Why Diets Fail

Diets are much like processed foods, there are too many and no one ever really has been able to sustain their long term weight loss by using either.  Obesity has become an epidemic in the United States.  But it doesn’t just affect us, our global economy has now brought our affluent diseases to nearly every region of the world.  Our struggle with weight gain has been a very slow progression over the years and will continue to affect millions of people. 

In my practice, I like to share the five pounds a year weight gain theory. Five pounds a year does not seem very significant. However, when that five pounds occurs over a 10 year period that five pounds becomes fifty. Five pounds is very significant, just like every piece of nutrient deficient food that enters your mouth!  So, every year we look to the latest fad diet or we hit the gym for a couple of months to make ourselves feel just a little better about our health. Our quest to lose all our excess poundage almost always is short lived, but our quest does not have to be in vain.  We feel, or are sold on the fact, that with this new diet we will miraculously strip off the pounds and we will ready for that beach vacation in 30 days or less with very little effort.  The quicker the better, right?  Some diets will accomplish that, but will it be sustainable?  Typically, diets are never sustainable and people will yo-yo back to their pre-diet weights and then some.  As the battle of the bulge continues to plague our society, so too does the relationship of obesity to other diseases.  High blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes are just a few that can be the result of carrying too much excess weight.  Diets are not, and never have been, sustainable.  Convenience has taken over our lives and so too has affected our overall health.  Convenience foods should never take the place of proper nutrition. 

What does proper nutrition look like?  The question alone poses a major problem for the majority of Americans.  If you ask ten different people that same question, you will get ten different answers. Herein lies the problem we face.  If you do not know what proper nutrition should be, how do you feed yourself a nutrient dense meal?  Some of the problems stem from the food culture we have created in the United States.  You hear talks about diets low in fat, diets high in protein, Ketone Diets, Mediterranean Diets, South Beach Diets.  The conversation needs to change from how do we lose weight, to what makes us gain weight.  Until we realize that our consumption of nutrient deficient food impacts our health, we will continually be chasing the fad diet in order to lose weight.  Proper nutrition involves consuming foods that are nutrient dense, like vegetables and fruits.  Diets fail because they are not sustainable.  Nutrient dense food consumption should be your goal along with proper exercise.