Every year, there seems to be a new fad diet that promises to work better than all the others. But no matter how the weight loss industry packages the latest form of restriction, the research will show the same result: Diets do not work.
“But what about–”
If you followed your friends who swear by the keto diet for the next few years, it’s more than likely that they, like 95% of dieters, would gain the weight back.
Why?
It’s not just that diets are unrealistic and difficult to maintain. Even if you follow a diet’s rules to a T, the biological toll dieting takes on your body will prevent you from achieving long-lasting weight loss.
Here are some of the major reasons why diets don’t work:
Dieting makes you think about food constantly.
“Don’t think of a pink elephant!”
If you’re thinking of a pink elephant right now, you can see how your brain might do the same thing with food. If you tell yourself you can’t have certain foods, it’s going to be hard to keep your mind off of them. When you’re on a diet, “banned” foods are going to be much more appealing and harder to resist. This makes it difficult to maintain a balanced relationship with food.
There’s an endpoint.
Diets operate by limiting portions of certain food groups or banning them altogether. Eating in such a restricted way just isn’t sustainable for a long period of time, so most people stop following diets after a few months or weeks.
Dieting decreases your metabolism.
When you eat less, your body adjusts to prevent you from burning too many calories by slowing your metabolism. This makes weight loss more difficult as time goes on.
Restricting triggers bingeing.
Skipping meals or fasting for long periods of time makes you more likely to overeat. Eating regularly will help you keep your portions in check.
Your body’s happy weight and your happy weight might not be the same.
If you are trying to diet your way to a goal weight that is lower than your body’s set point weight, weight loss is going to be tough. In an effort to keep you in the weight range in which you function best, your body will increase your hunger hormones and stow away calories.
Your body knows what is best, and trusting that, rather than fighting biology with a diet, will help you achieve optimum health.
Diets aren’t just ineffective–they’re dangerous. The rules laid out by diets–such as excluding food groups, labeling foods as “good” and “bad,” and counting calories–mirror disordered eating behaviors, so it’s no surprise that 25% of dieters go on to develop eating disorders.
If you’re determined to break the cycle of dieting and repair your relationship with food and your body, contact us to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to discuss how we can help you on your road to recovery.
