It’s the beginning of a new year, and resolutions have been made. Some will be met, a few will linger on before flickering out in mid-spring, and then there are the “others” – those resolutions that will explode in a blazing ball of glory by next Friday.
If weight loss in on your list, what plan have you put in place to achieve your goals? Have you attached yourself to a restrictive diet to help get the job done? You wouldn’t be the first to go this route because dieting is accepted as commonplace and normal for anyone trying to drop 5 (or 50) pounds. However, I’m here to tell you that diets don’t really work. Not only does dieting not work, it actually makes you fatter.
Crazy, right?
There have been several studies that support the notion that dieting doesn’t work, but one of the most popular ones was conducted by a team of researchers at UCLA. They reviewed the long-term outcomes of calorie-restricting diets, to determine whether dieting is an effective treatment for obesity. 
Here’s what they found:
- Dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain
- As many as two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lose
- Diets don’t provide health benefits or lasting weight loss for most people
For me, this is the most telling conclusion of the study: “It appears that dieters who manage to sustain a weight loss are the rare exception, rather than the rule. Dieters who gain back more weight than they lost may very well be the norm, rather than an unlucky minority.”
See? It’s not you. It’s the diet. So stop beating yourself up, and start learning the truth about diets.
Whenever I speak about the ineffectiveness of diets, there’s always someone in the crowd who raises a hand to tell me that dieting has been successful for them…or their sister…otheir best friend. And I don’t doubt this. If success only means losing weight, then most restrictive diets will lead to success.
However, if success means losing weight and not gaining it all back, then I have to disagree. In this case, diets are NOT successful. The question is not whether dieters will gain back the weight, the question is simply, “HOW SOON will the weight return?”
This is why we do what we do. We’re passionate about helping people get off the diet roller coaster. In order to make that happen, you have to get rid of the diet mentality that has been holding you hostage. I know that can be scary because you’re thinking, “If I stop dieting, I’ll lose control and REALLY get fat.” I hear you. I’ve been there. But it’s simply not true.
So what should you do? The simple answer is STOP DIETING. Don’t do it anymore.
Just stop.
Forever.
Exciting, right?
Hold on a sec though. This does not mean that you can just throw in the towel and go ‘hog wild’. It does mean that there is another route to lasting weight loss. Try it! What do you have to lose…besides unwanted pounds?
