Why Diets FAIL

Diets promise magic. They appeal to consumers because we have it in our heads that if we just lose the weight, then keeping it off will be easy. We want immediate results, a quick fix. We think we have to diet to lose weight. As a society, even as a trainer, we are taught calories in / calories out. We have a mindset that in order to get to a healthy weight, we have to restrict ourselves and give up the things we love.

I remember when I was a kid, my mom was constantly battling her weight. She had a bookshelf full of diet books. After having 6 kids she had gained probably about 25-30 extra pounds. So in her late 30’s / early 40’s she jumped on this yo-yo diet program. Weight Watchers, Fit for Life, Pritikin, Nutrisystem, these were all diet she attempted in the 70’s and early 80’s which failed her. Why did they fail her? Because of all the diet plans she tried, not one of them ever conditioned her mind on how to eat. As soon as she was done with the diet, she gained back the weight and a little extra. Then she would try the next one to come along, her weight going up and down, just like a yo-yo. 

And I am her daughter, so in my early 20’s when my clothes started getting tight, I perused her book shelf and followed suit. This is probably where my interest in Nutrition first sprouted. I tried Pritikin first and almost passed out after 3 days. I know now that Pritikin was too restrictive causing low blood sugar and starvation. I moved on to Fit for Life which, if you do the math, was the end all diet plan in the early 80’s. Fit for Life preached that all fruit had to be eaten before noon and you couldn’t mix your meats and starchy carbohydrates among other non-science based (and ridiculous) theories. I was starving myself on this plan although my takeaway was a great veggie sandwich that I loved. It was shortly after this that I became pregnant so all crazy eating habits had to stop. I took the adage ‘eating for two’ to the extreme, gaining over 60lbs during my pregnancy, lost 40 by the end of my hospital stay and carried the extra 20 around, on and off, for a good 10 years. I tried every crazy diet scheme during that time and although initially I’d lose the weight, it would inevitably come creeping back as soon as I fell off the wagon.

So here you sit on the brink of another New Year’s eve and this year is going to be your year. This year you’re going to lose the weight and keep it off right? Well before you jump into another diet plan, there are two questions you need to ask yourself:  

1.  Is my program based on correct physiology?

2.  Can I do my program for the rest of my life? 

After you gain a comprehension of Blood Sugar Stabilization, even if you choose not to implement it into your eating habits, there is no way you can answer yes to that when looking at most of the diet plans out there. To make it simple, calories in / calories out and deprivation is based on incorrect physiology and will always fail you. In addition, implementing a diet for the rest of your life is equal to a life sentence. Why would you want to give up eating the foods you like in exchange for over processed freeze dried foods? I don’t know anyone who would stick to a diet for the rest of their lives. It just doesn’t make sense. 

The Science of Why Diets Fail

Whether you’re a chronic dieter, or you want to lose 10 to 100lbs, any time you deprive yourself, restrict your eating, or cut back on calories, you’re setting yourself up for failure because you are jumping on to the Diet Yo-Yo. 

• 1^st diet = Drop weight. Hit plateau. get great initial result, weight Gain weight back + more
• 2^nd diet = Drop weight although not as much as the first diet, hit plateau, then gain weight back + more etc, etc, etc.

Each time you diet, your body is burning muscle and storing fat.

You see, your nervous system feeds off of glucose in order to control every movement, every breath, so it needs to be fed. When you feed your body in the correct way that stabilizes your Blood Sugar, it gets the glucose it needs from the food you eat. When you feed your body incorrectly, then it turns on itself, getting what it needs from your muscle. It is physiologically impossible for fat to be converted into glucose for your body. So when you’re starving, once your body has relinquished its store of glucose in the liver, it will start taking it from the muscle. 

“Now wait a minute!” You say. “I thought if I ate 500 calories less and worked out harder that my body will burn fat? That’s what I read in Cosmo?”

Well, if your Blood Sugar is stable and your body is in homeostasis (internal stability), it will convert that stored fat to ATP to be used by the muscle for energy. 

If your Blood Sugar Level is low, then the fat stays stored and the muscle gets used. The cravings come and that bad food is consumed. Sad but true. “But wait,” you say, “I have the willpower to not give in to those cravings.” Well I hate to tell you, but those cravings are not psychological, as in, all in your head. Those cravings are a physical reaction to what your body is going through, and it doesn’t care that you don’t want to devour an entire box of Krispy Kreme’s, if they’re sitting in front of you, and your blood sugar is low, you don’t have the energy to stand utilize your willpower and refuse. You want and eventually, you’ll crack.

So why do people do it? 

Because diets are easy. Let’s face it, if they package your meals up in easy to prepare frozen packages, or if the only thing on the menu is cabbage soup, you don’t have to put much thought into your eating. And they promise you’ll lose the weight. Easy.

Your health should be important enough to put a little extra effort into than that right? Just sayin...

...and that reminds me. I need to go eat.