Dieting can be hard and draining, and a failed diet is common. Let’s see the reasons why 95% of diets fail.
Imagine setting the bar high on why you want to change your life and then being told that all it takes is diet and exercise instead, only to find out this isn’t true. Let’s consider these the reasons why dieting has been a letdown for many.
Getting back on track after a failed diet
Most people who fail their diet regroup and try again. Here are some reasons they do:
- They Get Motivated to Succeed
When most people fail, they feel overwhelming discouragement. They may feel like a failure and give up on their diet completely. However, when people get motivated to succeed, they have greater perseverance and determination. - They Learn from Their Mistakes
When people make mistakes on their diet, they learn what works and what doesn’t work. This information helps them to make better choices in the future, which leads to more successful weight loss attempts. - They Build a New Strategy based on Their Previous Failures
Unsuccessful weight loss attempts usually teach us valuable lessons about our eating habits that we can use for future success. Therefore, it’s important to document all of your weight loss progress so that you can see how your strategy has evolved over time. - They Get Support from Friends and Family Members
When someone we love fails at something, it’s hard to keep going. But support from friends and family members can be very motivating.
Was it the diet itself that failed?
Most people who try to lose weight fail because the diet they are on isn’t sustainable, too harsh or too many changes at once.
A failed diet involves cutting down on calories, which is a hard task. People often end up eating more than they were before because it feels like they are staving off hunger. This sets the stage for weight regain, as people become tempted to eat more unhealthy foods in order to re-gain the weight that they lost.
Other common reasons people have failed diet are because they don’t stick to the plan and because they don’t change their lifestyle. Most people who try to lose weight only make minor changes, such as eating fewer calories or reducing their portion sizes.
These changes may be enough to help them lose weight initially, but they won’t be sustainable to keep losing weight. We need to make continued changes in our lifestyle if we want to keep losing weight and keep it off for long periods of time and not having a failed diet.
What’s missing in your life?
Most people who try to lose weight end up with a fail diet because they don’t understand what’s missing in their lives. They try to diet without changing their lifestyle or eating habits.
Before you can successfully lose weight, you need to identify the things that are missing from your life. This includes figuring out what you’re passionate about, finding a job that you enjoy, and filling your time with activities that make you happy. Unhappiness = Guaranteed failed diet!
Once you’ve identified what’s missing, you need to change your lifestyle and start eating foods that fit those passions and interests. You also need to find a way to fit in exercise into your day. If you can do all of this, you’re guaranteed to lose weight and keep it off for good.
Why do we find it easy to come back after failure but hard to start?
Most people have a failed diet in the past – we did too, don’t feel bad about it.
It’s hard to change our lifestyle and give up comfort food, but it’s even harder to stay on a diet for long periods of time. The reasons for this are complex, but they largely boil down to one thing: humans are hard-wired to fail.
One of the main reasons we find it so easy to come back after failing is because we’re relied on rewards (like food) to make us feel good. When we don’t get those rewards, we tend to feel upset and unhappy.
This is why Yo-Yo dieting is so difficult; you keep losing weight, but eventually you hit a point where the rewards stop and you become frustrated.
Sticking with a diet requires a different kind of willpower than following a rule, like not eating chocolate cake on your birthday. If you break your diet, you’ll likely feel terrible for weeks or even months afterwards.
But if you break your rules about not eating chocolate cake on your birthday, chances are you’ll just shrug it off and eat the cake, anyway.
There’s no magic wand, magic pill that will make us lose weight easily. We have to take the steps if we want to lose weight.
But when it comes up again – and we all have setbacks now and then – it’s important to take some new steps that can help us break our old patterns of unhelpful eating.
By overcoming the disordered eating behaviors we use as “locking us in” patterns, either by changing them or by dropping them altogether, we often find that losing weight becomes easier than it has been before.
Steps to avoid a failed diet
- Don’t go for a crazy diet all at once – going overnight 100% vegan with10 miles daily run is IMPOSSIBLE – don’t dream, all of those I know who tried ended up with a failed diet and a much lower self-esteem.
- Don’t lie to yourself – how many times I heard “I failed my diet, but no worries, I will walk it off”. A big Mac, coke, fries and McFlurry is about 1,800 calories, that’s almost a 6 hours walk – check it out here.
- Don’t try pills, get slim bands and other magic bullets – they do not work alone.
- Don’t give up if it’s slow, it’s normal.
- Don’t dream… YOU CAN’T LOSE 25lbs IN A WEEK
- Don’t spend money on plans… remember, they are there for the money. In 2021, dieting was a $71 billion industry – check out this CNBC video
- … need more about how to avoid a failed diet?
Failed Diet Conclusion
Most people end up with a failed diet because they don’t understand it. They mistakenly think that eating junk food and Nutella will help them lose weight. In reality, these foods will only make you fat and unhealthy.
If you want to succeed with your diet, you need to be consistent. You also need to make sure that you’re following the right diet plan. A good diet plan is one that is based on science, not personal preference. You need to eat healthy foods and avoid junk and processed foods.
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