5 Reasons Why "Dieting" Doesn't Work For You Long Term
Why are you ALWAYS on a diet? Isn’t the purpose of the diet to help you FINALLY lose weight…and keep it off?
Question: Have you followed any diet that has not only helped you lose weight but keep it off long term?
Cabbage Soup Diet. No long term success.
Atkins Diet. No long term success.
Slim Fast. No long term success.
Weight Loss Pill with Ephedrine. No long term success.
Grapefruit Diet. No long term success.
South Beach Diet. No long term success.
Cut Carbs Diet. Cut Sugar Diet. Cut Anything White Diet. No long term success.
Eat Vanilla Ice Cream Diet. No damn success!
Cayenne Pepper Foolishness. (Insert blank stare. blink. stare. blink. blink. lol!)
Need we go on????
You get the point! We are certain you have your own list & some of these we’ve listed are probably on it! So, what does this tell you?
Simply put: Diets do not work.
The truth is you can not expect to attain a permanent result when you keep applying a temporary solution. You have to rethink this process and accept the fact that the “promise” of easy is not going to cut it! Any time you have talked to anyone who has not only lost the weight but has kept it off long term has told you “IT’S A LIFESTYLE!” It truly is a balance of nutrition and activity.
Yet, time after time, diet after diet, you still find yourself looking for the “magic,” never realizing the magic is in the mirror.
Here are 5 reasons diets don’t work:
Diets are ONLY temporary! How long have you lasted on ANY diet? Tell the truth! Not long! Whatever you are eating, buying, trying, eliminating, or combining, gets OLD quick! Diets are about creating a NEW NORMAL. Diets never address HOW or WHY what you are doing or not doing is actually going to work for you. The only permanent solution to losing weight & keeping it off is by creating a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Diets eliminate something. No matter what diet you consider, you are told to eliminate something–no carbs, no meat, no sugar, no breads, pastas, or rice, no fat, etc, etc, etc. Something is going to be eliminated. Check this out: we have a recommended food pyramid by the USDA for a reason. It shows you HOW to create a nutritional balance in your daily consumption. It’s too easy for a diet to pick a nutrient & convince you THAT NUTRIENT is the problem. We can tell you it’s not! The problem is usually a combination of too much consumption, too little activity, & most definitely, too much fast food, processed foods, sweets, & alcohol consumption. These are only a few contributing factors. Be assured–your body REQUIRES a balance.
Diets mislead you. 3 words…New & Improved! How many times have you heard about the new & improved diet program, new weight loss pill, new weight loss shake, or a new weight loss supplement–all with guaranteed results, until you read that disclaimer with the “*” next to it…or should we say, IF YOU READ IT. Most diets are simply programs focused on reducing your calories. Diets do not teach you how to create a healthier lifestyle. Instead, they teach you how to implement a temporary process. They are absolutely right when they tell you results are not typical. When you do not attain these results, it makes you feel like you are the failure & not the product. We can tell you it’s not you. It’s what you are doing.
What Exercise??!! Some diets don’t even mention exercise, making claims that those on their programs have lost a significant amount of weight without ANY exercise. STAY CLEAR! Other diets, because they have eliminated foods from your diet, leave you deprived of the energy or fuel (food) you need to support an exercise regimen. Meaning, your body is not properly fueled to exercise even if you wanted to workout. Say this with us: exercise is REQUIRED. Exercise is essential to your success. Not only is exercise a key element to your healthier lifestyle & weight loss success, it is also the catalyst to increasing your metabolism, improving your cardiovascular health, & building muscles. It is true that weight loss is 80% nutrition & 20% exercise. Note…EXERCISE is still apart of the equation.
Diets do not reflect YOUR DIET OR LIFESTYLE. Let’s revisit that diet list above. All of those things may not reflect foods you eat or like! What we have learned through our own journey of losing weight & coaching others is WE ALL LIKE/LOVE DIFFERENT FOODS! The only plan that you will be successful with is the plan you create including the foods & activities you love!
When we first started, we tried things like rice cakes, wheat grass, & buckwheat flour. We can tell you that did not last long! We knew if this was going to be a lifestyle change, it had to include things we loved to eat & things we loved doing.
It’s the same concept we teach our clients. Sometimes, we are asked to provide a meal plan & folks are always surprised & we are looked at funny when we say “No.” BetterChoices is not about supplying you with our meal plan. It’s about teaching you various aspects of the process so you can understand and be empowered to create a plan that works for you.
