Are you dieting
by mistake?
Most diets don’t work in the long term yet many of us are on a diet right now without even realising it
Y
ou might not be aware of the extent to
which your eating is dictated by dieting
rules. And while many of us may not
think we are on a diet, often what we
believe constitutes healthy eating may in fact be
far more restrictive than was ever intended.
This was certainly the case for dietician Lyndi
Cohen, who battled with binge-eating and calorie
deprivation for years until she stopped trying to
control everything she ate and slowly adopted a
healthier approach. In her part recipe, part self-help
book, The Nude Nutritionist, she explains: “Dieting
rules often make you think about food more, which
does not help you eat less or more nutritiously.”
Her advice is to notice when you start to ask
yourself: ‘Am I allowed to eat this?’ “Asking
this question is a symptom of being stuck
in the diet mentality. Because of courseThe Nude Nutritionist
by Lyndi Cohen.
Published by Murdoch
Books, distributed by
Allen & Unwin,
RRP $39.99.you’re allowed to eat it. The more important
question is: do you want to eat it? How will eating
it make you feel? Food must be a choice, not feel
like a prison sentence,” she says.
Lyndi believes she was dieting by mistake for
over 10 years until she broke her emotional-eating
cycle. Try her quiz (opposite) to see if you may be
doing the same. For every rule you tick, try
changing the question to: ‘I am allowed to eat that,
but do I really want to?’ “The distinctions are subtle,
but can make an oh-so-significant difference.” •