Why Diets Fail
My
top reasons and solutions to help you
re-create your diet
There are
many reasons why diets fail but they tend to fall in to two categories:
So why have I
put physical in the group? Surely this is obvious. You could be
trying a diet because you are overweight or obese (how do you know if
you are overweight or obese? With the BMI calculator). If this is the
case then you are right. It is obvious that you are dieting for physical
reasons.
But what if
your BMI is normal (or worse, underweight)? If you try dieting for
weight loss then you are using psychological reasons! Why?
Because you aren't fat! You don't need to lose weight but your mind is
telling you that you have to.
Remind
you of anyone?
Skip down to reason no.1 of why diets fail if this is you or someone
you know. Or read on for more detail on the category of psychology.
Remember, there
are plenty of psychological reasons that can lead you to dieting
for weight loss. These are mainly issues with your state of mind, be it
positive or more often, negative. A negative state of mind can lead you
to a diet that will not work!!! This forms a small part of why diets
fail.
Okay. Let’s
get to it. Below, you will find my top reasons on why diets fail AND
some tips that can help you overcome those issues.
1) Dieting for the wrong
reasons.
An event is
coming up and there are going to be loads of people involved. Perhaps
it’s a wedding or a get together and you’re worried about being the
biggest person
in the group. So you go on a diet. But it won't matter if it’s the best
diet in the
world. Why? Because you are dieting for the wrong reasons!
This is just
an example. The root of this reasoning is that you are dieting for
someone else. You're trying to get their approval, make them jealous or
to shame them. But it’s not about them. It’s
about you! Dieting like this is fuelling you with negative energy. Carry
on like
this and you’ll feel so low you may become the most miserable person you
know!
2) Dieting at the
wrong time.
This leads on
from my 1st reason why diets fail. Strictly speaking, there is no best
time to start
dieting but if you are in the wrong mind frame a diet is unlikely to
work.
If you are
emotionally drained, behind schedule or stressed, a diet can become
overwhelming especially if a special dinner with family and friends is
around the
corner.
You will
never be able to get rid of all of your stress but if you don’t feel
in control of your life, you will never be in control of your diet. Relax! Here are some tips. At least three times a day, you should
take a 10 minute time-out to chill. But PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Do not
eat anything when you do this. Avoid all distractions! Focus on yourself
and listen to your mind, body and soul. It may sound weird but after a
while you'll notice things about yourself and the life around you that
will improve your mood. Just try it!
Do this
when you wake up (maybe after you brush your teeth and splash some water
on your face.) Trust me. Do this and you'll feel refreshed and ready
for the day ahead.
When you get back home
from work, a day out or if you were at home all day, a little before you
eat supper.
And finally, just before
you go to bed. There's nothing worse than going to bed with negative
energy. It won't just disappear! You'll either toss and turn in the
night or wake up in the morning blaming everyone within 100 yards of
you!
If you have kids get them to do
a
fun task like draw a picture for you or complete a puzzle whilst you
relax yourself. Anything will do as long as it is NOT a chore and NOT a
competition. Just be honest, they should respect that.
Only when you
feel in control of your life should you think about
dieting. But don’t start yet! Your diet might not work if you don’t
realise the
other reasons why diets fail!
3)
Setting the wrong goals.
If you have
diabetes or one of its symptoms, high blood pressure, then concentrating
on losing weight is NOT the most important goal.
Your most important goal may be, eating a balanced diet to reduce these
levels.
Want to know how to create a balanced diet
catered for you? Click here for the basics
Remember
diabetes and high blood pressure accompanies obesity, not the other way
around. Concentrate on reducing these levels and your weight will follow
suit.
4)
Setting unrealistic goals.
“I’m going to
lose 10 stone in 1 month!” or “I’m going to go in the gym every day
for a month for 2hours a session!” or “No carbs for me. I’m on a strict
diet I
won’t touch a single cracker let alone a biscuit.”
These are all
ridiculous goals that will require drastic changes to your lifestyle.
Your body won’t cope with these changes especially if your diet has
little or no flexibility. Some people consider this as another reason why diets
fail. Little or no flexibility can cause you to feel sick of the limited
choices available in your diet, anger your taste buds and ultimately
push you into eating your favourite junk food!
So how do you set
realistic goals?
The best
goals are S.M.A.R.T ones (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic
& Time Specific). Measurable means that you have to know
if your goals are being achieved. Do this by measuring/weighing
yourself every now and then. But be Time Specific i.e I'll
measure myself once a week
If your goals
do not fit ALL of these letters you’ll end up feeling frustrated when
you don’t meet these targets, lose the motivation to stick with your
diets and all too often, end up getting into your old eating habits that
put you in this situation in the first place!
This is a
very simple reason why diets fail that can be fixed with a bit of
planning and motivation.
5) You
unintentionally neglect your body whilst on the diet.
It's very
easy to focus your mind on only a few small details whilst on a diet.
But if this is the only thing on your mind you can easily fall into the
trap of neglecting other factors that could aid your diet.
This negative
effect can be multiplied by many factors on the why diets fail page and
can put unnecessary stress on your body. This can cause you to age
faster and age badly, which can lead to far worse conditions than
diabetes!
If you'd like
some tips on slowing down your ageing rate - looking and feeling great
in the process - check out the agewell website here.
6)
Depriving/Starving the body of nutrients.
There are a
lot of diets that require you to significantly or totally cut out
certain nutrients in the body. Our bodies are very complex machines and
require a wide array of nutrients to function efficiently.
For example, a
lot of diets restrict the amounts of fatty foods consumed but some fats
are not just good for you, they’re essential. Omegas 3, 6 & 9 are
critical for our brains and for preventing disease.
Starve the
body of nutrients and your body will go into a state called ketosis. I
like to call it, famine mode. This will slow your metabolism, the very
thing you need to improve. This is a very important medical note on why
diets fail!
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