Today I am going to give you the top four reasons that you can’t stick to your diet and what to do instead. So I’m hearing from a lot of you that you’ve set resolutions that you’re all enthusiastic about at first, and then your motivation starts to wane, and you start kind of falling off the wagon, and before you know it, you’ve spiraled out, which is so, so common. 

Please know that you are not alone and that it isn’t your fault. 

When I first start working with women, I always start by asking the question, “What is it that you want?”  And some of the things I hear are that I just want to be at a healthy weight. I’m not trying to be skinny, I’m not trying to be like I was in my twenties, but I want to be at a comfortable, healthy weight and feel good in my body. 

If you have been getting discouraged, I’m going to give you some really good tips today to get you on your path to getting to that healthy, comfortable weight and feeling confident. 

When I first talk with women, the biggest thing that comes up over and over again is, “I just don’t have willpower.”

That’s very natural, and the biggest issue is not you. The biggest issue is the diet. Diets are set up to fail. Unfortunately, that’s not the message we get in the media, but these fads come and go. 

I want you to know that the problem isn’t you. The problem is the plan. And the truth is a lot of these diets do work. You’re on a plan and lose some weight until it doesn’t work anymore. You often end up gaining the weight back, and then you feel bad about yourself and like you’ve failed. That only impedes your progress.

Number one

Many of these plans are restrictive and just plain miserable. The truth is that only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet keep the weight off. And that means 95% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet regain the weight. So think of it this way: if there was a classroom and 95% of the students failed, would you blame the students or the teacher?

If you’re miserable, you aren’t going to sustain it. So I always tell people, never sign up for any health or wellness plan you don’t enjoy. Because if you don’t enjoy it, if you’re miserable, you are not going to stick with it. 

So the solution is finding a plan that you actually enjoy, that you don’t feel restricted and that you are enjoying the food. Finding something that is sensible and healthy, and balanced is the key.

Number Two

Diets are simply too overwhelming. First, they give you a huge book or a huge list of dos and don’ts, and then you have all this cooking and meal planning and exercises, and you are expected to completely overhaul your life all at once. 

The key here is taking on only a little all at once, finding a plan that gives you small steps where you can implement one thing at a time and slowly that will build up and create a major transformation. Sometimes this isn’t what you want to hear because you’re sick of carrying the weight. You want to be healthy, and you want to be healthy yesterday. But deep down, you know, you’ve tried these quick fixes repeatedly, and if they aren’t working, they’re not going to work. 

Number Three

Emotional eating. Are you emotional eating?

Are you eating because you’re lonely? Are you eating because you’re stressed? Are you eating because something isn’t working in your life, and you don’t want to deal with it? You know, we all need to feel good, and if we’re not feeling good, we’re going to seek out something to help us feel better. There are so many things that you can do to start uncovering what those patterns are and uncovering those deeper reasons. It starts with self-care. It starts with slowing down. 

Number Four

You’re trying to do it alone. You’re in isolation, trying to make a major life change in a vacuum. And it is so hard to do any kind of big change when you’re alone. So it really makes a difference if you have a support system to keep you motivated, feeling supported, and moving you forward. This can look like a lot of different things. This can be a group, this can be a coach, or this can be a workout buddy.

But finding ways to not do this alone is key.