Why Diets Don't Work

It seems as if every year there is a new diet that comes onto the scene and becomes a widely popular sensation. Two of the most popular recently have been the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet, but there are also others out there such as the liquid diet, the Zone Diet, and Weight Watchers. The problem with diets is that they require a radical change that is difficult to maintain over time and eventually people abandon the diet and not only resume old habits, but often they engage in unhealthier habits than before. The key to improving your health and losing weight is not to find a diet, but to make a permanent lifestyle change that is not radical, yet can help you achieve the desired results.

The first problem with diets is that they require a large amount of time to be dedicated to counting calories or carbohydrates, when you should be eating healthy foods that you enjoy without having to worry about what is in them. Rather than focusing on specific parts of the label, you should learn what types of foods you can eat regularly that are not going to make you fat if you overindulge from time to time. Find a list of healthy items that you can eat on a daily basis and simply choose from that list, rather than counting the calories or carbs throughout the day. If you only fill your fridge with items you know are safe, then you have no need to read the labels every day. It is ok to buy a little junk as well, but just be sure you know which foods you can indulge in and which foods you cannot.

The second problem with most diets is that they create a nutritional deficiency of some sort. Sure, creating a caloric deficit is a proven way to lose weight, but it isn't going to work long term if you starve your body of essential nutritional ingredients. Fruits have sugars in them, but in moderate amounts they are healthy for you. Juice or liquid diets do not give you enough pure vitamins and minerals to sustain yourself, and starving your body of carbs does more to deprive your body than help it. You can burn fat without creating a nutritional deficit by simply integrating moderate exercise into your routine and making sure you do not eat too late in the evening. The solution is to burn more calories than you consume and allow your body to burn the weight off naturally.

Lastly, diets don't work because they create a mental deficit where your mind thinks it is going without something it wants. This will eventually backfire and you'll end up eating a gallon of ice cream rather than losing the weight you wanted to lose. Try giving your body what it wants, in healthy doses, so that your mind doesn't become obsessed with food. Trying hard to not think about something only makes the problem worse, which is why you are far better off eating 3-5 small, healthy meals per day than by skipping breakfast, having a salad for lunch, and eating a large dinner. This pattern is devastating to your metabolism and will not provide the long term results you desire.

Simply make healthy and rational choices rather than trying to start a fad diet and you'll find that the slow and gradual benefits will be long term and permanent lifestyle enhancements.