Have you tried several diets and still struggle to keep weight off?
I have good news for you. It’s not you, it’s the diet! This is because diets don’t work!
They set us up for failure because of their restrictive nature. They’re rarely sustainable long-term because they cut out entire foods, food groups, or large amounts of calories.
In this blog, I will explain why diets don’t work and what works instead so you can finally reach your weight loss goals.
Definition of Diet
A diet is a restrictive way of eating, either for medical reasons or to lose weight. In this blog, “diet” refers to popular ways of restricting eating, such as the keto diet, low-fat diet, carnivore diet, whole 30, Paleo diet, low-carb diet, and even intermittent fasting.
5 Reasons Why Diets Don’t Work
The diet industry is a billion-dollar business that thrives on selling products, books, programs, and supplements. It’s good marketing and lucrative to claim to have the answer. However, have you noticed that despite so much dieting and weight loss “wisdom” our world is only getting more overweight and obese? Clearly, diets aren’t working because no one diet can work for everyone. God made us too uniquely for that!
Here are 5 reasons why diets don’t work so you can avoid these pitfalls:
1. Drastically Cutting Calories & Food Groups
Diets often require a drastic reduction in calories or cut out certain food groups. When a diet cuts out almost all carbs (like the keto diet) or almost all fat (like the low-fat diet) or everything except meat (like the carnivore diet), it’s a sign of a fad diet and something to approach with caution. All of these diets have some element of truth to them that work for specific purposes, but generally our bodies need all three macronutrient groups to optimally perform and to feel our best. You need carbohydrates, protein, and fat. There may be certain health conditions that require a person to adapt and change those macronutrients in a more extreme fashion, but for the majority of us, these are not sustainable ways to eat. And sustainability is key!
2. Diets Don’t Work Because They’re Not Always Healthy
Fad diets can lead to low energy, make you feel tired and grumpy, and decrease cognitive performance. Even worse, they could lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, reduced antioxidants, polyphenols and fiber, muscle loss, and potential health problems. They may result in quick weight loss, but it rarely lasts. Quick fixes are appealing and what causes diets to become popular, but the reason why they work so quickly initially is because restricting carbohydrates will cause you to lose water weight and even muscle over time. Yet, when someone steps on the scale and sees the number going down, it makes them feel good. But just because you’re losing weight, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re losing fat, which is the whole point of most diets!
3. Diets Don’t Consider Your Personal Health Needs
Diets don’t work because they use a one-size-fits-all approach, as if everyone has the same body type, is perfectly healthy, and can eat the same foods. One way of eating is not going to work for everyone. For example, someone who is obese and has an autoimmune condition needs to eat different foods at different times than a runner who wants to lose 20 pounds of fat, maintain muscle, and perform well. A diet could cause complications to someone who has liver damage or kidney issues or a gut disorder. All of these people need to eat different types of foods to protect their health. Everyone has different goals and different health needs that determine what they should eat. Nutrition should always be very personalized, not a cookie-cutter approach.
4. Restrictive Diets Lead to Binging and/or Weight Regain
Diets don’t work because they often severely restrict calories or types of foods. which causes us to think more about those foods. We tend to want what we can’t have. This is why ongoing restriction usually leads to binging and eventually falling off of the diet which leads to weight regain. If you’ve ever fasted or gone on a diet, you’ve probably experienced this. It’s just too hard to say no to foods you love for a long time. It’s not realistic to restrict many foods due to social events, desires, family gatherings, etc. It’s fine to cut back on unhealthy foods or reduce your calories to lose weight, but major restriction is only sustainable for so long. You must find balance if you want to sustain weight loss.
5. Short-Term, Guilt Mentality
Diets cause us to think about food and weight loss with a short-term, guilt-based mentality, not a lifestyle change mentality. Programs like 30-day challenges can promote the mindset that dietary changes are something you do for a short period of time that hopefully cause weight loss before you return to many of your previous habits. They promote unhealthy relationships with food by determining some foods off limits, instead of promoting life-giving, balanced relationships. Diets make people feel like they can’t be trusted with food and create a sense of guilt when we “mess up” by eating foods we told ourselves we couldn’t have. This can then lead to lack of self-confidence due to not following through with our commitments.
Weight loss and maintenance isn’t a short-term program, it’s a lifelong journey.
If Diets Don’t Work for Weight Loss, What Does?
Rather than follow one restrictive diet after the next, here are 9 intuitive eating approaches to healthy eating that actually work long-term. These promote sustainable lifestyle habits with a balanced approach to food. They may take a while to learn and require becoming more in tune with your body. But the more you practice, the easier they become.
1. Listen to your body’s cues hunger, thirst, and satiety cues
Get in tune with your body. This takes some practice because we rely on diets to tell us what to do, or we eat based on habits, set meal times, or emotions. Try to start listening to your body and eat according to what it’s telling you.
What does hunger feel like to you? Do you know? It may be a grumbling tummy, stomach pain, headaches, fatigue, etc. Find what it is for you, then honor your body when these signals hit. If you’re hungry, then eat! Don’t listen to the idea that going hungry is required to lose weight. I always check in with my clients to find out if they are feeling hungry. My goal is that they never answer “yes” because I want them to feel satisfied and energized.
You might also be thirsty, not hungry. Start drinking around 64 oz of water per day. If you’re between meals and not sure if you’re hungry or thirsty, drink a big glass of water. If hunger persists 5-10 minutes later, then eat a snack or meal.
What does fullness feel like to you? Do you know? A good time to stop eating is when you feel about 80% full because it can take about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you’ve eaten enough. If you stop eating when you’re “stuffed”, you’ve eaten too much.
Practice feeling satisfied at the end of meals, not stuffed or uncomfortable. Let your stomach tell you when it’s done, even if your plate still has food on it. You can always save the food and finish it later. There is no rule that you must clean your plate, regardless of what your parents told you. Honor your body. When it signals that it’s satisfied, stop eating.
2. Identify Emotional Eating & Deal with Your Emotions
If you feel satisfied near the end of meals but keep eating, there may be an emotion or old habit to deal with. Are you trying to fill another need with food? Ask yourself the same question when you head to the pantry or refrigerator, or reach for seconds.
Is your body sending you hunger signals, or are you looking to food to manage an emotion like sadness, anger, depression, or even boredom. Try to identify the root emotion, then look for another way to deal with it such as journaling, prayer, calling a friend, going for a walk, etc. This is one reason why diets don’t work. If food is a source of comfort for our emotional needs, no diet can fix that.
As a faith-based coach, I encourage my clients to pray and ask God what is going on when they look to food for comfort. He can show you the real issue and how to deal with it. Maybe you need to forgive, or grieve, or ask Him for strength. God gives us power we do not have on our own, and He is where we should turn with our feelings, not food or drink.
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12
3. Eat Regularly to Support Metabolism & Avoid Cravings
Don’t skip meals or snack your way through the day! This is a common problem, but it usually leads to overeating later in the day, making worse food choices, and contributing to a sluggish metabolism. Eat a good breakfast each morning, something like a bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries and a hardboiled egg, a veggie omelette with a piece of whole-grain toast, or a protein smoothie. Skimping all day long with “meals” like a banana and coffee for breakfast, small salad at lunch and no snacks will leave you ravenous and tired. Once you get home, you’ll want to eat everything, especially fatty, high-carbohydrate foods.
Eat nutrient-dense meals with adequate calories at each meal, and wholesome snacks as needed. Then plan healthy dinners ahead of time, and meal prep when possible. If food is ready to go, or you know exactly what you’ll cook, then you’ll be less likely to grab junk and overeat.
If you’re not even sure what a high-quality day of healthy food would look like, then grab one of my healthy meals plans! I have one for just about every preference and they can be adapted to your needs.
4. Focus on Adding Healthy Foods into Your Diet
Try to think less about what not to eat, and more about what to add to your meals! See if you can add a vegetable, fruit, fibrous carbohydrate, healthy fat, and/or lean protein at each meal. You might not get all of these at each meal, but the more you can squeeze into your day the better. See if you can diversify them as well, because more dietary diversity supports gut health.
Look for ways to make your meal as healthy as possible, and you won’t even have much room for junk food. But even if you want a less healthy option, look for ways to “upgrade” it. For instance, when my husband and I eat pizza, we usually make a frozen cauliflower crust pizza from Costco, then add chicken sausage and a bit of diced zucchini. If you want a grilled cheese or burger, then add a side salad with some fresh veggies. Adding foods into your diet that will help you feel your best.
5. Notice Which Foods Make You Feel Great
Pay attention to how the food you eat makes you feel. The more aware you become, the more you will naturally gravitate towards healthier options. For instance:
- What gives you energy and vitality?
- What makes you feel tired or grumpy?
- Do any foods disrupt or improve your sleep?
- What digests well, and what makes you feel bloated or causes stomach pain?
A huge shift happened for me when I got sick of overeating and feeling bloated daily. One baby step at a time, I started cutting back on the foods that made me feel “yucky” until I got so used to feeling good after meals that I didn’t want to go back to junky foods. Do I still eat them sometimes? Definitely! But I think first about how I might feel and if it’s really worth it. Usually, I choose these foods after a hard bike or run when my body can use those calories efficiently and my digestion will be better. Many times, I have had strong cravings that I said no to because the “pain” afterward just wasn’t worth it.
Your body was designed to digest God-made foods, not highly-processed man-made foods. When you consume more natural foods, you will lose weight more easily.
6. Eat Slowly & Mindfully
Most of us are always in a hurry and we eat so fast we barely taste our food. This is one reason we overeat. But slowing down and savoring food helps you enjoy food and the eating experience more fully. Try to take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal. Take small bites and chew them fully, undistracted, and consider the tastes and textures. Notice what you’re eating and you’ll likely enjoy it more which may reduce overeating throughout the day because you are truly taking pleasure in your food. Slowing down also allows you to notice your body’s satiety cues better, so you are less likely to overeat.
7. Don’t Make Foods Off-Limits
Diets don’t work because they limit many foods, even entire food groups! When foods are deemed “off-limits”, you will want them more. It’s the way our brains work. Allow yourself permission to eat while being mindful. If you have a craving, consider if you truly want it and why, as mentioned before. If you truly desire it and can’t let go of the craving, then enjoy a little bit. But truly enjoy it – don’t focus on how you’re eating badly or breaking a food rule. When you allow yourself permission for treats, you’ll likely experience fewer cravings.
8. Make Changes Gradually
If your goal is to lose weight, then you may need to cut calories. But you don’t necessarily need to start with cutting 500 calories per day as is often recommended. Instead, you might want to reduce calories slowly, starting at 200 per day and see how it feels. Then increase as needed to continue weight loss. Similarly, if you want to eat healthier, then try reducing unhealthy foods a bit at time, such as from daily to a few times per week. Smaller changes are easier to make and it’s more likely that they will become habits as your cravings become less.
9. Use Discipline and Say “No” When Needed
Although I just said not to make foods off limits, part of spiritual growth, wisdom, and maturity is learning to deny ourselves at times for a greater good. There may be times when you need to restrict a food for a time. For instance, I had a client who drank at least one soda daily but was trying to lose weight. She asked if she should cut soda out entirely. I suggested that cutting back would be a good idea, but that if she really wanted one from time to time, that was okay. However, she decided it was best to cut soda out entirely, which shortly after reduced her cravings. She had a choice, and her wisdom told her to “just say no”, which helped her to lose weight. Now, if she really wants one, she will have one without falling back into old habits.
Similarly, use wisdom and discernment to know when to allow yourself certain foods and when to say no and opt for a healthier choice.
“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.” Daniel 1:8
Losing weight can be tough, but hopefully these tips have given you some new ideas about how to approach the process in a more well-rounded way that you can sustain.
If you want some extra support and accountability from other women going through weight loss journeys, I encourage you to join my Group Health Coaching for women. We have live calls every month, but they are recorded in case you can’t attend. I also provide helpful resources and we have a private Discord group for ongoing conversation.
