Does Chronic Dieting Cause Hunger Signaling to Fail

Many of you know that dieting is a fool’s errand for many of us. We can go for a period of time, usually short enough that it can fit between major holidays or events, and monitor and regulate our diets and even our activities if the goal is deemed worthy….despite the healthiness of that goal or method.

But we also know many folks, or maybe even oneself, who have lost weight over and over again only to find themselves re-gaining it…again.

Science has explored this ad nauseum and basically comes back to the same conclusions…ad nauseum: most dieters either stop dieting, stop exercising, or substitute activities that otherwise would be burning calories after a while; and those who remain faithful to the process tend to do better at keeping weight off than those who don’t.

 

That chronic dieters may eventually “reduce women’s ability to recognize hunger and fullness signals and effectively regulate eating behaviors, which may in turn trigger episodes of binge eating and therefore weight regain”.”

If this is the case, along with conscious reductions in weight loss behaviors and metabolic changes (see previous post), then maybe dieting needs to be put in perspective: it’s not about what or how much you eat but why you eat or don’t eat according to the signals your body is sending . In other words, it’s about recognizing when you are hungry and when you are not.

For more on this hypothesis read this and think of someone you know and love.

Dieting Disrupts Hunger and Fullness Signals