4 Reasons Diets Fail!

We have all been on an infamous diet.

Many of us have gone on diets to lose weight while others have gone on diets to become healthier.

Some have gone on diets for bodybuilding purposes as they maybe desired a diet high in protein and calories, and low in carbohydrates.

While others may have simply went on a diet for fun, or because a friend recommended it.
Whatever your reason is or has been, there is a reason why that diet came to an end.

Listed Below Are 4 Reasons Why Diets Fail.

1. Diets Are Temporary

Diets “die.” Period. The whole nature of a diet is temporary. When someone goes on a diet, there is an understanding that at some point that diet will come to an end.

If a diet were to not be temporary, then it would not be called a diet.

People go on diets to get quick results. In an instant gratification world of highly processed, high calorie food, in combination with sedentary lifestyles, people are desperate.

People want quick results and they want it now.

Diets often include deprivation and lots of suffering, and inevitably, even if the diet “works,” the results will be reversed very quickly when the dieter goes back to their normal day-to-day habits.

Being healthy, however, is a lifestyle and commitment that is a long process.

Food is highly addictive and the reasons we eat the foods we eat are based on a variety of factors, including availability, habit, stress, addiction, brainwashing, and manipulation by food industries.

2. Diets Are Restrictive

The nature of a diet is restriction. A diet says, “you can eat this but you cannot eat this.” I do not know about you, but if someone says I cannot eat something, it makes me want to eat it more.

If we go from eating 10 servings a day of processed sweets and junk food, to a diet that restricts carbohydrates substantially, it will probably not last very long.

We will crave these foods strongly, and like with drug addiction, we will have withdrawals.

If we can make it through the storm, then it may have benefits, but most of us will fail at this self-induced deprivation.

3. Diets Lack Essential Nutrients

Because many diets do not have the necessary vitamins, minerals, and macro-nutrients that our bodies require, we will simply not function properly as human beings.

Some diets, like the HCG diet, which is a diet that restricts calories to about 500 a day (which puts your body in a state of starvation), or macronutrient-restricted diets, are not sustainable.

Our bodies need calories for functioning, and each of the individual macro-nutrients are necessary for our body to work properly. We need fat, protein, and carbohydrates. If we do not get them, our bodies suffer.

Many diets are flat out unhealthy. They may lack nutrient-dense whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and contain highly processed foods that lack healthy nutrients.

If we do not get many of the necessary vitamins and minerals in our diets, we will be more susceptible to a variety of diseases.

Without adequate macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients, we will be lacking energy, feel depleted, lose muscle mass, etc.

4. Hope Is Lost

If you try countless diets and all of them fail, then you are going to believe that you are simply incapable of achieving the results you desire.

What many of us do not realize is that most of these diets are designed to fail. They have an end point and are not sustainable.

As a result, you are not changing your unhealthy habits, and right when you cannot control your cravings any longer and the diet ends, you are right back to where you started.

Know that it is not your fault. You were destined to fail when the diet started.

So What Are Some Solutions To Changing Your Eating Habits?

Stop calling it a diet. This is a lifestyle change. The habits you are changing are going to be permanent. It is not a 3 week experiment before you go back to your old eating habits.

Start shopping for better quality foods. The less-processed the food the better. Try and eat more fruits, vegetables, nut, beans, lean meats, and whole grains.

Be kind to yourself. This will be a challenging process. Change is never easy. If you have a donut or two, it is okay. You are only human.

Try to figure out why you eat the foods that you do. Is it because of boredom? Or Stress?

If so, try to develop a plan in how you will change that habit.

For example, if you find yourself constantly eating ice cream when you are feeling a high amount of stress, try substituting a bowl of fruit or some yogurt instead of the bowl of ice cream. Try and create a new response to the same stimulus, which in this case would be stress.

And give yourself time. You did not develop your habits and food preferences in a day, so you should not expect to change them in a day.