Why Diets Don't Work? And What Actually Does!

Think about the last time you started a diet.

Maybe it was a few years back, maybe just a few weeks ago. Maybe you’re thinking of starting one right now.

Well, before you do that, please stop for a second and try to remember – Did it ever work?

I don’t mean if you lost a few pounds for the summer or if you finally managed to fit into your favorite jeans (and I’m not saying these things are not important, because they are, just hear me out).

I mean, did you lose weight permanently? Did you feel balanced and healthy? Did you have long-term results? …Or you gained it back right after it?

Well girls, if the answer was “no, it did not work” welcome to the “failed diets girl’s club”!

Just kidding, there’s no such club, but most of us go through that same cycle when starting a diet, and the result is always the same – the diet fails us.

The reason for that is that most of the time the diets don’t work in the long run. That’s because they’re customized to give fast results that just can’t work in the long term.

And that’s such a bad thing because when a diet fails us, we feel demotivated, unhappy, disappointed, and worst of all we feel like we’ve done everything right and it still doesn’t work on us.

Well, babes, it really isn’t you – it’s the diet! And today, I’ll give my very best to provide you with the answer why diets don’t work, and what actually does work.

Let’s get started right away!

Why diets don’t work?

There are a few reasons why diets don’t work, and we’re going through all of them.

1. Diets are not sustainable

Yes, you’ll lose a few pounds, but after finishing the diet and you go back to your old habits, you’ll gain it all back.

I’m not saying diets won’t provide you with any results though, because they will. Diets will help you lose weight at first, but they’re not your permanent solution.

Also, let’s not forget the fact that there’s a good chance you gain more weight afterward than when you first started the diet.

And it’s true that healthy is not a destination and you can’t lose weight and get back to your old habits with any eating schedule, but with diets keeping on track is impossible because they’re not made to be sustainable.

2. Diets become boring

And that’s the first reason why they’re not sustainable.

Most diets are not focussed on healthy food, but on certain foods that you should eat over and over again.

They are plain and that’s when your mind comes in the way. A food easily becomes boring because when you eat something over and over your dopamine levels start to drop.

This means you won’t be excited about eating anymore and when you don’t enjoy the food you eat, you can’t remain on track and you’re most likely to get out of track and cheat.

Solution: You can’t keep eating foods you don’t like anymore, just because they’re healthy. You need a meal plan that’s colorful, fun and diverse, that won’t become boring and one that’s adjustable to your own taste and your own cravings.

3. Diets focus on eating certain foods

As I said, instead of focusing on healthy food, diets add the accent to eating certain foods or certain food groups.

These foods may be healthy, but nothing is healthy enough to eat it 24/7. You need diversity to remain healthy and to stay on track.

Solution: Find a meal plan that’s focused on healthy food instead of certain foods.

4. Diets are linked to starvation

Most diets have portion controls which usually isn’t enough to satisfy every appetite.

What diets do is focus on calories intake only, without thinking about volume. And the problem is that your body has a “volume counter” too, which means you won’t get full by eating a handful of almonds no matter how much calories are in there.

So, you end up being hungry all the time, which leads to thinking about food all the time.

Also, every one of us is different and we all feel satisfied and full with a different amount of food. They can’t expect a 3 oz steak to be enough for someone with 150 pounds and someone with 200 pounds.

Even if we leave out the weight, again we all have different appetites so there can’t be a single amount of food to satisfy us all in general.

Solution: My meal plan is all about volume foods in each meal, where you can eat as much as you want without compromising the calorie intake.

5. Diets slow the metabolism

Each time you start a diet that’s not providing enough nutrients, it causes your body to starts panicking.

Your body actually gets a “survival” signal and it does anything to keep you alive.

How? Well, for starters by lowering your metabolism, stimulating brain chemicals to make you think about food, holding onto fat, and shutting down non-essential systems (to survival). One example of that is with the reproductive systems, which is why many women who are under-eating end up losing their menses.

The body starts holding onto its fat stores and starts lowering the metabolism, which is the complete opposite of what should happen in a perfectly healthy body.

Solution: Start a meal plan that’s loaded with healthy foods that speed up your metabolism and give you a healthy boost to your body.

6. Diets cause you to binge

When you’re not getting full by the meals you eat, you end up thinking about food most of the time.

And feeling hungry is the perfect scenario for binge eating because when you’re hungry you will have anything.

As I mentioned, your body will release chemicals to make you think about food in response to starvation. In fact, it releases NPY which is a chemical secreted by the brain in situations when you’re not getting enough fuel.

And what’s even more shocking is that this chemical actually increases your motivation to eat, delays satiety and simulates food intake with a preference for carbs.

That’s the main reason why you are craving for that bite of chocolate cake, not because you are an “emotional eater” but because your diet just doesn’t work and keeps failing you

Again, it’s not you – it’s the diet!

Solution: It’s normal to crave your favorite junk food when you first start eating healthy, but as times go by you should feel better, balanced and satisfied. If this is not the case, the diet is not good for you.

What to do instead?

There are many things you can do to stay healthy, lose that weight once and for all and finally start falling in love with healthy food.

And all of these reasons start with a single thing you can do – finding the right meal plan. And, I’m just about to show you how to do that.

1. Look for a “meal plan”

Not a diet, but a meal plan.

Diets are strict and precise, and even the word diet gives me creeps. On the other hand, meal plans are diverse, colorful and fun (at least they should be). They sound and actually are made to be used long term.

So the first thing you should do is lose the diet and the diet mindset. Instead, think about a healthy food meal plan that you could live with and enjoy for life.

Check out my meal plan “Burn Baby Burn” to see exactly what I’m talking about :)

2. Look for an adjustable plan

When I was making my meal plan, I thought – not everyone would like kale, there are people that just hate the taste.

That’s why I made a formula to swap foods you don’t like with substitutes of your choice.

This is so important because you HAVE TO enjoy the foods you eat otherwise, you’ll end up giving up before you see any results.

And even if you decide not to give a chance to my meal plan, PLEASE find one that’s adjustable to your tastes and your cravings.

3. Look for openness

Breakfast: 7 o’clock. Snack: 10 o’clock. Lunch: 2 o’clock.

Why are they so obsessed about the time frames? Healthy food is healthy food, no matter when you eat it, period.

What if I usually wake up at 9 o’clock? Should I start waking up earlier in order to lose weight? And what if I don’t feel like snacking at 10?

A meal plan should adjust to your rituals and your lifestyle, not to set a whole lot of boundaries and time frames you have to follow.

Avoid plans that add restrictions and frames to your life, because you should live out of the box and find a rhythm that works for you.

4. Find a fulfilling plan

You shouldn’t feel hungry after finishing a meal, you should feel full.

As I said before, there are volume foods such as certain veggies and greens that we can use to load our plates with without adding up on the calories.

It’s not all about calories, in fact, our bodies don’t think about calories at all, they crave food.

Yes, there should be portion controls of high-calorie foods, but to make a balance you should add up the volume with other foods.

And if a meal plan does that for you and you feel satisfied at the end of your lunch – then you’ve found yourself a plan for life.

And for those of you who haven’t found it yet, head on to the Burn Baby Burn Meal Plan!

5. Learn about healthy food

Every now and then you should take a moment or two to learn something new about healthy food.

We eat every day, yet we know so little of the foods we eat and it’s not that complicated at all.

That’s why I made a nutrition guide “The Hungry Fit Girl” to help you learn all about healthy food and become your own nutrition expert:

How your body works
What are your enemies in food
What foods you should include in your diet
How to cook your foods to reap as many nutrients as possible
Set up your own meal plan
Convince your mind to fall in love with healthy food.

This is the only way you’ll completely understand your body and learn a bit nutrition to become your own dietitian, which actually is a skill for life.