Tired of being overweight? Struggling to lose those last few pesky kilos? Whatever you do, do not go on a diet. Diets don’t work, particularly for women hitting middle age, says Niki Bezzant, journalist and writer on nutrition and health.
After reading the literature around them, she believes they’re too restrictive. The vast majority of people fall off the wagon and eat their way back to their pre-diet shape.
Sure, Michael Mosley’s 5:2 diet, or intermittent fasting, will likely see fast weight loss, but “you can’t stay on [these diets] for the rest of your life,” says Bezzant. “They’re too difficult. Most people can’t eat in a very restrictive way for a long, long time.”
But when they regain weight, the majority of dieters also blame themselves. “They don’t blame the diet,” she says. “And then they go on another diet.
“What a great business model the diet industry has: they fail you, but you blame yourself. It’s really such a losing game. That’s why I say don’t go on a diet.”
Her latest book, The Everything Guide: Hormones, health and happiness in menopause, midlife and beyond, focuses on reframing the
