One Thing that Keeps Us from Eating Healthy

Transitioning from January diets to the rest of the year

“Well, my doctor told me I need to follow a ‘plant based diet.’”

I had just suggested to a client that she try swapping out her flavored yogurt (lots of added sugar) for plain Greek yogurt (no added sugar, higher protein). I sensed her nervousness that I suggested she eat dairy after her doctor had explicitly told her to be “plant based” (aka “vegan” in current diet speak). I imagine she expected me to suggest that she have a plant-based yogurt substitute instead of dairy (animal)-based yogurt.

Despite the fact that for the previous many years before working together, her diet was full of fast food, sugary drinks, and ultra processed meals and snacks, she was still uncertain about eating yogurt since it wasn’t “plant based” (dairy isn’t vegan). If she couldn’t follow the doctor’s instructions “perfectly” then she was failing.

This newsletter isn’t actually about vegan or “plant based” diets. Instead, I want to talk about dieting extremes and black-and-white thinking. Because when we think about our diets in extremes, it can limit us from making steady progress toward improving our health through diet. If we can’t follow a (strict) diet 100% then why try at all?

January is full of proclamations like:

“I’ll never eat [insert food or food group] again.”

And

“This [insert extreme diet] is how I’m going to eat for the rest of my life.”

While I don’t want to dissuade someone from making changes they believe will be beneficial, I do want them to consider how realistic a proposed change might be in 5 weeks, 5 months, or 5 years. Will they be able to completely avoid added sugar for birthdays, holidays or out to dinner with friends? Do they really want to? (I certainly wouldn’t). If we want to make a long term change—unless your environment and/or identity have drastically changed—then making small steady changes over a longer period of time are more likely to stick than making drastic, short term changes.

We learned from the show The Biggest Loser that extreme dieting and exercise can cause weight loss, but once contestants returned to their “regular” lives (outside the tightly controlled environment of intense daily exercise with measured meals and snacks), they regained most (if not all) of their weight and had slower metabolisms.

All-or-nothing thinking can limit our progress to making long term change. So, instead of committing to being vegan or obsessively counting calories, maybe try adding a serving of vegetables to your lunch or swapping out your flavored yogurt for plain or substituting a few of your sugary drinks for water each week. For example, my client, who can follow a “plant based diet” (eating predominantly plant foods) while still eating some eggs, dairy, and even meat, fish and poultry.

Honestly, it’s easier to follow a strict diet for 4 weeks, but will that get you the results you’re seeking in 5 years? The bigger challenge is building the environment, mindset, and skillset that it takes to live a life that includes predominantly whole foods for the rest of our lives.

Have you gone to dieting extremes? What was your experience? I’d love to hear.