Why Diets Don't Work

by Kris Pitcher

There's a really simple reason why diets don't work. Well, maybe that's a simplified statement. But I'll break it down. The biggest reason diets don't work is because...

You quit doing them. That's right. Diets don't work because we stop doing them. But it's not all on you. By design, they are destined to fail. First of all, we start them with a short term philosophy.

Starting a "diet" typically equates to a short term change in eating that once we reach a certain weight, we are going to stop. This is the wrong mindset. It simply doesn't make sense to eat a certain way to get a specific result only to revert to a way of eating that made you over weight in the first place.

We'll never succeed with this mindset. Changing the way we eat, especially to achieve a change in our body composition, is something we need to do long term. You know what I say...we only have to do weight management as long as we want it to work.

The second huge reason "diets" fail is because they are frought with crazy. Some ding dong writes a book about eating only ice cream, or only chick peas (I made that up) and everyone is off on the next craze.

The reason these fad diets work is because they create a caloric deficit. Regardless of what you eat, if you're only eating 500 calories per day, you will lose weight. But here's where you'll fail - you cannot sustain this crazy for very long.

A rigid eating plan doesn't account for normal life. It doesn't teach you how to eat in a social situation, how to eat when you are traveling, or how to have variety in your diet. Eventually, you are sick and tired of the fad diet and you quit.

Any time you cut entire food groups out of your eating plan, you will eventually break and eat the thing you aren't supposed to - according to Dr. Ding Dong.

These are the reasons diets don't work. This is why you will find every fad diet book on the shelves of the second hand store. Everyone has tried and failed them all. You've lost and gained the weight tens of times over.

The key is setting yourself up for success by getting your head around the concept of a lifetime approach. Weight management is something you will do for the rest of your life. Eating well is a lifestyle, not a short term approach to a result.

There's no easy answer, no magic pill, and you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can enjoy moderation, regular exercise and making great choices. You can enjoy a lifetime approach to a healthy you!