "empower" people to feel they can have a sense of control over their body and health, but the outcome is generally a sense of lack of control, feelings of disempowerment and a sense of not being able to have the "willpower" to lose weight.
Some weight loss systems separate foods into color categories (green, yellow, and orange) based on caloric density. Can this impact us negatively?
The short answer is yes - it can absolutely lead to a negative relationship with food. This assumes that the lay person simply does not understand calories and that is the issue of why the number on the scale is what it is. That is incredibly problematic because it oversimplifies things way too much. First off, the research shows that most people are actually on chronic diets for most of their lives to begin with - we cannot use another diet to solve the problem that the dieting industry caused to begin with. The reality is that all foods fit in most people's lives (medical-specific issues aside). What is "healthy" is what is considered moderate and balanced for each individual. That means that everyone is different and therefore what their body needs to function optimally is also different.
Can weighing yourself everyday impact your mental health? If so, how?
Short answer again here is YES! The research shows the number one gateway into developing an eating disorder is dieting. There are others, but this is by far the strongest relationship. In addition to this, even if a person does not develop a life-threatening eating disorder, they still may have a life that is centered around trying to achieve something that is unattainable for them. The focus becomes the number being the goal and the behaviors have to shift to reach that number - that's not health! And, unfortunately in our diet-driven culture these things can be reinforced all too often, as people usually feel so validated when people say "wow you look amazing, have you lost weight?" It perpetuates the cycle. Health is eating intuitively in balance, variety and moderation and nourishing the mind, body and spirit. At the end of the day, whatever the number is on the scale IS your healthy range for this moment in time, and it likely will change over time. I have seen clients lose years of quality of life focusing on a number on a scale and then becoming very angry when they realize they sacrificed living for something they could never attain anyway. We have to remember the dieting industry is a business and businesses need to make money to stay in business. This is the only industry I know of that the product consistently fails the customer and the customer believes it's their fault - they just need to try harder. Ditch the scale - focus on nourishing your body, spirit and mind and whatever the scale would say, is the right thing for you.
How can someone know if their mental health is being impacted by a weight loss platform? Are there any signs or symptoms they can look out for?
Look for changes in yourself or others. Are you feeling stressed after you leave the platforms? Do you feel not good enough or that you need to change? Do you feel ashamed of yourself or your body? Are you finding yourself cutting out categories of foods or changing your relationships/outings because your diet could fail? Are you finding yourself changing your "goals" in your diet as you progress into this world? Are you weighing yourself obsessively or finding your day consumed with thoughts of calories and weight? Are you placing value to foods - they are "good" or "bad," "safe" or "unsafe"? These are signs that you are internalizing some concerning things in the diet world and the sooner you receive help the better. If you relate to these issues, reach out to a professional for consultation - there is help! You matter. You deserve. You ARE enough.
