"Diet is a Four-Letter Word"

- McKenzie Hall, RD

Recently I went to the 2012 National Stroller Strides Conference where I was introduced to amazing people doing great things in health and fitness.  It was so motivational and influential, I want to share some of the information I learned.

One of the speakers I listened to was McKenzie Hall a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Counselor.  What I liked about Ms. Hall was that I really felt like everything she said was exactly how I felt about, and approached nutrition (said with more eloquence, of course). It was a nice feeling, and gave me a sense of confidence that there was a method to my madness.

While she had many things to say, what I wanted to share about today was her idea about "diets."  As the title of this blog alludes (words from Hall, herself), diets are not the way to approach or improve one's health. Some of you may be rolling your eyes right about now. Like, "Yeah, yeah, we've heard it before. Life changes.. blah, blah, bleh." But here's the thing... I totally agree.

In the past I tried restricting things I ate - no desserts, little to no carbs, and don't even think about eating that cheesy pizza you want so bad. But it NEVER worked. As soon as I told myself I couldn't eat something was the moment that thing became number one on my list of things I WANTED to eat. I remember about 6 years ago when I had a go at South Beach and "couldn't" eat sweets. I'm not even a sweets person, but because I couldn't have it, all I wanted was sugar. I remember the need became so much that I bought sugar-free candy and tore into the bag on the way out of the store. It didn't take more than a candy or two for me to realize that obviously this "diet" was not something I could keep up and am happy to say I chucked the candy and the diet, then and there.

As Hall says, "Diets set you up for failure." Instead she says she allows all foods in moderation. She even went so far to say that if you have to have a cupcake, eat that cupcake and get on with your day.  Anyone who knows me knows that I will never miss out on a food I really want. One day it may be a quesadilla, another day it may be might be some delicious frozen yogurt from the amazing Bogurt Yogurt, but I eat it and get on with my day. As I like to say, I eat very healthy MOST of the time.

Along with these insights she gave an informal list of why diets don't work and I wanted to share. So, here they are. According to Hall (along with my commentary), "diets" are linked to:

• disordered eating behaviors - maybe we've all seen this one
• low energy - yup
• suppressed immunity - Why, you ask? Because when following a diet you are most likely restricting some foods. Restricting foods means restricting nutrients, and that ain't coo'.
• reduced self esteem - "I need to lose this weight because I am a big ol' fat pig, and no one can stand the sight of me." I don't know if that's a direct quote, but I'm sure old Nikki has said that somewhere down the line.
• Irritability - Sooooooooo true
• Social Isolation - Hall made a good point here that eating is such a cultural thing. Removing yourself from social outings because of food isn't healthy. Or, for me, even worse, you're missing out.
• Depression
• Increased Risk for Obesity - Sad, really.

Now do we see why Hall says that diet is a four-letter word? I hope so.  Just say no ;)

I will be doing more posts on things discussed at the conference, including more from McKenzie Hall, RD, but if you would like to see more from her, you can check her out on NourishRDs.com