Big Questions, Short Answers with Sian Jaquet
(Feat, Andy's unsolicited advice.)
What are the things that make life, relationships, business and the big picture work?
Andy asks Sian, his wife, these big questions. And with a humorous, light-hearted touch, in 10-15 minutes they will discuss the things that really matter and find short answers to bring us all success and happiness.
Sian is a much sought-after international executive coach, board member and keynote speaker who promotes living and working a values-based life to gain happiness and success. Andy is her husband of 35 years, and the ying to her yang, So the conversation is honest, real and funny.
“I hope you'll be entertained. I hope you have a little smile. And I hope every now and again there will be a thought that you refilter in your head and think: Okay, that resonated.” - Sian Jaquet
For more content, check out Sian's website sianjaquet.com, and her online course: Create The Life You Truly Love
Big Questions, Short Answers with Sian Jaquet
Big Question | Why don't diets work? Ep30
Why don't diets work?" It's a question many of us have grappled with, and today, we’re tackling it head-on. In this episode of Big Questions, Short Answers, Sian opens up about her lifelong struggle with dieting and her journey through bariatric surgery. You’ll hear firsthand how these experiences have shaped her life, both physically and psychologically. Andy joins in, adding his unique perspective and some unsolicited, yet always entertaining, advice. Together, they unravel the layers of societal pressures, psychological factors, and scientific evidence that explain why diets often fail us.
We discuss the harsh realities of yo-yo dieting, the mental toll it takes, and the misconception that weight loss surgery is a simple fix. Sian shares the ongoing mental and emotional challenges she faces post-surgery, shedding light on the complexities of weight management and self-acceptance. This episode isn’t just about the science behind diets; it’s a heartfelt conversation about the societal and psychological elements that influence our relationship with food and our bodies. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that promises to challenge your views on dieting and inspire a more holistic approach to health.
For more content, check out Sian's website sianjaquet.com, and her online course: Create The Life You Truly Love.
www.sianjaquet.com
Okay, this is something close to you, all right.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Big Questions. Short Answers.
Speaker 1:I'm Sian and I'm Andy Sian's husband asking the big life questions.
Speaker 2:And possibly adding a little bit of unsolicited advice.
Speaker 1:Maybe this podcast is brought to you by Sian's value-based online course. Visit SianJackaycom to find out more. So the question of the day is why don't diets work?
Speaker 2:Are you asking for yourself?
Speaker 1:That's a bit rude. Well, possibly yes, but no. But you've had a whole history, lifetime of diets.
Speaker 2:Why don't diets work?
Speaker 1:Well, you know because let's go a little bit of history You've actually had bariatric surgery some years ago and for many years you struggled, even though you, you know, I, struggled to stop putting food in my mouth. But equally you know, it resulted in diabetes and other stuff. But we're constantly given a promise of diets and diets and exercise and all the rest, and, yes, it does work. Well, does it work? I don't know. Do they work for you To destroy the Do diets work for you?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm not very good at diets, I must admit, because I like a drink, I like a beer it's just not ideal and a little bit of choccy and the odd crisp. So really, diets aren't working for me at all because I'm not even going into the space. But you know, there is a massive issue, isn't there, in terms of our population globally. You know, overeating and getting a bit bigger than they should be From a health perspective, we're not fat-shaming.
Speaker 2:I'm just sitting here with my mouth closed watching you, watching you wrap yourself in barbed wire. Keep going.
Speaker 1:I know that.
Speaker 2:What do you want to know? Do diets work? From what perspective? My personal one, from a scientific perspective, from a psychological one? I mean, it depends which conversation you want. I mean, my own personal view is that, from what I have read and that doesn't make me an expert, it's just what I have read there is an irony here that it is to do fundamentally with poverty and not either knowing or having the resources to buy and cook healthy food. I also think there is a psychological element to this of learned behavior from childhood, that you were given sweet things and extra things to keep you quiet as a treat. If you're a good child, okay. I think all of that creates beliefs and behaviours. I think that the media, the judgmental world that we live in, and we are literally indoctrinated with visions and ideas and specifics on what we should look like and what our bodies should look like Skinny models.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not sexy, you're not healthy, you're not all of these things if you haven't got them.
Speaker 1:I've got a one pack. Have you no, no, no, thanks, I've got the whole barrel.
Speaker 2:So my point is that it's a daft question, you know. Do diets work? I think there is a whole body of scientific evidence now that yo-yoing and dieting and stop dieting and starving your body and doing all the rest of it does not work, because your body then just holds on to fat because it thinks it's it's living in a famine. I'm not going to pretend to know enough about it, but I know that my own personal experience dieting never really worked for me. It was, from a psychological point of view, very and I mean very traumatic. It just undermined my sense of self. After saying that, I'm not suggesting that bariatric surgery is the answer to everything and the answer to everybody, because it is not a quick fix. You know that smugness and god knows I saw a lot of that when I had the surgery you know you've cheated, you've done it the easy way you've done, whatever.
Speaker 2:Well, let me tell you, yeah, I'm now four, five years on, or whatever it is, and it's not easy you know, every day of my life, I have to think, I have to process, I have to, you know, think about food and my body in a very different way. I think one of the things I have learned which I think has made a difference and is also, for me, one of the central pillars of truth regarding food and image, body image and all the rest of it one of the ways that helped me was creating an understanding, therefore, the belief and I'm now holding on to it that food is fuel.
Speaker 2:It's not an emotional delight, it's not hand-paved, but you see what I mean that if you start literally thinking of fuel and what specific foods do to your body I mean when I learned after I'd had the surgery, you know, the protein was king and I remember sitting in a group therapy session at one point with a whole group of people not just women, actually who had had surgery. There was a fascinating conversation with a dietician and a psychologist who were explaining the detail of what protein does to your brain and without it, how your brain doesn't work. Well, that was it. That's all I needed to do. You know what I mean. It made me focus, in a way, and think about food. I think diets. If you want my honest opinion and again, this is the world of Connie Sashon, andy, it doesn't make me right I think the whole world of dieting is dangerous, is full of emotional fire pits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I've seen still do too many people whose lives have not been fulfilling because they're so hard on themselves, because they don't look right and they don't feel right. We live in a society that's so judgmental.
Speaker 1:Oh, it is ridiculously judgmental. If you're over a certain size, especially as a woman, they don't think you're intelligent. It's bizarre. You steal the same head on the body, but you change the body and all of a sudden you become more intelligent. It's quite bizarre, but that is the case.
Speaker 2:I think it's, I think I don't know. I think it's got a lot to do with emotional trauma and from my own perspective, it was my relationship with food and still is about. I have access, I can, so therefore I will, and you can't tell me not to.
Speaker 1:Unless there's a fridge mount on the fridge that says stand away, move away from the fridge. We had one of those. We did, and I had a policeman.
Speaker 2:He said move away from the fridge. That was many years ago. It's a minefield, yeah, and to be honest, you know, the only way I think it's through education, it's through teaching kids to cook. It's about vegetables and, you know, making it accessible and supporting mums and working parents.
Speaker 1:Because I can tell you now, there were times, andy, where what we fed our kids for tea was not ideal. Uh no, it was not ideal, no, but, but I was too chicken delight, but it is a new phenomenon, probably. I remember when I went to school there was there weren't that many fat kids, but now a lot of fat kids at school, when you're looking at me there's a shorting and I can see your double chin. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I wrecked my case.
Speaker 1:Well, you know it's bad, isn't it that there is that it's cheap food.
Speaker 2:It's, you know, food outlets that are clearly not meeting the nutritional needs. It's computers, it's television, yeah. It's parents who don't have enough time, yeah, to do anything other than the fundamentals because they're busy and they're tired, and you know I'm not so much going on, you know, and we were those parents yeah, yeah you know, I can remember kind of sweet things when our children were small.
Speaker 2:We didn't have that many in the house, to be honest, we didn't, didn't do puddings, didn't do that many sweets. It doesn't mean we did, never did them, but they were. But my dad and see my dad's my dad was sweet man and I can remember you and I having a couple of rows about do we tell you know, do we say you can't share, don't give those kids, don't give the kids sweets. We came to the conclusion well, look, they're looking after the kids and you know it's the way they want to do it, but it's. It's what your beliefs are about food and, as I say, it would boil it down to do they work? Probably not. To be honest, and if you want to get healthy, the two things I would say is get off your ass and walk and, probably more importantly, start thinking of food as fuel. What do I need to eat in a day to make the brain work, to make my legs work, to make my heart work, to make, yeah, quite an interesting shift.
Speaker 1:I mean, well, it is because, like, food is, cooking shows, food shows. The whole thing has just exploded, hasn't it? And a lot of it's healthy. But equally, you have to wonder why. You know bariatric surgery globally is just. I mean, the numbers are huge and you know it's interesting, isn't it, that you've got all those factors and you know, then have all that food and then you bring in bariatric surgery to combat it.
Speaker 2:What I want to ask you is what made you ask the question? What is it about dieting? Is it in your head at the moment? What's triggered that?
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's possibly always there and I've tried, you know, a few times to be consistent and you know, drink shakes and various other things and you know I lose a kilogram and then you know, a month later, I, you know, I lose a kilogram and then you know, it's like a month later and I, you know, lose my discipline and, you know, put two kgs on, so yeah, it's it's not easy, not easy, not easy. You could be on a permanent diet. It's tough.
Speaker 2:It's about what's behind it, isn't it? You know, if the relationship with food is about if I look after my body with the fuel, with what I'm putting in it, I think that equation is probably going to work out well for you If you are obsessed about what you're putting in your body, because that's going to be what I look like and that's going to be how people judge me and that's how I'm going to be, whether I'm liked and whether I'm. You know, I mean, that's not even a door to adolescence and dieting and weight and body image, and then it's like it's like be, be whatever weight you want to be.
Speaker 1:That's I mean. You know. From my perspective it's like be whatever weight you want to be. You know, I've lived with you in very incis shine and you're still beautiful to me, whatever. But obviously there's the health issues.
Speaker 2:Well, that's really what it's about, isn't it? Does it?
Speaker 1:really matter. You look at some people and you think they're a walking heart attack, do you?
Speaker 2:That's you, isn't it, mr Judgmental? You're right, not sentimental, just judgmental.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So does that help.
Speaker 1:Well, hopefully it helps. Hopefully it helps our listeners. Just a little bit of discussion around that, so no pie for me at lunchtime. You really thought you'd funny, don't you? Join us next time on Big Questions. Short Answers with Sian Jacquet and me, Andy.
Speaker 2:If you have any questions you want to ask, please send them via the website siansjacquetcom.
Speaker 1:If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and share it with everyone you know.
Speaker 2:We really do appreciate you sharing 15 minutes with us.
Speaker 1:And if you want to do a bit more learning, go on to Sian's website siansjacquetcom. There's a course on values to create the life you truly love. I did it and it really does do what it says on the can see you next time.
