If you’re unfamiliar with the non-diet approach or if you’ve spent a lot of time and money on dieting, you might assume it means “just eating whatever you want” without caring about your health. This reaction is completely understandable, especially since much of what the non-diet approach stands for is the opposite of dieting.

Unfortunately, we’ve been marketed the idea that being in a higher weight body equals poorer health, and the key to better health is simply to “just lose weight”, achieved by “eating less and exercising more”. All of this is incorrect. So, it’s easy to see why the idea of not focusing on weight loss or restricting your energy intake might seem counterproductive at first.

The reality is that body diversity is a natural part of being human, people come in all shapes, colours and sizes. Just as individuals can be shorter or taller and have lighter or darker skin tones and hair colours, it’s completely normal for people to fall across a spectrum of body weights, from lower to higher. And just as we wouldn’t assume that a taller person is less healthy and a shorter person is healthier based on appearance, we also can’t assume that someone in a higher-weight body is less healthy, or someone in a lower-weight body is healthier, simply by looking at them.

Overall, scientific evidence shows that although dieting may result in short-term weight loss, it almost always leads to regaining the lost weight, often with additional weight gain. Importantly, research demonstrates that an individual’s weight does not solely determine their health status and losing weight doesn’t solely improve health outcomes. Instead, regardless of BMI, long-term health is more strongly influenced by behaviours such as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, engaging in regular physical activity, consuming alcohol in moderation, and avoiding smoking. These health-related behaviours reduce the risk of premature death regardless of BMI. In fact, as we age, having a BMI in the “overwe*ght” category is actually associated with a lower risk of dying early.

Most importantly, it’s well established that experiencing weight stigma can negatively impact mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction. It is also strongly associated with the following health issues including high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and cortisol levels, increased inflammatory markers, various forms of arthritis, chronic pain, infertility, dismissed health concerns, and eating disorders.

DIETING VS. NON-DIET COMPARISON

Let’s take a closer look at how dieting compares to the non-diet approach.

Dieting, at its core, is designed for you to fail and then blames you when it doesn’t work, keeping you trapped in the diet cycle.

DIETING TENDS TO LOOK LIKE:

Inflexible, rigid rules, and restriction
Quantitative focus (calories, macros, numbers)
Promotes disordered eating behaviours
A strong predictor for developing an eating disorder
Focused on weight loss
Removes certain foods or food groups; labels foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
Leads to body dissatisfaction
Ignores hunger and fullness cues
Increases food noise and becomes thought-consuming
Creates a false sense of control
Feels like food imprisonment
Time-based eating (e.g., “only eating at certain times”)
Prescriptive or compulsory exercise
Rooted in deprivation and temptation
Feels punishing and like a constant struggle
Anti-social, shaming, guilt-inducing
Driven by fear-driven, rationalisation, and suppressed hunger

With the non-diet approach, you can enjoy pizza with your friends, without guilt, rule-breaking, or feeling like you’ve done something wrong. Best of all, you don’t have to throw your diet out the window and start over on Monday.

NON-DIET APPROACH OFTEN LOOKS LIKE:

Flexible, intuitive, aware and varied
Qualitative focus (how food feels, tastes, satisfies)
Promotes normalised eating patterns and behaviours
Protective against developing an eating disorder
Focused on health and overall wellbeing
Includes all foods and food groups; food is not moral
Supports body neutrality and acceptance
Responds to hunger and fullness cues
Quietens food noise and frees up mental space
Builds trust in your body
Supports food freedom
Encourages life balance
Emphasises finding enjoyable movement
Leads to satisfaction and calm
Kind, supportive, and enjoyable
Social, appreciative, and forgiving
Fosters freedom, confidence, and comfort

BENEFITS OF THE NON-DIET APPROACH

Dietary Patterns

Improved overall diet quality
Greater dietary adequacy and variety
Increased intake of fruits and vegetables
Reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
Higher fibre intake
Decreased motivation to eat "unhealthy" foods for reasons unrelated to hunger

Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes

Reduced disordered eating behaviours and lower risk of eating disorders
Less engagement in dieting and weight control strategies such as fasting or skipping meals
Fewer episodes of binge eating
Lower levels of depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety

Health Measures

Lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol
Reduced triglyceride levels
Increased HDL (good) cholesterol

Body Image

Improved overall body image
Greater acceptance of body image
Increased body appreciation and satisfaction
Heightened body awareness
Reduced concerns about body shape and weight
Less dissatisfaction with body image and self-perception
Decreased body image discrepancy
Fewer experiences of weight-related guilt and shame
Greater sense of body and weight acceptance

Wellbeing

Higher levels of mindfulness and self-compassion
Greater self-esteem and mental wellbeing
Lower levels of internalised weight bias
Increased overall life satisfaction

Physical Activity

Greater engagement in physical activity
Increased enjoyment during movement
Less focus on appearance as motivation
Reduced influence of external pressures, guilt, or shame

Other Health-Promoting Behaviours

Adoption of a more health-oriented lifestyle
Smaller portions of energy-dense foods
Greater enjoyment and pleasure from eating
Less emphasis on calorie or fat content when choosing foods
Improved sleep patterns and better sleep quality

References

Eaton. M., Probst, Y., Foster, T., Messore, J., & Robinson, L. (2024). A systematic review of observational studies exploring the relationship between health and non-weight-centric eating behaviours. Science Direct. 199, 107361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107361

Gaesser, G. A., & Angadi, S. S. (2021). Obesity treatment: Weight loss versus increasing fitness and physical activity for reducing health risks. iScience, 24(10), 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci. 2021.102995

Tomiyama, A. J., Ahlstrom, B., & Mann, T. (2013). Long-term Effects of Dieting: Is Weight Loss Related to Health? Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 7(12), 861-877. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12076

Tomiyama, A. J., Carr, D., Granberg, E. M., Major, B., Robinson, E., Sutin, A. R., & Brewis, A. (2018). How and why weight stigma drives the obesity ‘epidemic’ and harms health. BMC Medicine, 12(123). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1116-5

Weeldreyer, N. R., Guzman, J. C. D., Paterson, C., Allen, J. D., Gaesser, G. A., & Angadi, S. S. (2024). Cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index, and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 59, 339-346. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108748