The new year is often a time when people make goals related to their health and weight.

In the effort to make quick changes, some people commit to ‘fad’ diets which are often strict and restrictive.

Restrictive eating can put a person under intense pressure to make perfect food choices based on a list of eating and food ‘rules’. This can leave them feeling deprived and craving foods that they enjoy. Perfection is not attainable in most real-world situations, so why expect it of a diet?

Restrictive diets can negatively affect your health in the long run.

Here are 5 pitfalls of restrictive eating:

1. Restricting Carbohydrates

Many people avoid or severely restrict their intake of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the primary sources of energy for the body and brain, and they are important to supporting a healthy lifestyle. Those who restrict their intake of carbohydrates too much can find themselves lacking energy.

Find out more about why carbohydrates are important for a healthy body in this blog.

2. Nutrient Deficiencies

Restrictive diets can result in missing out in key nutrients. When food groups are restricted or eliminated, the nutrients that are in them often go missing from a person's diet.

3. Social Stresses and Food Rules

Your social life may suffer. Culture and family tradition both often revolve around food, and strict diets prevent many people from taking part in social activities involving food.

Constantly worrying about the food that you are consuming and focusing on following strict food rules can distract you from enjoying activities where there is food being served.

The more food rules you have, the more challenging it can become to enjoy eating and social engagements.

4. Unsustainable Weight Loss 

Negative effects on metabolism and long-term weight loss is a problem with restrictive eating. Restricted eating results in weight loss that is almost never sustained since the rigid rules are hard to follow for an extended period.

Chronic dieters have the potential to gain weight, because they put their bodies through periods of restriction, which reduces their Base Metabolic Rate (BMR), the amount of calories the body needs to maintain life. If they stop the diet, they have the potential to gain the weight back (sometimes even more) since they have changed their BMR, and their body has grown used to receiving a lower amount of energy (or calories).

5. Brain and Body Unable to Perform Optimally

A balanced diet consists of a variety of foods, with foods from all food groups, including protein, grains, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. The body and brain will not function optimally if they do not get enough of a certain macronutrient group, such as carbohydrates or fats.