Top 5 reasons diets don’t work

1. Diets encourage a temporary solution to weight loss.

How long can you really stick to a diet? I’m guessing temporarily.

2.  Diets label foods “good” and “bad”.

This can lead to feeling “good” about yourself when you eat a “good” food, and “bad” about yourself when you eat a “bad” food.  Food is food.  It’s not “good” or “bad” and should not determine how you feel about yourself.

3.  Diets tell you when to eat and/or how much to eat.

This teaches you to ignore your hunger and only eat what and when “you’re allowed to”, even if your stomach is growling. Learning to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full is essential to long term weight loss.

4.  Diets trick you into thinking there’s a new way to lose weight.

In reality, every diet is just another way to reduce calories, whether it’s by reducing fat, eating healthier foods (which are naturally lower in calories), eating bars or shakes instead of your regular meal, etc.

5.  Diets don’t talk about exercise

Exercise is essential in long term weight loss. Some diets don’t mention the importance of exercise; others will deprive you of the energy (calories or carbohydrates) to even think about exercising.

Here are 3 more reasons…

• Diets lead to feeling deprived.

  If you “can’t have” a particular food on a diet, you’ll probably end up feeling deprived and want it even more. This can lead to craving a particular food, having obsessive thoughts about it, eating it secretly, and/or binging.

• Diets eliminate particular foods or an entire food group.

  In reality, you need a variety of foods from all food groups to make sure your body gets the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to function efficiently.

• Diets teach you to follow a plan that somebody else created…probably for money.

  The only plan that will work for you in the long run is the one you create for yourself.  Nobody knows more about what will and won’t work for you than you.  Besides…nobody likes being told what to do.