Raise your hand if you’ve been on a diet before! [Insert raised hand black girl emoji]. Diets have been around for forever and they have done more harm than good to our society; especially with the younger generation. So what’s the truth about diets?
What is diet?
Before we begin, what is diet? Diet is defined as “the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats” according to Oxford languages. There is also a second definition, which defines diets as “a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.” I believe that most of us is familiar with the second definition. Today, we are focusing on the second definition; we will also learning the real truth about “diets”.
Why do people go on a diet?
The leading reason why people go on a diet is for weight loss. It can also be for medical reasons; for instance, surgery needs, diabetic needs. Nowadays, everyone wants to fit in society’s popular beauty standard which revolves around being skinny and being a size 0. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being skinny or being a size 0. However, society have put being skinny on such a high pedestal that people go to extreme lengths just to fit in. Which is where diet culture comes in. Diet culture makes you think that there is something wrong with your size or the way you look. Then sell you products to “make you lose weight”.
Do diets work?
The truth about diet is that they do not work. Although, those companies who sell diet pills, drinks and/or lollipops want you to think that they work long term. Diets can work for a couple months or so, however, there is a 99% chance that you are going to gain the weight back. According to this study, most popular diets are only effective for a few months to a year. After this period of time, the benefits of the diet in question will be gone. Basically, diets DO NOT work.
Next time you are thinking about making the decision to go on diet, ask yourself why you are doing it? Is it for yourself or is it to fit in society’s standards? If you want to lose weight, remember that there are several safer and healthier ways to lose weight. Don’t let your first be to jump onto the popular diet train which, I can tell you from experience, will not be effective. I hope that you got a lot from this reading! Let me know in the comment section if you’ve ever tried a diet before and how it worked out for you. Lastly, if you haven’t yet, check out my new year, new me, new diet post for more insights on new year’s “diets”!
Letβs be friends on Instagram @smileymaruth , I post a lot of encouraging, motivating, inspiring words on my stories and feed. I also share my meals and workouts on there regularly.
With love,
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