How many diets have you been on?

New statistics have come to light about our dieting habits and, as a nutritionist, I find it quite depressing.

In general, women will have dieted for THREE YEARS by the time they are 30, with the average woman dieting twice a year and losing roughly 2kg each time.

The survey by Forza Supplements of 1000 British women, claims that the average female dieter will have spent 168 weeks trying to lose the extra weight between the ages of 18 and 30.  But it doesn't stop there, by the time the "average woman" reaches 40, the number reaches just under 6 years or 308 weeks of dieting.  This means that in total she will have lost an unbelievable 89kg by the time she's 30, that's 19kg more than the average weight of a British woman (69kg).

Now that is a heck of a lot of weight to lose between 18 and 30 and by the time she's 40 she'll have lost 158kg.... which demonstrates the yoyo effect of dieting instead of eating healthily all the time and maintaining a healthy weight.

You diet... you lose weight... you stop the diet... you go back to eating the way you did before - which made you gain weight to begin with... you put the weight back on, and then some... you diet again... and you keep going round and round in a vicious circle.

Oprah Winfrey has lost and regained weight many times.

According to the survey, the peak age for dieting is 33 due to the effects of motherhood and the fear of putting on weight in middle-age, however, women over 40 are apparently the most comfortable with their figures (really?  I'm over 40 and most of the women I know are die-hard dieters and desperately trying to reverse or slow the aging process!).

Forza Supplements also asked what were the main motivations for dieting, they turned out to be - in order of importance:

• Putting on more weight than a close friend or sister.
• How a woman sees herself in a shop fitting-room mirror.
• The end of a relationship - 57% of women said this would inspire them to do something about their weight to look more attractive.
• Embarrassing holiday photos.

If you have a weight problem, by all means, examine your lifestyle and make the necessary adjustments to lose the weight and then keep it off by not going back to your old ways.  It really isn't that difficult once you make the change, although I do realize that making the change can be daunting!

However, just as hundreds of thousands of people before you have managed it, I know that YOU can
too.

Analyze your diet, what changes can you make?  Make sure you eat lots of vegetables and some fruit.  By all means eat meat, chicken, fish and eggs - you just don't NEED to eat the whole cow at one meal!  Keep carbs to a minimum and make them as wholegrain as possible.  EXERCISE... move as much as possible, help the environment and take public transport or a bike when ever possible - you'll be helping yourself too. 

Come on people!  This isn't rocket science!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com