Six Reasons to Ditch Dieting

“I hate it when girls don’t eat or just pick at a salad.”

Sad but true — some studies have shown that up to 80 percent of fourth-grade girls have already been on a diet. The pressure to be thin is so enormous that even supermodels think they need to shed a few pounds.

But whether it’s counting calories, carbs, or fat grams, dieting isn’t a shortcut to happiness or beauty — or even thinness. In fact, a recent Stanford University study revealed that teenage girls who dieted were more likely to become obese than those who didn’t diet. Need another good reason to ditch dieting? Take your pick.

Diets Are Boring

Have you ever obsessed about how many calories there were in nonfoods like toothpaste? Or gone out to dinner with someone who calorie-counted the whole meal? It gets old really fast. Some girls worry about whether they should eat at all when they’re on a date.

“Of course they should eat if they want to!” says Chris, 18. “I hate it when girls don’t eat or just pick at a salad. It’s a good sign when a girl likes food. It means she enjoys things and isn’t too hung up about how she looks or what other people think of her.”

Diets Can Make People Feel Bad About Themselves

Food is totally necessary for survival. Restrictive diets can make food seem like the enemy, and often divide foods into categories of “good” and “bad.” Eating “bad” food can lead to feelings of guilt. Ever eat one cookie and feel so bad that your diet was “ruined” that you ate the whole box to “comfort” yourself? Diets can set you up for “failure” like that. The truth is, food is yummy, and there’s no reason to deny yourself something you enjoy, in moderation.

Diets Won’t Make You Popular

We’ve watched too many bad movies and TV shows where the main character loses 20 pounds, buys a new wardrobe, and suddenly becomes the most beautiful and popular girl in school that every guy wants to date. It doesn’t happen like that in real life. Being thin won’t make you beautiful — and being beautiful doesn’t guarantee you happiness.

“I lost a lot of weight last year, and I thought I’d finally be getting dates,” says Kara, 17. “A few people noticed and said I looked good, but it wasn’t like guys flocked to me all of a sudden.”

Diets Usually Don’t Work

Even if you are able to lose weight on a diet, you probably won’t keep it off. Studies show that most people who lose weight on a diet eventually gain it back — and then some. This often leads to a dangerous cycle of gaining and losing, called “yo-yo dieting.”

“I lost a lot of weight pretty quickly before prom, and I looked great,” says Lauren, 17. “But I gained it all back over the summer and when I went back to school in the fall, everyone was like, ‘what happened?'”

Diets Can Be Unhealthy

If you’re on a low-calorie diet, it can be hard to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs. This can interfere with your growth and lead to weaker bones and muscles. A diet that’s too low in fat can cause a woman to stop getting her period — a condition called amenorrhea. Depriving your body of nutrients can also make you tired and cranky.

Diets Can Turn into Eating Disorders

In its worst form, dieting teaches people to focus all their energy on what, when, and how much they’re going to eat. Food becomes an obsession — the focus of a person’s daily life. Extreme versions of this can lead to anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating.

So, if dieting doesn’t work, how do you lose weight (if you really do need to)? Get plenty of exercise. And eat a healthy, balanced diet that allows you to enjoy food. That’s good advice for anyone, fat or thin.