Why Diets Don't Work

Most of us have gone on a diet to lose weight, but when the diet stops, the weight comes back. Why can’t we stick to diets, lose weight and keep it off?

One reason is, we expect change instantly. Turn on the TV. Put it in the microwave. Order it over the Internet. Hop in the car and go. And that’s the way we sometimes approach weight loss.

We go on diets to quickly lose weight. We make drastic changes, and after three weeks or three months, we have lost some weight. But the change starts to be too much to handle. We start to go back to our old habits, behaviors that we’ve developed over our lifetime.

Another reason diets don’t work is the fact that one plan doesn’t fit all. This sets you up for short-term success and long-term failure.

Also, many factors determine the size of our bodies. Some we can’t control like our age, gender or family history.

Researchers have studied people who have lost weight and kept it off. This is what we’ve learned: a healthy weight loss goal is about a pound a week.

Quicker weight loss diets tempt us because we want overnight success. But if we want to stay in that size for the rest of our lives, small, gradual steps are what it’s going to take.

Talk to your healthcare provider about what steps you need to take for healthy, and permanent, weight loss.