The False Promise of Diets
If you're like me, you've been on more diets in your life than you can remember. I counted once and came up with at least 20 different diets that I'd tried and failed.
The truth is, I didn't fail. The diets failed me, because they were never intended to work long-term. Diets are really good at offering false hope. The companies who create them know diets have never been proven to work long-term for the vast majority of people. So they dangle a promise that you will be the one who succeeds on their lifestyle/clean eating/wellness/healthy eating plan (all code words for diet) where others have failed. These companies have entire departments dedicated to advertising and marketing to convince you that if you just pay one more time, you'll finally achieve permanent weight loss.
Their marketing pitch usually goes like this:
"You want to lose weight, but you've tried diet after diet and nothing has worked. You don't need another diet. You need a plan that can get you lifelong results. That's why we created [XYZ plan]. This groundbreaking weight loss method, which is powered by psychology, is simple and easy to follow. You can eat what you want (no more diet food or cutting carbs) so you'll never go hungry. There's no counting points or measuring (because who has time for that). With our proven system, we'll help you break your addiction to food so you'll never have another craving. You're probably thinking there's a catch. Like you'll have to spend half your day in the gym to achieve these results. Nope! All you need is 10 minutes a day. We've cut out all the fluff and only included what you need to lose weight. Are you ready to stop dieting and start getting results? If so, join now."
This sounds amazing, right? There's only one problem. This plan isn't going to work either because no matter what they call it, at its core it's a diet, and DIETS DON'T WORK.
Since you're checking out my website, I suspect you're starting to realize that dieting is no longer working for you. You may not know what you're looking for instead, but you do know that you can't keep joining programs that limit what you eat, when you eat, or how much you eat. You've noticed that when you try to diet, you just end up binging on all the foods you really want to be eating. You feel out of control with your eating, and dieting only makes it worse. If this describes you, you're in the right place. My story is very similar. After years and years of chronic dieting, I crashed. I became a binge eater, and no matter what I tried, I couldn't stop. Then, I got professional help and learned that the KEY to being FREE from overeating and binging is to STOP DIETING. That's how Done With Dieting was born.
STOP THE INSANITY
Imagine if you went to your physician for high blood pressure and they told you they were going to start a medicine that works great for a year. Then, after that year, it would slowly stop working until your blood pressure got to the point where it's just as bad as before. Would you sign up for that medicine? Of course you wouldn't! But this is what we do to ourselves each and every time we join another diet/weight loss/wellness/clean eating/healthy eating plan. We're signing up for something that we know from past experience isn't going to be a permanent solution.
When you struggle with overeating, you think the problem is that you eat too much. In reality, you likely struggle with overeating because you aren't eating enough.😯
Why does this happen? Because you're restricting.
RESTRICTION = THE LIMITATION OR CONTROL OF SOMETHING
Restriction is the underlying problem that leads to overeating.
Restriction comes in 2 forms...FOOD RESTRICTION and EMOTIONAL RESTRICTION.
1) Food Restriction
Ex 1: In an effort to eat healthier, you've decided to limit sugar and flour. It goes well for a few days, but soon, you can't stop thinking about food. You constantly fantasize about everything you wish you could be eating. Pretty soon, your willpower breaks down and you're scarfing down carbs as fast as you can.
Ex 2: You're going to a party, and you're stressed because you're trying to eat healthier and you can't eat most of the food that will be served. You make a plan to only eat from the veggie plate. As soon as you walk in, the smell of food hits you, and it smells amazing. You tell yourself you'll just have one bite. Before you know it, you're finishing off one plate and heading back for seconds. As soon as you finish eating, you're filled with shame and guilt. Now that you've blown it, you keep eating and tell yourself you'll start over again tomorrow.
Ex 3: You want to lose weight so you decide to go on a diet. When you were younger, dieting was easy, and it always worked. Now that you're older, you find that it's harder and harder to stick to the plan. No matter what you try, it seems like you never stay on your diet for more than a few days before you're back to eating everything that's off limits. It's so frustrating. You think something must be wrong with you. After all, you know what to do. You just can't find enough willpower to do it consistently.
2) Emotional Restriction
Ex 1: You just got into another fight with your partner who doesn't understand why you spend so much time working. You're angry and frustrated. You open the pantry and see a bag of cookies. With the first bite you feel your anger melting away, so you keep eating until your anger is gone. By the time you stop, you've eaten the entire bag.
Ex 2: You just had a disagreement with your coworker. You know you need to address it, but you hate conflict. Instead of talking to your colleague, you decide to retreat to your office. You grab a bag of candy because you've noticed that when you're stressed, candy seems to help. So you eat the entire bag. As soon as you're done, the calm you felt while eating disappears because the candy didn't actually solve your underlying problem. You still have to talk to your coworker.
Ex 3: It's the weekend and your kids have been fighting with each other non-stop. It's driving you crazy. All you want is some peace and quiet. You're home alone with the kids and leaving to get some time alone isn't an option right now. You decide to decompress the only way you know how. You grab a bag of chips, lock the door to your room, and eat chips until the stress passes.
FOOD RESTRICTION & EMOTIONAL RESTRICTION BOTH LEAD TO OVEREATING.
FACT: DIETING IS A FORM OF RESTRICTION
FACT: RESTRICTION LEADS TO OVEREATING
FACT: IF YOU WANT TO STOP OVEREATING, YOU MUST STOP DIETING
That's why my coaching program is called Done With Dieting. I will teach you how to leave dieting behind so you can finally have a normal relationship with food.
DIETS SET YOU UP TO OVEREAT
To Understand Why, Think Of The First Humans...
There were no grocery stores. You only ate what you caught or grew, and you never knew when you'd have your next meal.
Because you went for long periods without eating, your body got really good at holding onto calories.
Fast forward to today. When you want to eat, you simply go to the grocery store, a restaurant, or the drive through. Food is always available.
But your body is still stuck in the past. Whenever food is limited, it still thinks it must protect you from going hungry.
When you limit your food intake, your body notices. It doesn't know you're purposefully limiting your food intake. Instead, it thinks it's being starved, so it goes into action to protect you from starvation.
Your body has a natural set point which is a weight range it prefers to stay within. Your set point is unique to you and in large part is determined by your genetics. Your body's goal is to maintain your set point. If you purposefully create a calorie deficit, your body goes to work to preserve calories.
Although you initially lose weight, your body fights against this weight loss. Your metabolism starts to slow down. To protect you, your body starts holding onto calories and fat in case you're ever short on food again. That's why most people who lose weight eventually gain it back.
You assume you must be the problem, so you start looking for a new diet - one that you believe you'll be able to stick to. The problem is that each diet you go on continues to confuse your body. Every time you limit your food, you set yourself up to binge. In the end, your weight keeps going up.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF DONE WITH DIETING IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Do any of these describe you?
Binge eater
Emotional eater
Compulsive overeater
Stress eater
Food addict
Comfort eater
Mindless eater
Overeater
Out-of-control
No matter what you call it, the symptoms are the same:
You aren't able to control yourself around food.
You don't feel like you can stop eating.
You constantly blow your diets.
You eat even when you're not hungry.
You eat to make yourself feel better.
You can't stop thinking about food.
You feel like you're addicted to food.
IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU, THEN MY COACHING PROGRAM, DONE WITH DIETING, IS THE PERFECT SOLUTION.
Here's What You'll Learn In Done With Dieting:
Learn Why You Struggle With Overeating
Why do you overeat? You overeat because doing so brings you the relief you crave. Whether it's stress at work or stress at home, overeating makes you feel better...temporarily. The truth is that this is a band-aid solution. It doesn't actually solve any of your problems. Your brain is wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Overeating does both. It provides an escape from your stress. It feels good in the moment. Thus, the next time you're having a hard time, your brain will offer overeating to you as the solution. In order to heal the trauma that excessive overeating has caused to your body, you MUST address the root cause of why you overeat in the first place.
Learn How To Stop
In order to stop overeating, you must change your relationship with food. However, excessive overeating isn't actually about the food. It's a way to cope with life. In order to stop overeating, you must learn new ways to cope. You must learn how to feel your feelings. You have to learn how to calm your nervous system so you can respond to stress differently. You also have to learn to change the way you think. The thoughts you currently have about good and bad food, dieting, weight loss, and your body are the thoughts that keep you stuck in the cycle of overeating.
Move Forward With Your Life
How much time do you spend thinking about food? Are thoughts of food constantly running through your head? Do you spend a lot of your mental energy trying to convince yourself not to eat bad food? Compulsive overeating steals so much of your time and happiness. When you think about your life, what do you want to do with it? What do you want to accomplish? How do you want to spend your time? I guarantee you don't always want to spend your time eating. Once you learn how to stop overeating, you can take back your time and create a life that doesn't revolve around food.
Join Done With Dieting Now To Receive:
A 6 month group coaching program (July - Dec) designed to help you learn why you overeat, how to stop, and how to maintain your progress even after our time together ends.
Weekly group coaching sessions with me (July - Dec) where you can receive coaching on any issue that's holding you back.
Actionable tips and strategies proven to help you move beyond overeating. Trainings are short and designed to easily fit into your schedule.
Virtual support where you can email me at any time to ask questions & get help between coaching sessions.
Trina Dorrah, MD, MPH
Certified Life Coach
Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
I'm Trina, and I'll be your coach for the next 6 months.
I used to binge eat every day, so I understand how frustrating it is. As a practicing physician, I also get how incredibly stressful medicine is.
Every day you're having to deal with patient emails, prescription refills, quality metrics, patient experience, administrators' demands, declining reimbursement, and the constant pressure to see more and more patients. When you get home from work, you're exhausted - both physically and mentally. To top it off, you probably still have notes to finish. You're frustrated, upset, and overwhelmed.
So what do you do to deal with the stress? You eat. I don't mean eating your regular dinner, or even eating a dessert. I'm talking about your meal after the meal...the cake, chips, cookies, muffins, ice cream, pretzels, or whatever else you can get your hands on to eat.
Ultimately, you eat because it makes you feel better. Then you keep eating until it's all gone, because in that moment, eating feels better than having to deal with the stress of your life.
Remember, dieting leads to overeating. If you want to stop overeating, you MUST stop dieting.
INVESTMENT
You may be wondering how much the program costs.
My question to you is how much is it costing you to not address your unhealthy relationship with food?
How much is it costing you in real dollars to constantly be buying binge food?
How much is it costing you mentally to always be thinking of food?
How much is it costing you emotionally to deal with the shame, guilt, and regret that follows every time you binge eat?
How much is it costing you to keep paying for diets that don't work?
When you think about everything overeating is costing you, how much is it worth it for you to finally learn how to stop?
Done With Dieting costs $1997 paid in full, or 6 monthly payments of $347.
NEXT STEPS
Ready To Join Done With Dieting?
During our 6 months together (July-Dec), you'll learn:
The real reasons why you overeat.
How to feel your feelings, including those that drive you to overeat.
How to deal with your emotions like stress and overwhelm in ways that don’t involve eating.
How to decrease your desire to binge on junk food.
How to move forward using the principles of intuitive eating.
How to create a life where you can enjoy food without overeating.
Register for the Done With Dieting Webinar
In this webinar you'll finally learn the real reason why you overeat.
We'll discuss the underlying reasons for overeating which include overdesire and overhunger.
I'll explain why it's so hard to break the cycle of overeating.
I'll show you why dieting actually sets you up to gain weight.
I'll teach you 3 things you can do now to stop overeating.
I'll also give you a preview of my 6 month coaching experience, Done With Dieting.
Attend live to ask me any questions you have.
Everyone who registers will receive the replay.
Meet With Me One-on-One To Ask Questions
Choose this option if you have additional questions, or if you want to talk with me about designing a custom one-on-one coaching experience specifically for you.
Although I have a specialty in binge eating, I am a general life coach who is trained to coach on anything.
Feel free to reach out with your concerns, and I will show you how coaching can help.
Please note, I do not coach men.
CONNECT WITH ME
