The Diet Food Dilemma
Tags: crash diet, eating habits, stock, diet, Banting Diet, nutrition, ready meals, emotional eating, Cabbage Soup Diet, healthy diet, habitual eating, body shape, unhealthy diet, starving, overeating
A problem human beings share is a tendency to fall for the ‘see food’ diet. Our primitive genetic coding sometimes tells us when food’s available, just incase there’s a shortage tomorrow – and if crispy, golden, succulent goodies confront us at every street corner, we don’t always stop to ask our stomach if we are genuinely hungry.
Of course this weakness has been fully exploited by the big diet companies and the supermarkets too. The shops are full of products claiming to be low fat or low calorie, but they aren’t really the slimming solutions that they appear to be.
How do you define slimming food? An orange? An avocado? A chicken salad? Or is it a pre-packaged ready meal with low-fat written all over it that looks very much like high-fat, deep fried product we’d actually prefer to eat? Are we really going to change our eating habits permanently by drinking three imitation chocolate milkshakes everyday for a month? Or are our bodies going to be even more confused when we finally give up the pretend party food and start introducing weird stuff like fish and tomatoes and brown rice?
Another problem with special diet foods is that, in order to make them taste as good as real food, a lot of sugar or chemicals have to be added. So a low-fat label often means high sugar. A Sunday Times article in February 1999 by Steve Farrar and Tom Robbins revealed that many leading slimming products (including diet drinks) are simply loaded with sugar which can be addictive as well as harmful; according to the same article, refined sugar consumption could be responsible for the deaths of 3000 British women a year with heart disease.
And for chemicals, well, that’s a controversial subject and the jury is still out on a lot of them. But in the meantime it’s safer to stick with the simplest and most natural basic ingredients instead of putting stuff in our bodies that we haven’t learned to deal with.
So, weighing up the evidence, it seems that the best thing about diet meals is that they are much more expensive than real food so you probably can’t afford to buy as many of them.
So Why Do We Keep Doing It
The great thing about banging your head on a brick wall is that it’s so wonderful when you stop. Of course, you may already have caused yourself a permanent injury…
People with problems are anxious and afraid that things will get worse – so the one thing they are reluctant to do is change, which, of course, is exactly what they most need to do.
In spite of the fact that dieting makes them miserable and doesn’t provide a permanent solution, it’s familiar territory. It can also be expensive and difficult, and that gives them confidence. Desperate people will believe anything – and if nothing’s worked in the past it’s reasonable to assume that they have to try harder and spend more money next time round. Of course, this opens the door to a lot of bizarre and even fake diet plans, as well as the usual calorie cutters.
What do you think?
I love your new post the diet food dilemma thanks for the great writing well be back soon
take care.
I like your article called Fit or Fiction. Very informative
Take care
Pete
With regards to diet food, I only ever went on 1 diet called something like Diets for Idiots :) or Idiot Proof Diet, I can't remember. I was only allowed to eat the same 4 things at different times of the day, EVERYDAY! For the vegetarian version of the diet, two of those things were plain tofu and macadamia nuts. I can't believe I did this for 3 months. I did lose weight, which was great, but what a bore for my taste buds. So I haven't ever eaten fast diet food, but of course I have eaten a fair share of junk and fast food in my lifetime, but that's all in the past now :) (except for the odd sneaky occasion)
I read years ago that low fat was full of sugar but it's taken me quite a while to break the habit myself. I fully believe its the reason why so many people today suffer from diabetes.
I dont know how to broach it with my friends, who so believe low fat is better!
I find it scary now when I look at the ingredients of many processed foods. From a taste point of view, the foods I am eating now are so much more delicious and give me so much more energy. But I have to admit, it can be hard to break habits of a lifetime and even now I occasionally check how many calories are in a particular type of food.
For years I have done all these things, gone to slimming clubs, ate diet meals and lots of low fat foods, so no wonder I never got anywhere.
Thanks to an article in a magazine I found your programme and you have taught me the best way to lose weight. Now I don't look for low fat foods but I do check for how much suger is in foods and it is so suprising.
Thanks for teaching me to eat sensible and I have lost nearly a stone and a half in 6 months without any stress or more importantly feeling deprived,
If there is a down side to the excellent food on show today it was the cost and I know what a struggle it can be for many families, but with careful planning and using local fruit and veg in season (it doesn't have to be flown round the world) a good priced healthy diet can be achieved. Our grandparents did it after all. I just need to practice what I preach a little more - so that will be my challenge in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
But who wants to be slim at the expense of being healthy and fit? Especially when you can have all three.
I always thought I ate quite healthily but now I enjoy food so much more. It takes longer to prepare due to all the chopping and peeling but... WE ARE WORTH IT!
Thanks so much for teaching the truth about food, diets and the industry that goes with it..
PP xx
The food industry knows that it can sell any old junk simply by labellling it "low fat". And unfortunately, many people genuinely think they are doing the right thing by buying this stuff. Animals have more sense - for a bit of light relief, have a look at my cat doing the Elmlea Challenge and checking out reduced fat Elmlea "cream" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzzezDYvIFU
I've spoken to quite a few people who didn't realise Elmlea wasn't cream, and I also bought it accidentally the first time. So, I hope Alfie can put a stop to this! Thanks for your support.