Diets Do NOT Work

Part II – Deprived Brains

Trigger warning: This post includes content related to eating disorders and describes eating disorder behaviors, which you may find triggering if you are suffering from a restrictive eating disorder. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helpline: (800) 931-2237.

We have less control over our weight than the diet and exercise industries lead us to believe. In addition to the hormones, enzymes, and chemicals that work to support your body’s set point (see my last post, Diets Do NOT Work – Part I: Biology), our brains’ responses to food deprivation or perceived deprivation also affect our eating and weight and is out of our control.

Our Brains, Restricted

In addition to affecting the hormones, enzymes, and chemicals in our bodies, restriction also affects our ability to think clearly. Evolutionarily, it is logical that when we do not eat enough food, we become completely preoccupied with food. This is true among otherwise healthy people who lose access to food, people with eating disorders, and people who are dieting.

During the 1940s, in a study referred to as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, a researcher, Ancel Keys, studied the effects of reducing the calories of a group of healthy men to about 1600 calories per day to understand how semi-starvation and re-feeding after semi-starvation affect people. The results are stunning. These strong, healthy men respond to reduced calories the same way that I observed in my peers in inpatient treatment for anorexia and in myself during the worst of my struggles.

During meal times, these men’s eating became very ritualized. They mixed food around on their plates and attempted to extend mealtimes for as long as possible. They often drank copious amounts of water, chewed gum, or smoked to attempt to feel fullness.

Likewise, in eating disorder treatment, staff forced us to eat our meals within a thirty-minute time-frame, and most of us found this extremely challenging. We were used to dragging out eating experiencing for ridiculous durations. Staff scolded us for cutting our food into tiny pieces or using flatware for finger-food because our eating habits were so unreasonable. We were only allowed to drink 16 ounces of water at meal and snack times, even if we complained of thirst, and none between. Staff considered gum contraband and forbid it completely.

The men in the experiment became preoccupied with thoughts of food, spent time collecting recipes, and became disengaged from the other parts of their lives. They were even driven to sneak or steal food.

Likewise, in my personal experience and witnessing the experiences of others in eating disorder treatment, we were unable to think of anything except for food and our next eating experiences. We lined up early for mealtimes, always hoping to arrive first so we could have the longest eating experience. We were looking up recipes on the Internet and taking pictures of our meals. We ignored our values and isolated ourselves from social situations, especially those involving food. One of my roommates in eating disorder treatment even secretly ordered pizzas after dinner or stole my Nutella from the cupboard. (Former roommate, if you are reading this, I understand it was your eating disorder and not you. I forgive you.)

During re-feeding, the men in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, as well as people in recovery from eating disorders, are suddenly able to feel all the emotions that starvation numbed. This causes an unfamiliar experience with intense emotions and often huge mood swings

It wasn’t until after I left treatment for anorexia at a “healthy” weight that I finally decided to consult with my doctor and later a psychiatrist about medications to help me cope with my depression and anxiety. Without my starvation-triggered preoccupation with food, my depression and anxiety became unmanageable.

Any amount of restriction can begin to cause these symptoms. You need to nourish yourself. Remember, these men were still provided with 1600 calories (a commonly recommended diet number) every day, and the effects on their mental health were devastating.

Thus, not only do diets fail to make you thin, healthy, or happy, but also diets can cause abnormal, unhealthy eating habits; obsession with food to the point of isolation and disregard of personal values; a drive to find food at any cost; and mood swings.

You need more food than you probably think, and you certainly need more food than any diet suggests. If you experience food preoccupation, it likely means that you aren’t eating enough.

Perceived Deprivation

So…you have given up restrictive eating and you still feel compelled to binge eat or eat past fullness? Read on!

Recall from the last post, Diets Do NOT Work – Part I: Biology, that in response to physically depriving yourself of food through dieting your body has strong biological forces to prevent you from going below your set point weight range. The biological responses to physical deprivation can also be activated by perceived future deprivation. Thus, even if you are not actually restricting your food anymore because you understand that dieting can cause bingeing or eating past fullness, your body can respond to perceived restriction with hunger, cravings, and all the other effects of real deprivation. This happens in response to the judgment, shame, or guilt around food. These feelings cause your body to believe that you will likely start restricting or dieting again tomorrow – even though you are not consciously planning to do so. Your body desperately wants to consume the food while it can, before it experiences the next period of deprivation.

Described as “emotional deprivation” by Isabel Foxen Duke, “mental restriction” by Caroline Dooner, and “Last Super Mentality” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch (Intuitive Eating, p. 77), it is not unusual to continue to binge even if you have given up some of the physically restrictive components of your diet. Isabel Foxen Duke explains, “we send ourselves the conscious or sub-conscious message:
“tomorrow I’ll try not to do this again…better get it in now…Although we may not be depriving ourselves explicitly through planning traditional diets, fear of deprivation is implicit when we feel shame or judge our current behaviors.”

There is no inherently bad, unhealthy, or immoral types or amounts of food, and you do not need to feel guilty about your food choices.

In what ways are you still holding on to diet mentality or judging your eating and food experiences?