Why do diets not work?

G

geraghtydurango

0
It seems that people that go on diets don't seem to be successful over time.
People look for the new book and new program that will be the key to success.
There are people that try a new diet every 6 months. What's going to work?

GeraghtyDurango
 
geraghtydurango said:
It seems that people that go on diets don't seem to be successful over time.
People look for the new book and new program that will be the key to success.
There are people that try a new diet every 6 months. What's going to work?

GeraghtyDurango
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it's because there is no *fast* solution. You have to learn to eat healthy! Starving, eating prepared foods, following some stupid "program" is only going to get you thru the period of the program, You have to LEARN to eat HEALTHY. Period, bottom line.

If you can learn to eat healthy, you will be successful....
 
People read all those books because they're hoping for a magical solution to the fact that change is difficult. And a "Diet" doesn't accomplish anything because it's an artificial way of eating that almost nobody can stick to. So they either don't stay on it long enough or just gain the weight back. NoLovelost is right-the ONLY solution is to eat healthier, not try (in vain) to stick to a rigid formula.
 
yeah! people are just fat and lazy by nature and they are all weak willed!

except the ones that have medical issues. Many times a "thyroid" t-count is the culprite.

I started this post by teasing, but immediately got serious. It is a shame how lil encouragement most people get from their family, friends, and most of all themselves.


I'm just going to stop now. - I am getting upset.

It is sad.

let's have a moment of silence for all those that are struggling. I know those minutes in the mirror tearingmyself down, hating my body, and crying "I wish I was better"

For anybody that is struggling

my love to you

hahaha- think I may need counseling.
jhaha

FF
 
bad eating habits get you fat (along with inactivity)

the only way to fix it is good eating habits, and activity.
diets don't work because most of the time they are not habits people can realisitically follow (e.g. cabbage soup diet, lemon diet, et al).

so instead of going "ON" a diet, you need to just change your diet (i.e. food intake and choices), probably reduce caloric intake, and burn some extra calories with exercise.
 
flyinfree said:
yeah! people are just fat and lazy by nature and they are all weak willed!
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You do need counseling, that's not a bad thing though ;). Haha just playin bud.

Anyway, I quoted that because this is honestly what I think ^^. There are a couple things you have to realize here.

1) The term "diet" is thrown around all too often in incorrect ways and has gotten such a terrible connotation it's unbelievable. A healthy diet is a diet, a fat loss diet is a diet, a bulking diet is STILL a diet. A diet is just what you eat, not a fat loss program. Fat loss is fat loss. Now that that's out of the way...

2) FAT LOSS programs (not diets) do work. Every single stupid program out there will probably work if you follow it. Does that mean it is healthy and will yield sustainable results? Hell no. But the reason why they "don't work" is almost entirely due to compliance. It's just because people can't or don't follow the requirements. Because when it comes down to it, if you eat less you lose. So if you're not losing, you're not doing that (plateau after extended periods and medical conditions excluded).

3) Although these fat loss diets do work, the point is that even if they do, many of them are not set up for long term goals, and that is really the only problem with them. Of course, some aren't healthy, but the majority of the widely known aren't terribly unhealthy. But as stated, you have to set yourself up to maintain a healthy, sustainable lifestyle over years, not weeks. The key thing in that regard is that people follow fads never even understand what they're doing, why they're doing it, why they're eating what they're eating, etc., and then when the diet is over, they're back to being clueless.
 
As the legendary Jack Lalanne would have it ......

"You can eat perfectly but if you don't exercise, you cannot get by. There are so many health food nuts out there that eat nothing but natural foods but they don't exercise and they look terrible. Then there are other people who exercise like a son-of-a-gun but eat a lot of junk. They look pretty good because the exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom!"
 
That is the truth folks. If you don't exercise you cant move on even if it is just push ups or jogging. You have to combine the diet with exercise. You cant ignore one of them, because there will be no result, only efforts. You can also combine the diet and exercise with some natural products (green tea and etc) or some health products for weight-loss , in this way you can spare some time and reach your goal faster.
 
very nice quote above. Most of the fad diets only work to lose water weight / muscle weight with a small percentage of it being fat. People get on the scale after one day and say, "wow, I lost 3 lbs yesterday!", when actually they just starved and dehydrated themselves on their liquid diet. If you're losing more than 5 lbs a week (in general, depending on your body type), it's likely you're doing it too quickly for your body to adjust properly.

The best way to lose FAT is to be active and CHANGE your diet, which has been said a few times already. It's nearly impossible to stay on these "diets" for any period of time because you're forcing your body to be hungry - our primal instinct is to stuff ourselves before/after a fasting episode (like cavemen). The weight just packs back on!!
 
I don't even think of it as 'going on' a diet. Diet is just what you eat. Food Intake. Diet changes with your goals. Cutting and bulking 'diet' is terminology I'll use, because its specific to a goal, just like 'maintenance diet' is.

but using 'diet' synonymously with 'fad diet' is bad (but clearly everyone in this post agrees)
 
malkore said:
I don't even think of it as 'going on' a diet. Diet is just what you eat. Food Intake. Diet changes with your goals. Cutting and bulking 'diet' is terminology I'll use, because its specific to a goal, just like 'maintenance diet' is.

but using 'diet' synonymously with 'fad diet' is bad (but clearly everyone in this post agrees)
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Ride_On said:
1) The term "diet" is thrown around all too often in incorrect ways and has gotten such a terrible connotation it's unbelievable. A healthy diet is a diet, a fat loss diet is a diet, a bulking diet is STILL a diet. A diet is just what you eat, not a fat loss program. Fat loss is fat loss. Now that that's out of the way...
Click to expand...

See here :)
 
I agree with the last response. Starving yourself is no solution and it will only add to the problems. A much better way is to live a healthy life by exercising and eating right. If one needs to lose weight - the right way would be working out and eating low carbs and high protein diet so that the body gets the required energy but does not accumulate fat. Preparing such a diet at home is not really practical so I've been using Bistro MD meals. They deliver Natural, low calorie ready made food to my door. It tastes good and the diet is prepared by nutritionists. Even Dr. Phil recommends Bistro MD
 
Diets do not work because of the way people define diet. Most of us continue to think of a diet as something temporary, a means to get to a "goal weight". Our thinking is that as soon as we reach our goal, we can "eat normally" again. Eating "normally" is what made us overweight in the first place! Diets DO work if people will commit to them for LIFE. It's hard for people to do this, as they think they'll have to give things up. It comes down to priorities. What's more important, having a few minutes of pleasure (eating that donut, or whatever), or to being healthy and thin perpetually?
I have kept 90 pounds off for 3 years (as of this month! Hooray) by eating a healthy diet consisting of veggies, fat free dairy (homemade Greek yogurt), fruit, whole grains, and lean protein. When I allow myself a treat, I don't go hog wild, I have the treat, then return to eating healthy foods. I don't LIKE the way I feel when I don't eat healthy. Maintaining a healthy diet doesn't only keep me thin, it makes me feel great!

I hate seeing friends who have lost weight return to their former eating habits, but I know no one likes unsolicited advice.
 
I practice both dieting and overall eating well. I "diet" for a contest and I eat well or make good choices when I am not prepping for a contest.

Dieting is good for a very specific goal and building good eating habits for other times. Most people who "diet" need to work on the mental part more than anything. THat is what holds them back. People ( me included) can use food as reward or as a drug. I wish there was a way to get people better tools to deal with stress but let's face it- food is an socially acceptable, legal and easily obtained commodity. Easy to abuse and very hard to learn to control intake for most. It is probably going to quickly overcome tabacco as a killer if it hasn't already. 3 year olds have hardening of the arteries in the US for heaven sake!


It is a subject that fasinates me.
 
Hey geraghtydurango,

Traditional diets don't work, because the concept "Calorie is a calorie" and by reducing calories we can lose weight/fat, is a misconception and has been never empirically tested. Carbs make us fat, and NOT fatty food. The regular spikes in insulin caused by eating refined carbs, no matter how much in calories, will almost directly convert to body fat. You can try dieting and exercising, but unless you cut back on refined carbs, "it's not gonna happen"!

For more info, see the recent documentary "Fat Head" and for a detailed analysis, read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.
 
I agree about the not getting support from family and friends. People are just jealous and don't want you to be better than them or something. I never got support from my friends (except one) when I was trying to lose weight, it's like "you're the fat friend, we don't want that to change". They would give me these "looks" like "omg, you can't lose weight and get fit, you'll never do it, you're not strong enough" - yeah i know, great friends i had.

There was this thing on oprah once, she had this morbidly obese woman on with her sister and the sister was supportive and stuff, but oprah asked her the question "do you REALLY want her to lose the weight? Isn't there some part of you that doesn't want her to because then you won't be the thin pretty sister anymore?" And she agreed.

You've got to be in it for yourself. You can't rely on other people.
 
flyinfree said:
except the ones that have medical issues. Many times a "thyroid" t-count is the culprite.
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My GF has a thyroid issue and has trouble in the past with her medicine. She can't use synthroid, so they put her on Armor which is great, when the company can make it... Every time I go to get her script filled, there is ALWAYS an issue with it. She's great when she's on it, but twice in the past four years I've been witness to what happens after 3-4-5 days of not taking it. Lethargy and moodiness beyond imagine. It's sad. But I digress...


If you want to lose weight, diets are great. If you want to keep it off, you have to continue to work hard and eat right. There is no quick fix as others have said before. You have to want it enough to do something for the rest of your life to change it.
 
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