Can Anti-Diet Really Work?

anti-diet body image diet dietary restriction food obsession weight loss Feb 03, 2025
Can Anti-Diet Work?

With my health, fitness, and let’s be honest, body goals, front and center in my mind, around 2004 I set out on what would become a 15 year long waste of life and time. 

 

From ordering a salad and being totally preoccupied with my diet while on a date with my high school crush, to not being fully present for landmark moments in my career through my 20s due to food obsession and insecurity surrounding body image, living the “health and fitness guy” life did not deliver the goods. 

 

I saw guys in movies, on the internet, and on magazine covers being admired because they had “the body”, but even when I did go through rare periods of liking what I saw in the mirror, most of my mental real estate was completely occupied with what I needed to do to keep liking what I saw in the mirror. 

 

All that lost time, all that anxiety, all those missed moments, to realise in my mid to late 30s what’s become known as an “Anti-Diet” approach to health, fitness, and even body image, would have served me best from the very start. 

 

Some of us really do need to go the long way and learn for ourselves, right? But even if I did get there by going the long way, here’s the thing; letting go of my obsession, fear, and rigid way of thinking surrounding fitness, diet, and my body didn’t result in me letting myself go. In fact when my wife and I escaped the grey of England for a few days in the sun in September 2024 - about 7 years after I’d said my final “Goodbye” to dieting - I was in the best shape of my life. This I can attribute to one philosophy; An anti-diet approach to health and fitness that involved focussing on building skills and exploring what I was capable of, without neglecting my physical, psychological, or emotional needs.

 

This was a stark contrast to all previous 2 incarnations of health and fitness that’d come across my path; Step 1) Get a picture of what I wanted to look like, Step 2) Throw myself under the bus trying to make that happen in any way possible. 

 

But hey, don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at some research…

 

The anti-diet philosophy is gaining recognition for its positive impact on physical and mental health - in contrast to traditional diets that often lead to temporary weight loss followed by regain, and reinforce food obsession, body image struggles, and shame. This is more than anecdotal opinions from angry ex-dieters.

 

A review published in Public Health Nutrition found that non-diet interventions led to significant improvements in disordered eating patterns, self-esteem, and depression. Contrary to popular criticisms of anti-diet, these interventions did not result in weight gain or adverse effects on blood pressure, blood glucose, or cholesterol levels.

 

“Impact of non-diet approaches on attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes: a systematic review” PMID: 25754299

 

Further studies indicate that treating eating intuitively as a skill that can be practiced and developed, can assist in weight maintenance and may contribute to weight loss. A review in Nutrition Research Reviews provided evidence that adopting this approach helps with weight maintenance and may lead to weight loss in overweight and obese individuals.

 

“Research on intuitive eating has increased in recent years. Extant research demonstrates substantial and consistent associations between intuitive eating and both lower BMI and better psychological health. Additional research can add to the breadth and depth of these findings.” - PMCID: PMC10282369 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

By learning to reconnect with internal cues and self awareness over external diet rules, we can develop a more sustainable, stable, and peaceful relationship with food, leading to both physical and mental health benefits.

 

In short, coupled with great stress management skills and a healthy relationship with exercise and movement, this is hard to beat if you’re looking for positive results you can sustain. 

 

Marcus Kain - Nutrition Coach, Strong Not Starving Founder.

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