Page 29 - BusinessWest April 3, 2023

Set Up to Fail
Why Many Diets Don’t Stick, and How to Improve the Odds
“How to lose weight fast” has an average 284,000 monthly search
volume in the U.S., demonstrat- ing that Americans are desperate for a quick
fix to help shed those unwanted pounds in time for summer.
How to lose weight is one of the most pressing health questions for many people. As many as 95% of dieters fail to reach their body target or quickly backslide and regain the weight they lost once their diet is fin- ished. Because of this, a massive number of people are serial dieters who skip from one eating plan to the next, trying to find best way to lose weight and keep it off.
While there are thousands of diets to choose from, the overall rule is, if you want to lose weight, get toned, build muscle, or even just improve your energy levels, you’ll probably need to change what you eat.
“Provided that your diet of choice meets your caloric needs, it will have the desired effect,” an exercise and nutrition expert
at online resource Fitness Volt said. “For example, consume fewer calories than you need, and you will burn fat and lose weight, but consume more than you need, and you will gain weight.
“However, most people fail to stick with their diet long enough for it to work sustain-
ably. They’re strong out of the gate, but soon fall off the wagon and return to their previ- ously sub-optimal eating plan,” the expert continued. “That’s why so many of us lose weight only to regain it shortly afterward, and it seems long-term, sustainable weight loss is rare nowadays.”
According to Fitness Volt, here are six reasons why most diets fail.
Foods Are Too Restrictive
Most diets ban certain food or food groups. For example, the paleo diet excludes all processed foods, while keto severely limits your carb intake. Other diets will cut out sugar or alcohol. The problem is, while cutting out certain foods can help contribute to your daily calorie deficit, this technique is also guaranteed to trigger cravings.
Essentially, any diet that bans a particu- lar food or food group will invariably result in cravings, driving you to cheat on your diet. So allow yourself the smallest amount of this particular food or drink to allow your body to feel like it isn’t being deprived of something. In other words, everything in moderation.
Ingredients Cost Too Much
It is good to follow a diet of healthy, fresh ingredients, but with food being one of life’s unavoidable expenses, it will be harder for you to sustain this diet plan long-term if you aren’t always financially stable.
For example, some diets specify that you must eat expensive foods and that somehow these products are better for weight loss than those that are more reasonably priced. Organic vegetables and grass-fed beef from free-roaming cattle cost a lot more than
the basics you get at Costco, but nutrition- ally are not all that different. They certainly won’t help you lose weight faster.
For a diet to be sustainable, you need
to be comfortable with how much your food costs. For example, if your grocery bill doubles overnight, you’ve got a ready-made excuse for quitting your new eating plan.
It’s Too Complicated
To make diets unique, they are often unnecessarily complicated. This complexity can often cause people to make mistakes or
“Most people
fail to stick with their diet long enough for it to work sustainably. They’re strong out of the gate, but soon fall off the wagon and return to their previously sub-optimal eating plan.”
Diets
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