Everyone must eat to live. Food gives you energy, provides the nutrients your body needs to function normally and helps to repair cells and build new ones. Therefore, when different individuals decide to go on a diet, chances are that they feel like they’re depriving themselves as well as their bodies of the foods they want.
If you are overweight, health professionals will advise you to go on a diet. But why is obesity so rampant?
According to statistics, individuals on a diet have a likelihood of losing 5-10% of their starting weight in 6 months but one-third to two-thirds of them regain most or all of it back within three to five years. Popular mainstream diets fail for different reasons and according to research, two out of every five persons on a diet quit in the first seven days, with one out of five giving up after a month. So, if you’ve tried going on a diet to manage your weight and health but failed, you are not alone and here are top reasons why diets don’t work.
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Unrealistic promises
One of the top reasons why diets don’t work is due to unrealistic promises. According to research, the mainstream diet might promise rapid results but it doesn’t give a long-term strategy to maintain your weight. Most importantly, diets that only focus on food choices fail to address other important areas of weight loss such as exercise, and without it, your body will burn muscle mass for energy because it’s already deprived of calories. It is therefore important to incorporate cardiovascular and aerobic workouts when on a diet to help burn fat, raise your metabolic rate and promote a healthy weight loss that you can maintain for years to come.
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No two dieters are alike
There’s a misconception that ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to dieting and that’s where most people get it all wrong. We are all unique and we have different needs regarding crafting long-term strategies for exercise and diet. This, therefore, means that you cannot use the same approach as your friend just because it worked perfectly for them; you’ll end up being disappointed and frustrated. So I recommend talking to a weight loss professional to craft a unique weight loss strategy based on your body’s needs.
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Dieter’s needs change over time
If you keep failing diets over and over again, the reason could be as a result of biological factors that play a vital role in determining your success rate. It is natural for human beings to experience a slow metabolism as they age, making it difficult for older persons to shed pounds and keep them off. According to research, it becomes a challenge for the older dieters to lose weight because their bodies naturally decrease human growth hormone (HGH). Basically, HGH is secreted by the brains and helps to burn fat and aid muscle growth. As you age, HGH decreases meaning that your nutritional needs will change and you’ll find it harder to stay on a diet.
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The diet may be too strict, triggering you to binge on forbidden foods
When you are on a diet, you ban your favourite foods such as ice cream, cheese, chips, and even chocolate, leading you to feeling deprived. For the first few weeks, you’ll feel great with your diet but with time, you are likely to get bored with the monotony of eating the same thing over and over again. At the same time, you’ll start missing your old habits and once you finally give in, you may overeat those forbidden foods to make up for all the days you never consumed them.
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Becoming impatient for results from your diet
After making a decision to go on a diet and slash that extra pound in your body, it goes without saying that you’ll want to have results as soon as possible. If you realize that you’re losing weight at a rate of 1-2 pounds weekly, you’ll finally get frustrated. After a few weeks of dieting with the same results, you may give up, forgetting that it took months or even years to gain weight and it will take time to lose it as well.
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Yo-Yo dieting and the cycle of failure
When mainstream diets fail and you have a history of losing weight and gaining it again (yo-yo dieting), your body learns to be as efficient with food as possible. Your body reacts to such fluctuations in weight by burning fewer calories when at rest and whenever you overeat, it stores more fat in fear of the next crash diet which makes it hard to lose weight and keep it off. Besides, yo-yo dieting comes with a psychological effect; with every successive failure, it becomes difficult for you to keep faith in your goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
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Poor timing of meals
Everyone requires a steady stream of glucose all day long to prevent metabolism from slowing down as well as maintaining optimal energy. But, we are living in a digital age and if you are not busy at your workplace, you are probably glued on your screen watching the latest TV series, movies, playing your favourite video game or connecting with your friends on the social media. The busy schedule throughout the day makes it hard for dieters to eat the correct meals at the right time and in proper proportions. For instance, you are supposed to take breakfast within an hour of waking up and a healthy meal or snack 3-4 hours later. Again, you should keep your metabolism steady and therefore, never go for more than five hours without consuming a healthy meal. Unfortunately, if your mind is occupied, you’ll forget about what to eat and at what time and this will eventually lead to failing diets.
Final thought
If you have ever tried to diet, you already know why diets don’t work. If you have not and planning to start dieting soon, it is good to enlighten yourself that diets keep failing for the many reasons outlined in this blog.
I believe that weight loss is more than just dieting, it’s about your lifestyle and mindset. And that’s why I’m on a campaign to dump the diet and help people like you gain control over their bodies and their lives.
If you’d like to join like minded women on the same journey, get in touch today.
Love and hugs
Linda x