By Judith Matz, MSW, LCSW

Introduction

Diet survivors initially believe that if they give themselves permission to eat whatever they want, they’ll overeat their “forbidden foods.” But really, it’s the very act of deprivation that leads to the feeling of being out of control.

Remember that principle from science class: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This holds true in the realm of dieting. The more you restrict your eating, the more you’ll overeat when you break the restraints. The solution is to end the deprivation and make the forbidden foods available both literally (by bringing them into your home) and emotionally (by giving yourself permission to eat them).

A study conducted by Janet Polivy and Peter Hermann at the University of Toronto shows how deprivation causes dieters to eat more than they physiologically need. Dieters and non-dieters were divided into three groups and told that they were testing ice cream flavors. Prior to the taste test, the first group was given two milkshakes, the second group was given one milkshake, and the third group was given none. Then the researchers brought in the ice cream, instructing participants to sample as much as they wanted.

Non-dieters ate the most ice cream when they hadn’t had any milkshakes, less ice cream when they had one milkshake, and even less ice cream when they had two milkshakes, in accordance with their physical hunger. Dieters had the opposite reaction. Those who had no milkshakes ate small amounts of ice cream, those who had one milkshake ate more ice cream, and those who drank two milkshakes ate the most ice cream!

The researchers explained that this occurred as a result of the diet mentality. Non-dieters eat in an attuned manner and reg!1late how much to eat according to internal cues for hunger and satiation. Dieters show disinhibition-the milkshake broke their usual restraints and caused them to eat more. Their experience, familiar to diet survivors, was, “I’ve already blown my diet; I might as well eat what I can now because tomorrow I’ll have to restrict again.”

This example illustrates the effect of deprivation. No wonder there are times when you feel that once you start eating certain foods, you cannot stop! The restrictions you have placed on yourself set you up to overeat. The way to achieve calmness is to stop telling yourself that you cannot eat certain foods and, instead, let all types of food back into your life.

At first, you will overeat to make up for the deprivation and, understandably, this feels scary. The decision to end the deprivation/overeating cycle takes courage, but ultimately you’ll feel more relaxed with food. Once a particular food no longer holds that glitter for you, it’s possible to eat it only when you’re hungry for it. We want to emphasize that when we talk about ending deprivation, we don’t mean you will eat anything you want whenever you want. Rather, you will become free to eat what you are hungry for when you are hungry-with full recognition that this process takes time to accomplish.

ACTIVITY: Understanding Deprivation

Imagine this scenario to better understand the effects of deprivation.

It is late Sunday evening and you have just been alerted that there is a problem with the town’s water supply. In order to fix the problem, the town will be shutting off its water by midnight, and hopes to resume service within twenty-four to thirty-six hours.

• Do you notice an increase in your overall anxiety?
• What will you do, knowing that water will be unavailable for some time (run to the store for bottled water, fill pitchers, take a shower, run a quick load of laundry or dishes, etc.)?
• Do you find yourself thinking more about water than usual, and preoccupied with when it will be available?
• Do you find your thirst increasing?

This is the anxiety you experience, day in and day out, when you deprive yourself of particular foods.