Mr Indroneil Mukerjee an accomplished Bach Flower therapist and a transformational Life Coach
Diets have been in vogue for a long time, as means of attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
In India, it has been there since ancient times. The Bhagavad Gita includes verses on diet and moderation in food. The Upanishads and Sutra texts of Hinduism discuss moderate diet and proper nutrition, as well as Aharatattva (dietetics). The Upanishads and Sutra texts invoke the concept of virtuous self-restraint in matters of food, while the Samhitas discuss what and when certain foods are suitable. A vast majority of Hindus still practice specific diets during fasting on certain occasions. Muslims have been observing a certain kind of intermittent fasting for 40 days during Ramzan. Special Sehri and Iftar diets are prescribed before and at the end of the day’s fast. Lent has evolved into a self-help program for many people who give up candy, carbs or alcohol for 40 days before Easter. By connecting it to religion, adherence is ensured for those who follow.
In recent times, thanks to studies and research in nutrition sciences, different kind of diets have become quite popular, particularly to reverse lifestyle diseases and related metabolic risk factors and disorders, like overweight, hyperglycaemia, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, among others. While many have benefitted from such diets, for a large number of people diets have either stopped working and proved to be sub optimal in healing or completely failed. Not because of the diet but more because of wrong practices, mismatch with lifestyle or emotional reasons.
Here are seven reasons because of which diets most often fail.
- Unsupervised diet
Taking up any diet, based on some generic advise on social media etc. without professional guidance, may not only fail to produce results but also prove detrimental. Diets are recommended by competent professionals based on individual markers, and constitution and lifestyle. Dieticians also, change diets from time to time, to make sure the body doesn’t get used to and stop responding. It’s important therefore to have a dietician to supervise one’s dietary program, right from inception.
- Avoidance and allergies
Having food items that do not emotionally or physically agree, may lead to failure. Before one starts with a diet, preferences, intolerance and allergies must be taken into account before recommending a diet plan. Besides understanding preferences for vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet, one must also take into cognizance that certain food items like poultry, mushroom, brinjal, nuts can cause food allergies. Also, certain items are considered to be aggravating pre-existing conditions, for example cabbage for hypothyroidism and oedema.
- Boredom
One pre-dominant reason for failing to sustain a diet plan is boredom and monotony. Diets do not need to be boring. A dietician needs to be creative and relatively well versed with culinary sciences to recommend dietary recipes that are interesting and not cause monotony. For example, a keto diet, though does not include any cereals, which most are used to consuming as a part of their meals, can be made so gratifying that one will being to enjoy and continue the diet, by choice.
- Extreme diets – Yo-yo dieting
Extreme hypocaloric diets can lead to – yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling. The term refers to the cyclical loss and gain of weight. The reason for yo-yo dieting is predominantly emotional and behavioural. At first the dieter may experience elation at the thought of weight loss and pride in their rejection of food. Over time, however, the limits imposed by extreme diets cause effects such as depression or fatigue that make the diet impossible to sustain. Ultimately, the dieter reverts to their old eating habits, now with the added emotional effects of failing to lose weight by restrictive diet. Such an emotional state leads many people to eating more than they would have before dieting, causing them to rapidly regain weight. Bach Flower remedies like Scleranthus, Agrimony, Chestnut Bud and Cherry Plum help to heal the pattern and get rid of old habits.
- Binge eating
One common reason for diets to fail is binge eating. Binge eating involves consuming large quantities of food very quickly, even when not hungry, and to the point of being uncomfortable. The condition is also characterized by feeling out of control when eating and a sense of shame or guilt over the behaviour. Research suggests that people who develop binge eating disorders tend to have a negative body image and have a history of dieting and overeating. Bach Flower remedies like Cherry Plum, Pine and Crab Apple will help to heal the emotional/behavioural condition that causes the condition.
- Unmet emotional needs
One of the most common and yet unknown reasons for diets to fail is the deep-seated unmet emotional needs of the dieter which he/she tends to compensate for with food. Without healing this condition, the best of the best diets may fail. Even if the dieter adheres to the diet, the unmet emotional need will not allow him to feel satisfied and satiated, leading to stress and rendering the diet ineffective, in the long run. It is advisable to consult a Bach Flower therapist who can diagnose this unmet need and dissolve/heal it with a customized mix of remedies.
- No or little buy-in
A predominant reason for diets to fail is lack of adequate buy-in of the dieter. No matter how significant it may be, every diet brings in a drastic shift in eating habits and patterns, to which a dieter often resists the diet and follows it grudgingly and reluctantly. Or may not be regular in following it, ‘cheating’ often. The dietician must recognize that mechanically imposing a diet never helps. It’s important to build a bond with the dieter, explain why the diet is being recommended and how it will help.
An advice to dieters who are wanting to go on diet to reverse their lifestyle conditions, permanently. The physical condition and the underlying metabolism are the manifestations of emotional imbalances often lying deep-seated in the unconscious. It is recommended therefore that before starting a diet, one should get a hold on these issues. Bach Flower therapy is the most preferred therapy to heal all emotional issues and even the underlying blocks and beliefs that can be concomitantly taken along with diet to prevent failure and expedite reversal.