The Non-Diet Approach is a completely different way of thinking about health and wellness. If you’re fed up with dieting, this is the alternative you’ve been looking for!
Diet Truths
Research shows that 19 out of 20 people who diet to lose weight will regain the weight they lose within a two-year period. Two-thirds of those people will gain back more weight than they lost. This means you have a 63% chance of weighing more each time you go on a diet.
Dieting behaviour can include any of the following:
- A list of foods you’re not allowed to eat
- Rules about when you can eat certain foods eg. no carbs after 5pm
- Using meal replacement shakes
- Using appetite suppressants
- Setting a daily calorie limit
- Eating less food to make up for having “too much” yesterday
To read more about why diets don’t work, click HERE
Health At Every Size (HAES)
TheHealth At Every Size paradigm rejects weight-focus and encourages healthy behaviours and attitudes instead.
This is because many well-designed studies now show that:
- You can be ‘overweight’ and healthy
- Losing weight doesn’t guarantee improved health
- Constantly losing weight and regaining it is harmful to your physical and mental health
This short video from the Association for Size Diversity and Health perfectly explains the problems with the current research into weight and health.
Everyone deserves the right to quality healthcare, no matter what shape or size they are. We need to support people to engage in healthy behaviours, not focus on weight as the determinant of health. You can be healthy at a range of different weights.
Claire Gasper – Principal Dietitian at Allied Nutrition
The Non-Diet Approach is the practical application of the HAES paradigm
The 5 key principles of the Non-Diet Approach are:
- Trust your internal body cues, such as hunger and fullness signals
- There are no “good” and “bad” foods, all foods are allowed
- Embrace your body shape
- Find enjoyable ways to move your body and be physically active
- Nourish your body in a balanced way
What to Expect with the Non-Diet Approach
Your Allied Nutrition dietitian can help you to:
Understand and overcome emotional eating, including binge behaviour- Learn to eat mindfully, to increase your awareness of the food you eat
- Satisfy cravings without overeating
- Plan nourishing meals and snacks
- Eat without feeling too full
- Weigh yourself less often
You and your dietitian will work at the pace you’re comfortable with, and address concerns that are a priority for you. We treat everyone as individuals and our focus is on helping you to develop a lasting healthy relationship with food and your body.
