10 Reasons Why Diets Don't Work

Good morning to all of you lovely souls looking to be your best selves. I truly admire people who choose to move forward with goals and dreams …It’s not easy to step it up. It’s not easy to step out of your comfort zone and desire change. It’s not easy to tweak your lifestyle. Because how we live now or have in the past, seems like it’s the right way, for some, it seems like it’s the only way. But many of us know that is not the case and that there is so much more out there if we choose to put ourselves in that place and move forward, above and beyond what we were ever taught or what we could ever really imagine.

That brings me to diets and lifestyle changes. I am going to share 10 reasons why diets don’t work and the 10th reason is really the bomb that holds it all together, so please stay with me...

1. When you eat less, especially all of the sudden, your body will go into starvation mode. It will begin to hold onto fat and those things we are hoping to let go. So, how does that explain intermittent fasting, like so many have shared, how well it’s worked for them? There are many studies done on this, and honestly, it can go both ways based on the studies. However, I believe, when one starves themselves (as in dieting) for a short period of time, that person more than likely will make up for the missed time of not eating. More than not, you become hungrier and will end up gorging or eating foods not likely to eat because of how the body reacts. It remembers that you are used to eating a certain way and will remind you.

2. Diets put an emotion strain on our minds and bodies. If dieting were something we enjoyed doing, we wouldn’t say, oh, next Monday I will begin; we would begin right away, right? Dieting, just the word, is painful for many. They associate it will starving and gross foods and sad, depressed days where we have to pretend we are doing something good for ourselves. I would not ever want to put anybody through this experience, and I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

3. “Diet” foods are not usually healthy. Many people who go on diets every few months are not educated on what they should be eating at those times of dieting. So, they look for “natural” or “low fat” not understanding how their body works and what will truly help them. It can also be dangerous to jump into a plan without understanding why you are there.

4. When we all at once give up foods that make us happy and give us comfort, it is like a punishment. It is not a pleasant beginning knowing that you will be lacking the very things that sometimes help you through your day. This is why just the word diet can make people cringe, but worse, it can actually put you in a state of depression due to the associations that come with it.

5. I mentioned “natural” and “Low fat” foods previously. Many producers of these types of foods use those words to get you to buy; knowing that the word natural and low fat will spark a “good feeling’ of healthier so you will purchase. Unfortunately, most of these foods have many additives and much more sugar added to make them appear healthier but are not. They do not have to put certain ingredients on the package if it is a small amount or if it’s a certain additive that “those in charge say is okay to add.” I don’t trust those “in charge,” however, that is why we really need to try to stick to real foods.

6. Diets are not consistent. They are a temporary fix. There is no foundation for diets, no specific standard. People can’t stay on something when there is not a solid foundation.

7. Yo-Yo dieting leads to up and down weight loss and weight gain. First of all, remember that our body has a memory. When we continue to go up and down in weight, our body is going to remember, oh we are supposed to be such and such weight so once this “thing or diet” is over, I will make sure to get us back to what we were for long. So, your body and your deposited fat cells will remind you to eat more to get back to your previous, safe weight.

8. Dieting is not balance. We must have balance in all areas of our life to really be able to succeed. This is why lifestyle change is so important and it’s not about the eating or the workout or the mindset only; but it’s about you as a whole and how do you balance it all out.

9. Many people try pills to diet. Pills are not a lifestyle; they are a temporary fix to a problem. Just like with meds for disease, it is not a permanent fix, it’s something to make you feel a little better for a little while. It’s when you decide to make the lifestyle change and BE a different person with a bigger goal and literally change habits and daily activities, those are the changes that will stick. It’s not an overnight switch, it’s a lifelong journey. And on that journey you will be greeted with beautiful experiences, lifelong education which will guide you to your next level of your souls purpose.

10. Okay, so what is the real reason diets don’t work? This is the big one and it may help you to realize the the true nature of diets vs. lifestyle change. Dieting is the beginning of a journey based in fear. People are terrified to change their lives. They believe if they change for good, they will somehow miss out on something or lose somebody in the process. Essentially you are losing somebody but isn’t it the somebody we don’t want anymore? We tell ourselves we want to lose weight but we don’t want the emotions that come with it. Losing how we used to be or used to live our daily lives makes an emotional impact but it’s one that is so worth healing through. This part of you is making it difficult to live life and to enjoy life. Therefore, even if it’s hard, doing that which raises us up, is worth it in the end.

However, what most people don’t think through is that this is good thing for their souls for their futures. We have our spiritual guides in this world trying to help us grow and be a better person… and when we diet, we start the process of change but due to reasons above, we never finish because of fear. We fear losing that part of ourselves that we are so used to.

This is why holistic lifestyle change is so important because it embodies the whole of us. We will see our change from not only a weight perspective but a mind, soul and spiritual one. Imagine being able to start your journey without even thinking about food, workouts or what you need to eat that day. Imagine starting your new lifestyle with a focus on self-care? Instead of food, on spiritual habits and meditation, instead of meal planning or exercise?

These are things that embody the whole of lifestyle change. It is not just what you eat or how much you exercise but it is who you are waking up to greet that day and how you will think of yourself as you are going about your day. As you begin this way, a change happens inside and when it happens first inside, you begin to notice that the fear is breaking down to be a different version of yourself because you are focusing on your spirit, your soul and that which actually makes you who you are. Your body does not make you who you are, it does not define you; so you must begin with the person inside and dig deep to finally see the whole of who you are destined to become.