Diet: Should This Be Considered A Dirty Word?

Contributed Article by Staff of Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, Platinum Sponsoring Partner of Eating Disorder Hope

Millions of Americans take great offense to four-letter words — and for good reason. Certain words have the ability to inflict pain, cause severe insult and injury, and cut deep life-long wounds.

At Timberline Knolls, we could envision adding the word “diet” to the list of unacceptable four-letter words. After all, this deceptive word offers attractive promises (yet rarely delivers), renders disappointment after disappointment, and makes good people feel like failures. This is a word that not only lies and cheats, but steals billions of dollars from the very people who worship at its alter.

Diets don’t work-they do not make us healthier or happier.

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So what does?

Health at Every Size® (HAES) offers a positive, solid approach to living a better life.  Developed by Linda Bacon, PhD, it is based on the premise that the best way to improve health is to honor and respect your body. It supports people in adopting healthy habits for the sake of health and well-being, instead of strictly for weight control. HAES supports people of all sizes in addressing health directly by adopting healthy behaviors and good nutrition.

The major components of HAES include:

  • Self-Acceptance: Affirmation and reinforcement of human beauty and worth irrespective of differences in weight, physical size and shape.
  • Physical Activity: Support for increasing social, pleasure-based movement for enjoyment and enhanced quality of life.
  • Normalized Eating: Support for discarding externally-imposed rules and regimens for eating and attaining a more peaceful relationship with food by re-learning to eat in response to physiological hunger and fullness cues.

Imagine living a life of self-acceptance, where exercise is engaged in for fun and pleasure, and where food is no longer governed by bizarre rules and emotion. It is possible.

For everyone who is officially done with diets, we suggest you check out the liberating lifestyle approach offered by HAES.

Published Date: March 1, 2012
Last Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on April 25, 2012

Page last updated: June 12, 2012

Article Contributed by our Sponsor ~ Timberline Knolls Treatment Center
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com, Eating Disorder Information