Dieting is the practice of consuming certain foods and limiting calories and portion sizes to help you lose weight. Yet, dieting requires behavioral changes that are not easy to adopt or maintain in the long run. A dieting plan with a balanced intake of foods may reduce your risks for chronic diseases. On the other hand, if you do not plan carefully, dieting may increase your risk of nutritional deficiencies. This is why it is imperative that you consult your doctor before embarking upon any diet plan.
Pro: Weight Loss
The biggest benefit of dieting is that you can lose weight, especially when you also engage in physical activity. Weight loss occurs when you consume less calories than you expend through exercise. You can choose from a plethora of diet plans that range from very low calorie, to low fat and low carbohydrate. These diet plans may be effective in helping you lose weight in the short-term and lose even more weight in the long-term when you increase your adherence to the diet, according to research by scientists at Tufts-New England Medical Center, published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 2005.
Pro: Reduced Health Risks
Dieting can improve your physical health, particularly when you consume a balanced diet of foods, allowing you to obtain adequate amounts of essential nutrients. A healthy diet plan emphasizes whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry and lean meat; it also avoids or minimizes sodium, added sugars, cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats. Weight loss from dieting is associated with reduced risks of chronic conditions and diseases that include obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer. Weight loss results from dieting may also enhance your mental health and how you feel about yourself.
Con: Difficult to Follow
The hard part about dieting is changing your eating behavior and following the diet plan. At first, you may feel excited about the prospect of looking thinner and may adhere to the plan wholeheartedly. Over time, though, you may be tempted to eat the high-calorie foods you were used to eating before the diet. You may simply find the diet plan too restrictive to adhere to every day. Research by scientists at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and published in "Appetite" in 2005, reports that low rates of weight loss success are due to inability to adhere to dieting strategies in the long-term and that sustained adherence to reducing calories and increasing exercise is effective for establishing self-set dieting goals.
Con: Gallstones
Dieting may increase your risk of gallstones. Research by scientists at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and published in the "Journal of Surgical Research" in 2002 discovered that rapid weight loss can result in a high probability of gallstone formation. The research demonstrated that gallstones occur even when prevention strategies are implemented.
References
- HelpGuide.org: Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Weight Loss and Nutrition Myths
- Div. of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Atherosclerosis Research Laboratory, Tufts-New England Med. Ctr.: Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction: A Randomized Trial
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Weight Loss for Life
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
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