Why do the majority of diets fail?

Research shows us that over 75% of diets fail: let’s unpack why this is and what we can do instead.

Diets are everywhere, and at times it can feel like there is a new miracle weight loss plan popping up every day! Whilst the idea of losing 10 kilos in 10 days is incredibly tempting, it’s important to know the facts behind the true effectiveness of such diets. 

What are diets exactly?

Diets, or fad diets, promise quick and easy weight loss via rigid food rules or categorisation of foods to avoid and include. These diets tend to blame certain foods or food groups for being the “cause” of weight gain. Although they often gain a lot of hype in the media, they are actually based on little to no scientific evidence. 

Think of them like a fashion trend: diets tend to go in and out of fashion over the years. There are always new diets emerging to replace the previous ones that failed. Remember the Paleo diet? The Alkaline diet? Carnivore? These are all examples of weight loss fads that have taken the spotlight over the years.

I get it, these diets are tempting! They offer a quick fix to our biggest insecurity: our weight. The rigid rules & lists of what to eat vs. avoid seem like an easy answer to our problems. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. If anything, they end up making our problem worse (i.e. our weight) in the long run.

What does the research tell us?

Statistics show that at least 75% of individuals who start a diet, will eventually regain the weight that they had lost, plus more (within 2-5 years). 

Many will blame ourselves for the results not sticking in the long term. We should have been more disciplined, had more self control. We should have just been better! It was us, not the diet. This belief often leads us to attempt another diet. We then get stuck in what is commonly referred to as the diet cycle. 

The Diet Cycle Explained

The diet cycle is like a trap that many of us get caught in after repeated attempts at dieting or quick weight loss. 

The cycle goes like this:

➡️ We restrict food/follow rigid diet rules to lose weight: we see results incredibly quickly and we feel great about it!

➡️ Over time the rigid rules and restrictions inevitably start to trigger feelings of deprivation: our desire for the restricted foods increases

➡️ We can’t take it anymore! We give into the temptation and eat the forbidden food, whilst feeling incredibly guilty and often “throw in the towel” as we felt we already failed. This is the stage where overeating or binge eating may occur.

➡️ We feel guilty for failing the diet and eating everything we weren’t supposed to

➡️ We decide we need to re-start the diet rules to make up for what happened and get back on track. 

So the cycle starts again.

This vicious cycle, together with other negative effects of chronic dieting (think an impacted metabolism, poor relationship with food and low self esteem) is the exact reason why diets are more than likely to fail in the long run. 

As boring as it may sound, the best thing you can do is to ditch the idea of a quick fix diet being our start to success. As much as we want to believe “but this time it will work” or “I’ll do this first THEN switch to sustainable eating habits”, has this ever truly worked? If the answer is no, I would encourage you to approach your diet differently. It is not you, it’s the diet

Want more support? Be sure to check out my newest Ebook THE ANTI DIET METHOD here for my A-Z guide on how to lose weight sustainably without restrictive dieting utilising my 30 day step-by-step approach. 

Written by Bronwen Greenfield (APD).