Breaking Free from Diet Culture: A Sustainable Path to Health
As an osteopath, I see the physical and emotional toll that extreme dieting takes on my patients every single day. Sarah walks into my clinic with chronic neck tension, telling me about her latest 800-calorie-a-day "cleanse." Mark complains of fatigue and headaches while following a restrictive ketogenic diet he found on social media. Emma arrives stressed and anxious, having yo-yoed through five different diet programs in the past two years.
These stories aren't unique – they reflect a broader pattern I see across the healthcare system. What strikes me most is how dedicated and motivated these individuals are. They're not lacking willpower or commitment – they're simply caught in approaches that aren't designed for long-term success.
The Diet Industry's Empty Promises
Let me be blunt: the diet industry is built on failure. If diets actually worked long-term, the industry wouldn't be worth over $70 billion globally. As fitness coach Ben Carpenter puts it perfectly, "The best weight loss diet doesn't exist. From keto to intermittent fasting, no diet is superior. They all work in the short term, but are rarely sustainable for the long term."
This resonates deeply with what I observe in practice. I've worked with many incredible people who maintained significant health improvements when they shifted away from extreme approaches. What I consistently see are individuals dealing with the unintended consequences of restrictive methods: metabolic adaptations, nutrient gaps, disrupted eating patterns, and strained relationships with food and their bodies.
The Real Science Behind Sustainable Change
The research is crystal clear, yet the diet industry continues to ignore it. A landmark study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed dieters for five years and found that 95% of people who lose weight through restrictive dieting regain it – often with additional weight on top (Mann et al., 2007).
Why does this happen? When you severely restrict calories, your body doesn't just burn fat – it also breaks down muscle tissue and slows your metabolic rate as a survival mechanism. Your hormones shift to increase hunger and decrease satiety. Your brain literally changes to make you think about food more often (Sumithran et al., 2011).
One of my patients, David, experienced this firsthand and showed incredible resilience in finding a new path. After losing 40 pounds through severe calorie restriction, he found himself regaining 55 pounds over the following 18 months despite his best efforts. Together, we discovered that his metabolic rate had adapted significantly – he was maintaining weight on far fewer calories than before his initial diet. This wasn't a personal failing; it was a normal physiological response that we could work with, not against.
A Different Approach: Addition, Not Subtraction
Here's where the conversation needs to shift. Instead of asking "What can I eliminate?" we should be asking "What can I add to nourish my body better?"
Ben Carpenter advocates for this approach, explaining "how focussing on eating more can actually lead to fat loss." This isn't about eating more junk food – it's about adding more vegetables, lean proteins, fiber-rich foods, and nutrient-dense options that naturally crowd out less nutritious choices.
When I worked with Maria, a teacher who had tried everything from juice cleanses to paleo diets, we focused entirely on addition for the first three months. We added a serving of vegetables to each meal. We added a 10-minute walk after lunch. We added one extra glass of water with each meal. She lost 18 pounds without restricting a single food – and more importantly, she felt energized and sustainable in her approach.
The Wisdom of Simple Principles
Nutrition professor Marion Nestle, who has spent decades studying food politics and nutrition science, offers perhaps the most sensible advice I've ever heard: "Eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, go easy on junk foods."
Notice what's missing? No forbidden food lists. No complicated macronutrient ratios. No special timing protocols. Just simple, sustainable principles that have been consistent across decades of nutrition research.
This approach aligns perfectly with what I see working in my practice. The patients who achieve lasting results follow these basic principles:
They eat when they're hungry and stop when satisfied
They include vegetables with most meals
They stay adequately hydrated
They move their bodies regularly in ways they enjoy
They don't label foods as "good" or "bad"
They plan for social situations and special occasions
Debunking the Myths That Keep Us Stuck
Let me address some of the most persistent myths I hear from patients:
Myth: "I need to detox/cleanse my body" Your liver and kidneys are incredibly sophisticated detox systems that work 24/7 without any special juices or supplements. As Ben Carpenter has pointed out in his myth-busting content, there's no scientific evidence that commercial detox programs remove toxins any more effectively than your body's natural processes.
Myth: "Carbs make you fat" Some of the healthiest populations in the world eat high-carbohydrate diets. The issue isn't carbohydrates – it's refined, processed foods that happen to be high in carbohydrates (and often fat and sugar too). Whole food carbohydrates like oats, sweet potatoes, and quinoa are associated with better health outcomes, not weight gain.
Myth: "I have no willpower" This belief is so common, yet it couldn't be further from the truth. The people I work with demonstrate remarkable willpower and dedication – often far more than necessary. What appears to be a lack of willpower is actually your body's natural, intelligent response to restriction and deprivation. When we work with these biological responses rather than against them, creating lasting change becomes much more achievable and far less reliant on constant self-control.
What Success Actually Looks Like
Let me tell you about James, a 45-year-old accountant who came to me two years ago. He had tried every diet imaginable and was frustrated by his pattern of losing and regaining the same 30 pounds. Instead of another diet, we focused on building sustainable habits:
He started meal prepping on Sundays (not restriction – just planning)
He began taking walking meetings when possible
He learned to recognize hunger and fullness cues
He practiced eating slowly and mindfully
He allowed himself flexibility for social occasions
Two years later, James has maintained a 25-pound weight loss, but more importantly, he has energy, sleeps better, and no longer thinks obsessively about food. His blood pressure improved, his back pain decreased, and he feels confident in his ability to maintain these changes for life.
This is what sustainable success looks like – not dramatic before-and-after photos, but steady, consistent improvements in how you feel and function every day.
The Osteopathic Perspective
As an osteopath, I'm trained to look at the body as an interconnected system. Poor nutrition doesn't just affect your weight – it affects your energy, your mood, your sleep, your recovery from exercise, your immune function, and yes, your musculoskeletal health too.
I regularly see patients whose chronic pain improves when they stabilize their blood sugar through balanced eating. I see people whose sleep quality improves when they stop the stress of restrictive dieting. I see patients whose anxiety decreases when they stop the cycle of food guilt and shame.
Your body is designed to thrive when you provide it with adequate nutrition, movement, rest, and stress management. It's not designed to thrive under the chronic stress of food restriction and the metabolic chaos of yo-yo dieting.
Practical Steps Forward
If you're ready to step off the diet roller coaster, here's how to start:
Focus on one small change at a time. Maybe it's adding a vegetable to one meal each day or taking a 5-minute walk after lunch.
Learn to recognize your hunger and fullness cues. Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied. This takes practice if you've been following external diet rules for years.
Plan ahead without restricting. Meal planning isn't about restriction – it's about ensuring you have nourishing options available when you need them.
Move your body in ways you enjoy. Exercise shouldn't be punishment for eating. Find activities that make you feel strong and energized.
Practice self-compassion. You're not broken if diets haven't worked for you. You're normal. The diets were the problem, not you.
A Final Thought
Marion Nestle reminds us that much of our food confusion comes from an industry that profits from that confusion. The diet industry needs you to believe that weight management is complicated, that you need special products and programs, and that failure is due to your personal shortcomings.
The truth is much simpler: your body knows how to maintain a healthy weight when you provide it with adequate nutrition, regular movement, sufficient sleep, and manageable stress levels. Trust your body's wisdom instead of the latest diet trend.
As Ben Carpenter wisely notes, sustainable approaches focus on "options for fat loss, politely, human-to-human, without any of the typical industry dogma and pseudoscience." This is exactly the approach we need – practical, sustainable, and based on treating ourselves with kindness rather than restriction and shame.
Your health journey doesn't need to involve suffering. In fact, if it does, that's probably a sign you're on the wrong path. Choose sustainability over quick fixes, self-compassion over self-punishment, and nourishment over restriction.
Your future self will thank you.
How can I help you?
I LOVE helping people get healthier and reclaim their life!
Send me a message today and start a discussion. Or book online now.
References
Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A. M., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare's search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62(3), 220-233.
Sumithran, P., Prendergast, L. A., Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes, A., Kriketos, A., & Proietto, J. (2011). Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 365(17), 1597-1604.
Wing, R. R., & Phelan, S. (2005). Long-term weight loss maintenance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(1), 222S-225S.
Bacon, L., & Aphramor, L. (2011). Weight science: evaluating the evidence for a paradigm shift. Nutrition Journal, 10(1), 9.
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Wall, M., Story, M., & Standish, A. R. (2012). Dieting and unhealthy weight control behaviors during adolescence: associations with 10-year changes in body mass index. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50(1), 80-86.
Tomiyama, A. J., Ahlstrom, B., & Mann, T. (2013). Long‐term effects of dieting: is weight loss related to health? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(12), 861-877.
