Why Most Diets Fail

By Stacy Torrence:

For many of us, dieting can be an exercise in frustration and hunger. Most diets fail for a number of different reasons, whether it is motivation or just an addiction to specific foods. Temptation plays a big part in the failure of many diets, because it is almost impossible to think only of healthy and fit foods when the commercials are showing high calorie treats that look so delicious. If you are going to be dieting, you should be aware of the main reasons that diets fail, so that you can avoid the traps and pitfalls of dieting that so many individuals fall into.

Motivation plays a big part in dieting failure for a lot of people. At the start of the diet the motivation you feel is usually high, but as the diet continues it is hard for some to keep up a high level, and their motivation starts to ebb. Weighing yourself too often can actually lead to a loss of motivation, because there comes a time when you hit the weight loss plateau and are not dropping pounds on the scale which are noticeable. This also happens if your body is converting fat to muscle, because muscle weighs more so you can be successful but not see any weight loss. Instead of using pounds lost as a goal, try measuring different areas of your body, such as your arms, hips, and waist on a weekly basis. Keeping your motivation will help you to make your diet a success, and result in a slimmer, trimmer you.

When we diet, many times we end up sabotaging the effort by drastically cutting back on the calories we consume and the foods that we eat. If too many calories are cut from the daily diet, you will cause your body to go into starvation mode, and it will become much more efficient at using far fewer calories for energy by slowing down your metabolism. This causes your diet to fail even though you are eating a lot less, and will actually cause a bigger weight gain once you start eating normally again because your metabolism is much lower. Instead change your lifestyle and eating habits, and there is a much greater chance for dieting success. Instead of traditional dieting, make lifestyle changes to healthier living and eating habits.

Dieting alone is not usually enough to achieve weight loss for life. Exercise is a crucial part of the equation for losing weight. Too many times people will cut back on food and calories, yet do not increase their level of activity and make time for regular exercise. This can be a big mistake and will cause your diet to fail. Exercise will raise your metabolism, so that you burn more calories even while sitting still, and exercise can be a vital part of a successful diet plan.

Many people who are overweight fail on traditional diets because these plans do not take into consideration the emotional component. Many of us eat to fill an emotional need, not because we are hungry. That is why the jokes are made about eating ice cream or chocolate when we are sad or upset. Dieting can cause an individual to feel like they are deprived, because they miss out on all the usual foods and are instead stuck with rabbit and bird food. Many dieters try to avoid going out to eat or to social gatherings because of the fear of breaking the diet by eating something. This can lead to depression, which is a major cause of overeating in the first place, and create a vicious cycle that gets worse. For a diet to be successful you must change the way you look at and think about food completely, which means facing the emotional need for food and training your mind to think differently.