Some Very Good Reasons Why Diets Do Not Work The Way They Are Advertised

November 16, 2010 by: Eugene Yengwlrt

There are a lot of people out there trying to lose weight. And one thing that most of them know is that in the end, a huge percentage of diets fail. And there are some good reasons why diets do not work.

The most common reason diets don’t work is that people go on very restrictive diets in an effort to lose weight, and then can’t stick with them. Either they become discouraged rapidly, and stop the diet before they achieve weight loss, or the achieve the weight loss and then stop dieting, and the pounds pile back on. Both ways end in disappointment.

Diets are not a natural way to eat, usually. They require radical changes in the way that people normally eat, and make dieters give up some of their favorite foods. Willpower generally cannot overcome biology when a dieter’s body is constantly telling them to go back to their old way of eating. Sooner or later, they will.

Extremely restrictive diets are hard to stick with for various reasons. One is that people on strict diets find it very hard to go to social events where there is food, which is most of them. And people who slip on their diets often feel depressed out of proportion to the slip, and that depression can lead to giving up altogether.

A biological reason that diets don’t work the way we would think they should is that calorie restriction is being employed incorrectly in most cases. Yes, people must eat less than they burn to lose weight, but if they eat much less than they burn, their metabolisms will slow, and they will wind up eating the same amount but still not losing. This is, of course, very frustrating.

Anyone who diets without exercising is actually only losing about a third of a pound of fat for every pound lost. That is because dieting produces losses that are approximately one-third muscle, one-third water, and one-third fat. When the diet ends, the water and fat come back very quickly, but the muscle does not. This leaves the dieter the same weight as before the diet, but their body now burns fewer calories, so they usually gain additionally, as well.

There are more reasons than are laid out here, but these are all good reasons why diets do not work. Dieting, judged by scientific studies on the subject, actually appears to be detrimental to people’s health. But losing weight, and keeping it off, is good for you. So, there must be some other way to lose weight than through a diet.

A lot of people who haven’t, and most people who have been on a diet, know about the caloric balance. People must take in less calories than they burn in order to lose weight. But people making extreme changes in their diets rarely stick with them. So, these changes must be made very slowly, if they are intended to be made permanent.

Making gradual, permanent changes in lifestyle and letting yourself get used to them is the best way to lose weight. Eat half as much sugar or fat as you normally do, and make no other changes for a month. Then add half an hour of walking, biking, or pilates, three times a week, for the next month. Don’t try to make any changes that sound difficult rapidly. It can be hard to be patient, but remember to make slow, permanent changes, and you will also change forever.

Get the ultimate inside skinny on great reasons why diets do not work and fab lose weight tips now in our complete online guide to the best weight loss review .

Share

Add A Comment

*
Security Code: