The results of the INCA 2 study conducted by ANSES (National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Labor) are instructive. 60% of women want to lose weight.

Having a normal BMI does not prevent 30% of women from following or following a diet. Even more surprising: 15% of thin women did or do the same. As a bonus, this other conclusion of the study: slimming programs are dangerous because often practiced without medical advice.

And yet, says the naturopath and nutrapist Céline Touati: "diets do not work, in any case never in the long term". Thesis she defends in the new book "The regimes, it's over" (Editions Jouvence). Good news: the fifties, scalded by the logic of forced weight loss, show a great wisdom in this area.

"On the other hand, young women are still very eager to believe in. Many people find it difficult to consider eating in the long term, which is natural at twenty." Once settled for the regime, what do we do? "We are finally starting to take care of ourselves for real." Manual.

Diets do not work

The body synchronizes two distinct energy systems. The "active metabolic" manages our great immediate needs (movement, action, etc.) while the "basal metabolism", ensures the whole of the vital functions. The latter, which interests us the most, varies according to several factors such as sex, age, or genetics.

"In an unconscious way, the body preserves the memory of the famines that generations of human beings have gone through in the course of evolution", explains the naturopath. In a diet situation (for the archaic brain, it's food shortage), we store the fats in order to "see coming"! Result: the more you slim down through the constraint, the more the body is organized to take back what we deprived (on average 150% of the weight lost.) And it will be difficult to lose weight later ...

What is replaced by what?

A lifestyle that achieves and installs a healthy weight in a healthy body. Rather than losing ten pounds before the summer to take them back in September, you will lighten one to two pounds per month to your ideal weight and you will not move because you will be able to manage the differences.

First rule: everything that enters the body must come out! Physical activity to eliminate the energy stored in food is a necessity. We start by getting rid of the races. And we twist the blow to false excuses - lack of time, fatigue etc. In short, you lay your life flat and we put in place what is best for us, for example: Activate ten minutes a day on a cardio application, do squats by brushing your teeth ...

Second rule: adopt some principles of healthy nutrition and cook a little more. Cooking a baked fish kebab, green beans, a cereal or a boiled egg is no longer than preparing pasta. Just organize upstream racing side. The rest is just a matter of habit. You have been able to eat chicken breast and cottage cheese for months ...

Diets are bad for your health

Among the main risks: decreased heart rate, digestive disorders (and gallstones) and kidney, loss of muscle mass, bone loss and loss of the immune system , sleep disorders ... nutritional imbalances can have more or less serious consequences on the body.

As for the link slimming-health, it is not as obvious as it says. You can be healthy with a few extra pounds and poor health, at a weight considered ideal.

What is replaced by what?

A wellness program rather than slimming. We aim at new priorities by installing reflexes that relaunch the good circuits. Sport, nutrition, relaxation, sleep activate a real rebirth in the medium term. Your body will be better able to handle without gaps (your favorite Paris-Brest or the excellent mojito bar next door.)

Consumed during periods of diet or on a destabilized metabolism, these small incidents of course can have devastating effects on the balance, but also the health.

The diktat of thinness destroys self-esteem

First question asked by Céline Touati to her patients in search of thinness: "Why do you want to lose weight?" Behind the classics of the genre "I do not feel good in my body", quickly emerges the image that others send us back.

The will displayed in a regime draws its strength from that part of us that does not love itself. And tries to answer the diktats of a fake and stereotypical feminine image. The flying kilos are good for the ego at first, but once taken again, the effects are devastating on self-esteem.

What is replaced by what?

We cultivate self-esteem! "You must already accept your body, some will never weigh 50 kilograms, metabolism requires," says the naturopath. "Weight is more than just a number on a scale, it's a state you feel good in. Your goals should be consistent." Before changing habits, ask yourself about your most intimate motivations. Make the list first, over several days if necessary. Then think about whether your reasons are good.

Another exercise: to frame the entourage. Between the "you're not a little sweetheart my darling" of your mother and the "long ago you did not put your bikini Jennifer size XS" of your jules, hard not to feel hurt in the long run . "Better to change your husband than weight," the therapist jokes. In any case do not hesitate to set limits to unpleasant remarks and fantasies that may not be ours.

Diets cultivate a lot of misconceptions

Pineapple burns fat. Food supplements make you lose weight . The light too, or does not make you fat. Eggs give cholesterol . The banana makes you fat. Myths thrive, fueled by incomplete or controversial theories (like that of the BMI ).

"I even had a patient who had read that it was enough to eat white foods to slim down," laments Céline Touati. However, the studies and the approaches differ, they can be contradicted from one decade to another. "We do not know how to put things in the mass of information available, often taken out of context.Take the lemon detox.Some people practice it while it is not at all indicated for their metabolism!"

What is replaced by what?

We use common sense and even critical sense. Once and for all, we can see that there are no enemy foods or other friends: everything depends on our overall state. We are all different with needs specific to each period of our life.

Céline Touati advises consulting at least once a specialist in a global approach, which will adapt to your metabolism and your lifestyle. To renew ideally once a year or every two years because our bodies change over time. Our lives too.

Diets move you away from your body

Counting calories, weighing food, juggling family food associations ... and ignoring the feeling of hunger. "We do not eat, we eat, as prescription," says the naturopath. Summum of this logic: the formulas of ready-made meals, delivered to the week or the meal packets to drink.

The more we stop eating, the more we dream of doing it. We end up cracking, gorging ourselves. The vicious circle is settling. In addition to hating, we store, we grow, and it's gone. From privations to obsessions, there is only one step. "To some patients, I prescribe only minimal dietary changes, to calm them, and we focus on the psychological side so that they do not switch into an unhealthy obsession," says the therapist.

Bulimia , anorexia , hyperphagia ... there are more and more serious compulsive eating disorders. Behind these painful neuroses, the person who is not comfortable with his weight can hide many things. Overweight sometimes acts as a cocoon to hide, or protect yourself from emotions, worries. Lack of love, pleasure, excess stress ... In the case of pathological problems, we must talk about it and get help.

What is replaced by what?

Genuine hunger and true satiety must become our natural guides. The pleasure is essential. Treat yourself from time to time gourmet moments! Another lever of action: eating in full consciousness (in silence, or closed eyes for example.)

Enjoy your meals with your five senses and in peace - away from the TV. Smartphones, heavy people, annoying subjects - the last math control of your teen - are removed and we share in a positive mode. The next holidays for example. Find your real feelings. Getting to know one another makes it possible to individualize one's way of eating so as to be in harmony with one's body.

Some people, whose metabolism needs to be fed every three hours, can make up to five small meals a day! For this, practice relaxation, meditation, yoga , tai chi chuan or qi qong . Sleep properly because "we do not eat the same way when we are tired or stressed." Duo dietician-coach sports, prefer a specialist in psychology, NLP or other integrative approach ... A complete support that will ensure balance. Finally.