Whether you want to call it a lifestyle or a health kick, I find that many diets have the opposite effect of their intent. Many of us, at some point in time, have partaken in them, and many of us also know that they don’t work because we have tried more than one repeatedly. But to understand why this is the case requires getting familiar with the scarcity mindset around food that underpins diet culture.
Dieting revolves around focusing our attention on calories and doing everything in our power to limit our caloric intake as much as possible. It’s important to remember that calories are units of energy that our bodies need to function. If we eat 400 calories of food, that is 400 units of energy that our body can then use. On average, the brain uses 240 to 320 calories a day, the liver 200 calories, the heart 440 calories, and both…
Read the full article originally published at www.wellandgood.com.