5 Reasons Why Diets Fail
5 REASONS WHY DIETS FAIL
For many, dieting is incredibly difficult. Dieting is like a roller coaster full of ups and downs and many people can’t stay on the ride for long. I’ve put together a list of 5 reasons why diets fail.
Lack of prioritizing self
This is the primary reason for failure of weight loss. It’s a positive characteristic to put others ahead of ourselves, but when it comes to weight loss, you have to be ready to put forth a significant amount of effort and time. To successfully lose and maintain weight loss, you need to allocate time for exercise, meal planning, food journaling, grocery shopping, education, and more! Remember, the flight attendant always says, “put on your oxygen mask before helping others.” If you take care of yourself and meet your goals, you will be more successful in your care for others. There is a big difference between prioritizing self and being selfish. Carve out the time for your health and you’re sure to find success.
Rewarding yourself with food
When we start exercising, we have a short term of a hypermetabolic phase (elevated metabolism) which can last between four to 10 days. It’s important during this time to anticipate increased hunger. A balanced, high protein snack is great for muscle recovery. Following this phase, re-evaluate your intake and decrease calorie consumption back to a baseline. Beyond a shift in hunger, we are typically guilty of overestimating calorie expenditure. For example, we may burn 300 calories on the elliptical (which may be inaccurate based on the machine) and then compensate with a 550 calorie cupcakes. That would be a net increase of 250 calories on that day, leading to weight gain.
Suffering from the perfect-eating syndrome
Skimping on your favorite foods can lead to falling off your diet plan. When working with clients, we often identify non-negotiables and work these foods into their meal plan for optimal sustainable success. Take the time to reflect on these foods and make reasonable trade-offs to keep them in your diet. When we over-restrict ourselves and make drastic shifts, it often leads to overcompensation and ultimately failure.
Following a one size fits all meal plan
We are all biochemically unique with various schedules, stress levels, and food likes and dislikes. We have different nutritional needs, caloric needs, and food intolerances and allergies, which can greatly impact weight. It is important to have a licensed professional to customize a plan that best fits your needs. An ideal meal plan is geared specifically to address your wellness goals taking into account your medical conditions through analysis of lab values, current (starting point) diet, schedule, and needs.
Your weekly wellness challenge: be real with yourself and start now!
Believe me, you will thank yourself tomorrow for the choices you make today! Start small and set achievable goals that you can accomplish now. Then grow from there. Avoid all-or-nothing mindsets or being overly judgmental. This will set you up for failure. As an example, if you are trying to tame your sweet tooth, I wouldn’t recommend saying, “my goal is to never eat candy again!” This is not realistic. Re-work that goal into something positive and say, “my goal is to eat two to three fruits a day to limit my sweet tooth.” These approaches focus on addition vs. subtraction. Ideal wellness is different for everyone and the best way to achieve it in a sustainable sense is to be real and stay positive.
Before you start your next diet, consider these 5 reasons why diets fail and implement strategies to ensure your diet is a success.
Need help establishing a good dieting routine? Check out Optimal Eating Virtual Class!
What are your dieting tips? Share them on Facebook!
