100 million Americans are trying to lose weight. Naturally they go on a diet. They’re trying trendy diets, tried-and-true diets, low-fat diets, low-carb high-fat diets, and every kind of diet out there. But do diets work?
Diets may not be the best path to weight loss. Sometimes people who go on a specific diet actually regain all the weight they lost. No matter what type of diet you choose to go on, you may want to reconsider.
The word diet in this instance, refers to a highly restrictive eating program whose main goal is to help you lose weight. The reason people follow these diets is usually because they are uncomfortable with their weight and want to see fast results. However, most people end up falling off the plan or become unhappy because they are deprived of their favorite foods.
Diets can work for short-term weight loss, but for permanent weight loss they don’t work. Why is that?
Why Diets Don’t Work
Diets don’t work because they aren’t realistic. Most fad diets promise quick weight-loss results. That’s great for short term, but as a long-term solution it’s harder to follow. Many fad diets require you to restrict your food to one food group or to cut out certain food groups in order to lose weight. It might be cutting out carbs or eating only cabbage.
Diets don’t work because you can’t sustain them. At some point you will get sick of eating the same things over and over. That can result in binge eating the foods you had to give up. Binging can have emotional consequences, making you feel like a failure.
Diets don’t work because they can actually be harmful to you. Some diets can be harmful because the restrictions can result in keeping you from getting the essential nutrients your body needs. When you finish a diet that restrict calories, you return to your previous way of eating – the way which caused the weight gain in the first place. This can have you going on another diet, which in turn leads to yo-yo dieting.
Diets don’t work because they aren’t fun. When you restrict yourself on what you eat, you’re probably not going to be in a good mood. Your energy levels might be lower because of restricted calories or lacking nutrients. When you go out with friends and family, you end up being depressed because others get to eat the food you are depriving yourself of.
Diets don’t work because they often leave us feeling hungry. When you leave certain foods out of your diet, especially healthy foods like nuts, you are depriving your body of filling foods that keep you satisfied.
So do diets work? For the short term, yes – some do. But for long-term weight loss, eating healthy is more important than restricting food groups.
