One of the most common questions we hear is, ‘But what if I still want to lose weight?’ In this blog, our administrative assistant Nicole Doyle explains our approach at Reclaim Nutrition and why we believe intentional weight loss is not the solution we are led to believe and why we want to help you break free from diet culture. As a team of experienced Registered Dietitians who have worked in hospitals, outpatient medical facilities, and now in an eating disorder specialty practice, we have seen the impact of well-meaning advice from medical providers, family members, and other dietitians suggesting weight loss for disease management and prevention. Despite research showing that over 90% of diets and weight loss attempts fail long-term, why does weight loss remain the gold standard for disease treatment? What exactly is a weight-neutral or weight-inclusive approach? Keep reading to find out!

Break Free from Diet Culture: Why We Don’t Focus on Weight Loss

Weight loss can often become a revolving, moving target that people hold onto in order to feel better, more confident, and “healthier.” Living in a society that caters to certain body types (think chair sizes, airplane seats, clothing access), it’s understandable why weight loss seems appealing.

Furthermore, everyone around you is talking about weight loss: from parents, doctors, and friends to neighbors, social media influencers, and even that person from high school now selling MLM weight loss plans. It’s no wonder you might think about losing weight.

However, there’s a significant reason why we don’t help our clients with intentional weight loss. Before we explain our weight-inclusive approach, let’s explore why we are all so weight-obsessed.

Understanding Diet Culture

Diet culture is pervasive and influences nearly everything we do. Sabrina Strings, a sociology professor at the University of California, Irvine, and author of “Fearing The Black Body,” explains diet culture in an article for SELF Magazine. 

String says, “there’s this idea that diet culture only affects people who choose to diet, but that’s not true. Diet culture is the culture we’re all steeped in; it’s the belief that we can control our bodies based on what and how much we eat, and it places a moral judgment on food and bodies.”

Diet culture lures us in with empty promises of quick fixes and unrealistic ideals. It perpetuates harmful beauty standards and disrupts our relationship with food. While dieting might give short-term results, it often has long-term consequences for most people.

The Problems with a Weight Loss Focus

The allure of weight loss (which as we’ve discussed is so real and understandable!) comes with many empty promises and often long term impacts. Most people who engage in some form of intentional weight loss often find themselves stuck a cycle of weight cycling, also sometimes known as yo-yo dieting or repeated weight loss and gain. This on-again-off-again, up-down weight cycling not only causes emotional turmoil, including anxiety, guilt, and shame, but also possible health risks. More studies on weight cycling are beginning to show the negative health impacts that can result in the frequent fluctuations in body weight, including cardiovascular risk and increased risk for eating disorders.

This weight-centric approach, often prescribed by medical providers, fails to deliver long-term health improvements and for most people, weight loss doesn’t produce the desired outcomes. Studies show that 95% of weight loss attempts don’t succeed long-term, and maintaining a lower weight can be debilitating, unsustainable and can cause mental and emotional distress, perpetuating the vicious cycle of dieting.