Whilst for some people, diet apps can be a useful way to manage weight loss, for others they can be damaging to their health and wellbeing. In this blog I explore some of the negative outcomes that some people can experience from using these apps.
- Obsessing about Calorie Counting.
The focus on numbers of calories eaten or not eaten can become a fixation that can lead to rigidity within a diet. Obsessiveness about the numbers can encourage disordered and unhealthy eating, leading to skipping meals (I haven’t got enough calories left in my “budget”) or making unhealthy choices, (I’m saving up my calories for alcohol tonight). - Shame
The fixation on thinness and dieting can potentially lead to feelings of shame and failure: the visual feedback of an app showing you that you have eaten too many calories (often in red, indicating danger!), can exacerbate mental health issues and an unhealthy relationship with food. - Fear of Eating
A lot of my clients have said that using these apps makes them feel that they are in an unhealthy competition with themselves. The tracking of their calories encourages them to eat less and less each day and can then lead to feeling worried or fearful about eating and putting any food in their mouths.
Undereating can be just as unhealthy as overeating, and can lead to metabolism issues, as well as physical and psychological issues. - Dieting
These apps whilst marketed as a psychological intervention are nonetheless still advocating “dieting” – a temporary measure to lose weight which is often not sustainable. I often say to my clients “if you go on a diet, you will come off it at some point.” (A bit like a bus, you don’t get on it and stay on it). And then what happens, is that most people revert to their old habits and behaviour around food. This can lead to unhealthy “yo yo” dieting. - Food Obsession
Counting calories means that food stays at the forefront of your mind. “What am I going to eat?” “What’s for dinner? How may calories is that?” If you constantly think about food, you are more likely to feel hungry all the time. Food is about nutrition for our bodies, to fuel it and to keep it healthy. To lose and maintain a healthy weight, you need to examine, understand and tweak your relationship with food and eating.Your relationship with food may be built upon modelling from the past (parents or family habits), around self limiting beliefs or specific incidents where you have learned to use food to comfort or soothe yourself. Counting calories on an app, will not help you address these underlying issues.
Working with me, using the integrated skills of Hypnotherapy, NLP and Coaching can support you to understand yourself better and work through these issues, so that together, we can help you to create a healthier relationship with food and eating. Most of us know what healthier food looks like, but still make poor choices, or we feel compelled to eat certain things that we know are not helping us. This is normal some of the time: we can all have an urge to eat chocolate or crisps etc, but when this is a regular occurrence, and it’s affecting our health and sense of wellbeing, then it’s time to explore these habits a bit deeper. If this resonates with you and you are fed up with your battle with weight, then maybe it’s time to consider another approach to this issue. Feel free to listen to the interviews with my clients that have worked with me on their weight here. And if you feel inspired to find out more then you can contact me for an initial call (free of charge) via my contact form.