The Real Impact of Dieting (Part 2)

Last week we were talking about the physical impact of dieting (read part 1 here), and this week we’re moving onto the social impact of dieting. Dieting can have a large impact on your social life and you may not even realize it. When on a diet, many people will avoid hanging out with friends and family if there will be food present. They isolate themselves in order to protect their diet because they know that they will feel out of control around food if it’s available.

Think about when you were last on a diet, or if you’re currently dieting, consider whether or not you:

• Eat differently when other people are around or avoid eating altogether
• Worry about what others may be of thinking about your body and your eating habits
• Compare your eating to those around you and try to match what others are doing so you don’t feel out of place
• Have cancelled plans or purposely avoided social situations because you know there will be food present

These are all ways in which your dieting behaviour could be impacting your social life. If your beliefs about your diet or your body have interfered with your relationships or your ability to make and keep plans with others because you’re too afraid of what will happen if you’re around food, that social isolation is going to have a negative impact on the rest of your life.

Next week I'll be going through the behavioural impact of dieting and how dieting can change how you behave around food in certain situations. Like last week, I want to encourage you to really think back over the course of your dieting history. How has dieting or the pursuit of weight loss impacted your social life? Has it impacted your relationships with others? Was it worth it?

Also in Nutrition News