95 percent of diets fail long term.
But at any given time, 50 percent of American women are trying to lose weight.
40 to 60 percent of adolescent girls are engaging in serious diet behaviors.
And closet to 25 percent of elementary students diet regularly.
Registered Dietitian Trish Brimhall says you shouldn't diet -- ever!
She told us about some scary symptoms that can happen with dieting. Those include loss of muscle strength, endurance and coordination. You also could experience thinning hair, electrolyte imbalances, fatigue, fainting and weakness. There's also the chance of a lack in concentration, stress, anxiety, depression and higher risk of eating disorders.
On top of all that you could actually gain weight and have a slower metabolism from dieting.
So, Trish says it's important to eat family meals together as much as possible and focus more on enjoying mealtime together than what is on the plate.
She says, "A parent's job is to choose the what, when and where of food. Your child's job is to decide if and how much they will eat."
Trish also recommends to not use the "just one more bite" approach and never link food choices with body size.
It's also important for your kids to see you enjoying food, for example birthday cake on your birthday.
You can learn more and contact Trish at nutritiousintent.com.
