The Headcase for Dieting
January 26th 2008 06:19
Category: No Category
It’s interesting to ponder why people keep trying one new diet program after another, over and over, when they’ve failed over and over.
Psychologist Peter Herman, quoted in “Rethinking Thin” by Gina Kolada, says that usually when you fail to reinforce a behaviour, repeating the behaviour should fail. In this case, if you fail to lose weight following a diet, then you should logically not try to diet again because it didn't work.
However, there’s something about controlling your body weight that makes humans respond differently to failing to lose weight on a diet. Herman says when we fail at a diet, there are two choices: conclude you didn’t do it right/try hard enough, or that there was something wrong with the programme.
And that’s why diet books fill the shelves of bookshops of course, and new weight loss centres and programmes spring up all the time: the others have got it wrong, we’ve got it right.
Making one of those choices gets you poring over the food lists, reading the testimonials of people who loved and succeeded (however temporarily – they never say that!) on the programme, and feeling positive this time that it WILL be the last time you do it! Herman calls it False Hope Syndrome.
And if you’ve ever dieted(likely you have, or you’d not be reading this blog), you probably know exactly how that feels, at the beginning of the cycle……. And at the end of it.
And maybe you’re looking for a better way, maybe you’re finally, finally sick of the way you beat yourself up when you work so hard to lose weight, and then it creeps back on no matter what you do.
At time of writing this, I’m 46 years old. I’ve been an Australian size 8 and an Australian size 18. I’m currently a size 16. I eat well, good healthy food. I exercise regularly. I feel great, happy in mind and body and spirit.
The turning point for me was when I finally gave up the endless quest to try the new miracle diet. My mum still looks at me sadly, assessing my body as less than perfect. But the truth is she did that when I was a size 8 as well, my ankles weren’t perfectly thin and my calves not quite shapely enough. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be perfect in body and focus instead on feeling healthy and strong and happy.
And in its own way, that’s perfect too. Cos the last human who was perfect, was crucified.
Psychologist Peter Herman, quoted in “Rethinking Thin” by Gina Kolada, says that usually when you fail to reinforce a behaviour, repeating the behaviour should fail. In this case, if you fail to lose weight following a diet, then you should logically not try to diet again because it didn't work.
However, there’s something about controlling your body weight that makes humans respond differently to failing to lose weight on a diet. Herman says when we fail at a diet, there are two choices: conclude you didn’t do it right/try hard enough, or that there was something wrong with the programme.
And that’s why diet books fill the shelves of bookshops of course, and new weight loss centres and programmes spring up all the time: the others have got it wrong, we’ve got it right.
Making one of those choices gets you poring over the food lists, reading the testimonials of people who loved and succeeded (however temporarily – they never say that!) on the programme, and feeling positive this time that it WILL be the last time you do it! Herman calls it False Hope Syndrome.
And if you’ve ever dieted(likely you have, or you’d not be reading this blog), you probably know exactly how that feels, at the beginning of the cycle……. And at the end of it.
And maybe you’re looking for a better way, maybe you’re finally, finally sick of the way you beat yourself up when you work so hard to lose weight, and then it creeps back on no matter what you do.
At time of writing this, I’m 46 years old. I’ve been an Australian size 8 and an Australian size 18. I’m currently a size 16. I eat well, good healthy food. I exercise regularly. I feel great, happy in mind and body and spirit.
The turning point for me was when I finally gave up the endless quest to try the new miracle diet. My mum still looks at me sadly, assessing my body as less than perfect. But the truth is she did that when I was a size 8 as well, my ankles weren’t perfectly thin and my calves not quite shapely enough. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be perfect in body and focus instead on feeling healthy and strong and happy.
And in its own way, that’s perfect too. Cos the last human who was perfect, was crucified.
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