Home > Slimming > News > Weight maintenanceIn a society that elevates chefs to celebrity status it's little wonder that we are obsessed with food. Women in particular, are prone to treating food as both friend and foe, with both feasting and dieting being a natural part of life. According to Rick Kausman, author of "If not dieting, then what?", 92% of young women and 44 per cent of middle aged women have tried dieting. An international study conducted by the Body Shop found that 94% of Australian female university students want to be slimmer – even though the majority of these women are not obese. Why do women who don't need to diet, diet?The media is a big influence on women's perspective of body image, even from an early age Barbie the doll spurs girls' idolisation with her impossible figure. Mothers berate girls for not finishing their dinner, treating them with sweets if they're good. Other well-meaning adults make comments about being 'pretty' before noticing their other (more significant) talents. How confounding! According to the Eating Disorders Foundation of NSW, 68% of 15 year old girls are on a diet, yet many only have a little puppy fat. Most women will gain confidence and security about their uniqueness with age. However many admit to bingeing on sweets and alcohol occasionally, then spending the rest of the week subsisting on a diet of miso soup or the latest in-vogue diet, to remain close to their perceptions of acceptable slimness. Clever marketing attempts to convince women that they can indeed function on cabbage leaf juice or other supposedly weight-shedding concoctions. And many try to, often with disappointing results. To add fuel to this fire, where once upon a time women's clothing were made to fit the woman, now women have to tailor their bodies to fit into standard dress sizes. No wonder women worry or quickly notice if they've added a centimetre to their waist lines. Dieticians warn that 'messing around' with our nutrition can lead to further problems. Those who diet when they don't need to, often find that they may lose several kilos by crash dieting, but as their ability to diet wanes after a few weeks, the kilos return, and then some. Their metabolism has slowed down because they have most likely dieted away muscle, which has been replaced by fat. And so begins the yo-yo cycle of being addicted to stepping on the scales and allowing those little numbers to influence our sense of happiness and self-achievement. "I used to be a size 10", we often hear women explaining to their girlfriends, "but ever since I had kids/got married/went overseas/landed this job I've shot up to size 14 and I can't fit in my clothes anymore!" Most women are aware that exercise combined with healthy eating is the best approach to 'food management' and therefore maintaining their dress size. The problem is that many struggle to find time to buy groceries, let alone cook nutritious, healthy meals between coming home from the office, picking up kids from child-care, or dashing off to an evening class, in between cleaning the house, feeding the dog and calling their husbands to tell them they'll be late home so please pick up some take-out! There is no easy cure for being time poor. However taking a holistic approach to life can lead to a more sustainable outcome. Alternative therapies and all manner of exercise options (including employing a personal trainer) mean that you no longer need to pin all your hopes on diets nor go it alone. Whether you are deep in The Zone, doing the South Beach diet or proving to yourself that refined carbohydrates really are the enemy, one thing is for certain: most women don't need to diet, even though they think and fear they do. Maintaining a balanced mindset, will go a long way in helping you feel content– without using the bathroom scales! |
|
|
|
Contact Information: © 2008 Health Brands Australia |