Dieting does not always work. There are chances that it might lead to bingeing or overeating.

Everyone is on a diet these days. Either they are dieting because they absolutely have to reduce, or they just want to fit into that little black dress or was it the red one? Though a healthy diet can work wonders, one that is self inflicted can have the reverse effect. A diet plan that has been made for your friend might not work for you. One has to take into consideration everything from blood group, body type, choice of food etc.

It happened to someone I know

A friend of mine went on a crash diet. She stayed off sweets (her first love), for weeks together resisting temptation and dealing with sweet cravings. Now ideally, this should have helped her lose weight. But, it did not. Instead, she put on 3 kg and then went on an even stricter diet - sugar less teas and what not. It was much later that she nailed it. Her sweet deprived body, was reaching out for it in a million other ways. True she was off sweets, but to fight her sweet cravings, she was consuming more and more of other food items, which was working negatively on her.

Studies have shown that deprivation often leads to binge eating. Binge is when a person ends up consuming a lot more than they intended to. This could happen due to many factors, like stress, irritation, frustration, a method of escaping, depression etc. Deprivation also leads to bingeing.

Do not resist

If there is any particular kind of food, or if you are on a crash diet and have denied yourself good food for a long time, then the chances of you bingeing the first time you are allowed to eat is quite high. The media has time and time again, re-emphasized the need for women and men to become thin. This has led to extensive dieting and avoidance of many categories of food items. At most case, what is being avoided are the ones that is everywhere. They are on TV, they are easily available everywhere and they motivate and stimulate individuals to break free and to try it.

When a person is on a strict diet, especially after they have been a binge eater, the desire to consume large quantities of food will be high and will lead to slip ups in the diet plan. Another way to avoid overeating is to have your meals on time. Skipping a meal to reduce weight is not always a good idea, because your food deprived body will end up craving for more food, the next time you have something. So instead of a portion of rice, you might end up eating one and a half portions, because that is how hungry you will be.

Balancing calories

While on a diet, it is always best to focus on balancing the calories taken and the ones burnt. Opt for healthy eating and balance it out with exercise. Remember what matters is the well being of a person and eating food that you crave for, like sweets or other fatty ones, will not do much harm, if had in moderation.