A diet is supposed to be a hands-on experiment for discovering how your body works. When dieting, you should discover your base body weight and foods you tolerate best. A diet should reveal how many calories- composed of proteins, carbohydrates and fats- you need to consume for optimum energy and appearance. A diet is meant to be a physical jaunt in self-discovery.
Diets are not the get-skinny-quick programs many women would like them to be. Moreover, diets are not “safety in the form of rules and regulations for eating that, if faithfully followed, promise weight loss,” as authors Jane Hirshchmann and Carol Munter explain in When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies. Thus, women remain frustrated with diets. Too often, their primary goal of weight-loss is unattained, or at best only temporary.
Therein lies the dieting fallacy. Women diet to lose weight fast. When this does not happen, or the weight returns, the diet takes the blame. In truth, it is not the fault of the diet, but the misunderstanding of the woman that causes dieting failures.
Women should view a diet as an education on how their bodies function, yet this vital step to successful dieting is neglected for the sake of fast results.