What Is Chronic Dieting?

Chronic dieting is the ongoing cycle of starting a diet (usually a popular or fad diet, or even a medically recommended diet), doing it for a little while, and then feeling like you “failed” at it, over and over again throughout the years. It usually involves constantly monitoring and restricting your food intake, or labeling food as “good” and “bad,” in an attempt to lose weight or control body size. Chronic dieting is a long-term cycle and is often called “yo-yo dieting,” because it’s a seemingly never-ending pattern of starting and “failing” diets. This type of dieting takes a toll on both physical and mental health, often disconnecting individuals from their body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. Over time, chronic dieting can lead to unhealthy relationships with food and a cycle of restriction followed by a feeling of loss of control over food or even binging.

At Nutritious Thoughts, we aim to shift away from rigid rules and diets, focusing instead on a more compassionate, intuitive approach to nourishment. Rather than viewing food as something to control, we encourage you to see it as a way to care for yourself, listening to your body’s cues and needs. Chronic dieting is exhausting and doesn’t serve your overall well-being—nutrition counseling can help you break free from this cycle.

Why Is Chronic Dieting Considered Harmful?

Instead of framing chronic dieting as simply “bad,” it’s more helpful to look at the likely impact it will have on your health and well-being. Chronic dieting often has unintended consequences that don’t serve your long-term physical or mental health. One of the main reasons it’s not beneficial is that it fosters a disordered relationship with food and self. When food is restricted or categorized as “off-limits,” it can create an intense focus on eating or not eating, followed by guilt or shame when those rules are broken.

Over time, the body’s natural response to restriction is often increased cravings and even binge eating as it tries to compensate for the deprivation. This can lead to a constant battle with food, making it difficult to trust your body’s hunger and fullness signals. In addition, weight cycling—the repeated loss and regain of weight—often accompanies chronic dieting, which can have serious effects on physical health, including higher risks of cardiovascular disease and metabolic issues.

From a mental health perspective, chronic dieting can lead to constant feelings of failure, frustration, and shame. This ongoing cycle takes up emotional and mental energy, leaving little room for joy or connection with food. Shifting away from dieting and toward an intuitive, body-inclusive approach to eating can make a significant difference in how you feel both physically and emotionally.

How Does Diet Culture Affect Mental Health?

Diet culture includes the societal belief that thinness is inherently better, healthier, or more valuable. This pervasive mindset impacts not only how we view our bodies but also how we approach food. It creates pressure to diet, restrict, and control our bodies, often leading to feelings of inadequacy when we don’t meet those idealized standards. This constant striving for an “ideal” body size can lead to feelings of low self-worth, anxiety, and stress.

Diet culture also encourages compensatory behaviors—like restricting food, over-exercising, or purging—as ways to “make up” for eating or to achieve a particular body size. These behaviors, rather than supporting your well-being, often harm both physical and mental health. Diet culture undermines the idea that health can exist at any size and perpetuates the myth that controlling your body size is the ultimate goal.

Nutritional counseling can help you break free from the pressures of diet culture. Through a Health at Every Size (HAES) lens, we focus on helping you reconnect with your body’s cues and dismantle the harmful beliefs that diet culture imposes. Our goal is to create a space where you can embrace food as nourishment and your body as something to care for, rather than control.

How Does Restrictive Dieting Affect Mental Health?

Restrictive dieting not only disconnects you from your body’s signals and needs but can also take a toll on mental health. When food is restricted, it’s easy to become preoccupied with what you can and cannot eat, leading to an obsessive focus on food. This mental load can lead to feelings of deprivation, frustration, and guilt, especially if restrictive food rules are broken. Over time, this preoccupation can cause anxiety, disordered eating behaviors, and a negative relationship with food. At Nutritious Thoughts, we recognize that food is deeply connected to emotions. Restricting food can increase feelings of stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion.

Restriction can also trigger compensatory behaviors, which only perpetuate the dieting cycle and emotional rollercoaster. Instead of restrictive dieting, nutrition counseling with Nutritious Thoughts focuses on finding balance and nourishment that honors your mental and physical health. Our approach helps you let go of the idea that food should be controlled or feared. Through compassionate support, we guide you toward listening to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues, reducing compensatory behaviors, and rebuilding a trusting relationship with food. In doing so, you can move away from the mental strain that dieting creates and toward a more peaceful, nourishing way of eating.

What Is the Nutrition Counseling Process?

At Nutritious Thoughts, our nutrition counseling process is centered around individualized care that supports your physical, emotional, and mental health. We understand that everyone’s relationship with food is unique, which is why our registered dietitians take the time to get to know you, your health history, and your personal goals.

• Initial Assessment: The journey begins with an initial assessment, where your dietitian will gather information about your medical history, eating habits, and lifestyle. This session allows you to share your relationship with food, any compensatory behaviors you may be engaging in, and your goals for nutrition counseling. The initial assessment sets the foundation for personalized, compassionate care.
• Collaborative Goal Setting: After the assessment, during your follow-up session, we work together to set achievable goals that support your well-being. Whether you want to reduce compensatory behaviors, break free from restrictive dieting, or simply find more balance in your eating habits, your dietitian will help you create a plan that aligns with your body’s needs and overall health. The focus is on sustainable, supportive changes—not quick fixes or restrictive rules.
• Ongoing Support: Nutrition counseling is a dynamic, ongoing process. We provide continuous support through regular follow-up sessions, where we assess your progress, make any necessary adjustments, and address new challenges as they arise. The goal is to empower you to make choices that nourish both your body and mind while reducing the emotional burden of food and body preoccupation.

At Nutritious Thoughts, we believe that true nourishment comes from within. We guide you toward intuitive eating practices that honor your hunger and fullness cues and foster a positive relationship with food. Whether you’re working through disordered eating, an eating disorder, compensatory behaviors, or simply seeking more balance, our team is here to walk alongside you every step of the way.

Reclaiming Your Relationship with Food

Chronic dieting doesn’t serve your overall well-being. Instead of viewing food as something to control, nutritional counseling at Nutritious Thoughts invites you to explore a more nourishing relationship with food and your body. Our approach helps you move away from the cycle of restriction and compensatory behaviors and toward a space of balance, trust, and well-being. Let us support you on this journey, creating a path toward self-compassion, nourishment, and health that honors your unique needs.

Experience Compassionate Nutrition Counseling Across Asheville, Cary & NC

At Nutritious Thoughts, nutrition counseling goes beyond what’s on your plate—it’s about reconnecting with your body, finding peace with food, and fostering true well-being. Whether you’re managing a chronic health condition, healing from disordered eating, or simply looking to break free from the cycle of chronic dieting, our registered dietitians are here to guide you with empathy and respect for your unique journey. With in-person sessions available in Asheville, Hendersonville, and Cary/Raleigh, NC, as well as convenient online options, we’re committed to meeting you where you are. Together, we’ll explore how to nourish your body and mind in a way that feels supportive and sustainable.

• Contact us at (828) 333-0096 or email us at info@nutritious-thoughts.com
• Tell us more about yourself
• Let’s work together to create a balanced and compassionate path toward your health and well-being.

Expanded Counseling Services at Nutritious Thoughts

At Nutritious Thoughts, we extend our support beyond individual counseling to serve entire communities through our Community Wellness & Education initiatives. We provide both on-site and virtual nutrition counseling, along with tailored workshops and presentations for schools, workplaces, and recovery centers. Our goal is to bring accessible wellness tools to the spaces that need them most. Get in touch with us to learn more about how our services can support your community and for details on our rates.