Do diets fail because we expect them to?

Today I came across this article about why men are better at losing weight than women. i assumed it would talk about all the things i already knew, like men have more muscle mass, therefore faster metabolisms, therefore can have that extra piece of double-chocolate-oreo cheesecake and not think twice about it because they damn well can. (not that I’m bitter or anything.) but I didn’t get far down the page when something else stopped me in my tracks: the psychological aspect. here’s a snippet. according to nutritional consultant, Jane Michell -

men are not constantly ‘on a diet’. If they decide to diet, they give it their all. Women start their diets with preconceived notions, expecting they would fail, and this causes them to break their diet because they have attempted numerous diets in the past that didn't work.

Men, on the other hand, typically approach a diet with a more upbeat mindset; they believe it will be successful, which leads to a self-fulfilling prophesy.

While I was planning on talking about food choices and gender differences, i got derailed with the thought: egads, is this the real reason diets don’t work? because we don’t expect them to?

I mean, hearing the word ‘diet’, we’re not foreseeing happy times now, are we. au contraire, we think of words like ’restriction’ and ‘deprivation’. we predict cravings, and mood swings, and midnight treks to the fridge because we can’t sleep on an empty stomach. heck, even those who’ve never been on a diet think it’s hard. please don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting it’s easy. habits are hard to break. neural pathways get formed, association and all that. plus, there’s our friendly neighborhood survival mechanisms like dopamine and serotonin which flood our brain and reward us with happiness when we eat calorie laden food. alas, our brain wants sugar and wants it now; it doesn’t care if you fit into your size 6 jeans by Sunday.

but it certainly doesn’t help if everyone is telling you that diets are hard, er, ya know?

it just makes me think of the ol’ self-fulfilling prophecy, i.e. we live out what we expect from ourselves and our situations. i always remember this one interview i saw with Madonna (i can’t believe i’m about to quote Madonna). i couldn’t find it online so you’ll just have to take my word for it; basically, she said something to the effect of, ”if you see yourself as victorious, you will be victorious.”

i know, right? deep.

speaking from experience: eight years ago i lost a bit of weight and it wasn’t all that hard for me. (not bragging, let me finish.) i think it helped that i never saw myself as a dieter; i saw myself as a health nut. eating healthy came easy because that’s who i was, that’s what health nuts do. so i’ve seen the power in what you believe about yourself. i’m also a chocoholic but whatcha gonna do.

what are your thoughts on the self-fulfilling prophecy? is that (in part) why diets fail?

do you think there are negative connotations with the word ’diet’? should there be?

do you think men are better dieters? why/why not?

if you’ve ever lost weight, what was your secret?

if women are better dieters, I would like to know the reason

some people are always skinny, do they have any secret they have?

Final thoughts

let's have good discussion about this in the comment section, i would like opinions of women too in this topic