Why Diets Don’t Work

Why do people diet in the first place?

What are some diets you’ve heard of?

Atkins Diet – low-carb South Beach Diet – Similar to Atkins, but it's not a strict low-carb diet, and you don't have to count carbs. High in protein and healthy fats. Paleo Diet - emulates the eating habits and digestive systems of ancient humans (who lived for many fewer years than people on average do today) Low-fat Diet

Can Diets Be Unhealthy?

Why don’t diets work?

3 Biological Changes of Dieting #1 - Neurological When you are dieting, you actually become more likely to notice food. But you don't just notice it — it actually begins to look more appetizing and tempting. It has increased reward value. So the thing you're trying to resist becomes harder to resist. So already, if you think about it, it's not fair.

#2 - Hormonal Changes (Very similar to neurological) - As you lose body fat, the amount of different hormones in your body changes. Hormone levels that help you feel full decrease. The hormones that make you feel hungry, meanwhile, increase. So you become more likely to feel hungry, and less likely to feel full given the same amount of food. Again, completely unfair.

#3 - Metabolic Changes Your metabolism slows down, because dieting is actually a lot like starving, physically. People put their body into that exact same state that it would be in if they were literally starving to death – so your body starts using calories in the most efficient way possible. When your body finds a way to run itself on fewer calories, there tends to be more leftover. Then these leftovers get stored as fat, which is exactly what you DON’T want to happen.

What About the Advertisements? You can't believe everything they say! Their job isn't to tell you the truth — it's to MAKE MONEY! Diets are typically only good for short-term results. These companies make their money off failure, not success. They need you to fail, so you'll pay them again. One-time customers are not the sort of thing that keep these diet companies in business! **Read the fine print

But some people say it worked for them?? “The Honeymoon phase” - On practically any diet, people lose weight…at first After the initial weight loss, hunger often sets in People resist temptations until they can’t anymore. This often leads to overindulgence…and then guilt 

What About Willpower?? Willpower is actually a very different thing when you talk about eating. Willpower can be extremely useful in certain parts of people's lives, like studying for major exams, or completing a big project. But when it comes to eating, willpower is not the problem… or the answer.

Let's say you're in a meeting, and someone brings in a box of doughnuts… If you're dieting, now you need to resist a doughnut. That is going to take many, many acts of self-control. You don't just resist it when it comes into the room — you resist it when you look up and notice it, and that might happen 19 times, or 90 times. But if you eat it on the 20th time, it doesn't matter how good your willpower was. If you end up eating it, you don't get credit for having resisted it all those times. In virtually any other arena, that would be an A+, but in eating that's an F.

Here’s another example: If you're studying for an exam, and give in to checking Facebook or Instagram, those 10 minutes that you waste don't erase the studying you did before. You haven't lost anything. Whereas with eating, when you suffer that one moment of weakness, it actually undoes all the successful willpower that came before it.

Dieters Blame Themselves for Failure We live in a world where food looks tempting …and it’s everywhere! Portion Distortion is real Many people have this outlook about those who are overweight: “Well, it’s their hand holding the fork.” Yes, it is their hand holding the fork, but it's the context that is much more important here. There are so many things that affect your ability to control what you do with that fork, that make it impossible to not pick it up.

Did you know… Your body has a set weight range?? When your body weight drops lower than your set range, it makes changes to bump your weight back into it. On the other hand, if your weight goes above your set range, your body also makes changes to push it back down into the ideal weight. If you think about it, people do drop below their set range and stay there. A small percentage of dieters (something like 5 %) can do it, but they do it by devoting every minute of their life to staying at that weight. Basically, they spend their entire life living like a starving person.

So then how do I lose weight safely? The best way to diet is to NOT diet  Slow and steady – it’s a LIFESTYLE CHANGE Be AWARE of what you’re eating Portion control Don’t cut out any foods, especially those you enjoy, instead… Eat in MODERATION Establish healthy eating habits NOW Be patient with yourself

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