4 Reasons Your Diet isn’t Working and What to do Instead

If you’ve been struggling to stay consistent with your health goals and find yourself losing and gaining the same weight over and over, I want you to know, it’s not your fault.

Most diets are so overwhelming and restrictive, nobody could ever stick to them long term. They’re a setup for failure from the start. But when they stop working, you blame yourself for not having enough “willpower.”

So you buy another miserable, unreasonable plan. Which doesn’t last. And the cycle continues. The dieting industry keeps making money, while you feel worse and worse about yourself and keep searching for the next best thing.

Here are four red flags to look for in a diet, so you don’t waste your time or money. And how to find a plan that actually works, so you can finally create a healthy lifestyle in a simple, balanced way, and NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT AGAIN.

It’s restrictive and focuses on everything you CAN’T have – fewer calories, smaller servings, no carbs… Only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet keep the weight off – that’s a 95% fail rate! Balance is the key here. If you can’t have indulgences in moderation, you might be able to “white knuckle” it for a while, but eventually you’ll go to the other extreme and eat ALL the things.
It’s overwhelming. You’re too busy to do a complete overhaul of your life all at once. You don’t have time for your whole day to be centered around food – planning, shopping, cooking, prepping. Not to mention getting in long, grueling exercise sessions, too. Instead, incorporate small steps and build from there. Just think….a 1% improvement per week adds up to 52% over the course of a year. Huge transformations can happen by taking one small step at a time!
It doesn’t address deeper reasons. If you don’t get to the root of the problem, like emotional eating, stress, loneliness, toxic relationships, lack of self care, or a harsh inner critic, your self-sabotage patterns will continue. You must first identify your triggers, then start taking steps to find more joy, peace, and balance in your life. This can be a tough one to do on your own. Getting support will go a long way toward ending the dieting cycle permanently. That’s where #4 comes in…..
Having to do it alone. Everyone’s motivation naturally wanes. Accountability and support have shown to greatly improve your success rate in making these changes stick. Having encouragement, help identifying self-sabotage patterns, and support to problem-solve when challenges come up, can make all the difference in whether or not you stick with it.