Four Reasons Why Diets Fail

You don't want your weight loss plan to flop before you have even seen positive results. Here are some things that can result in diet failure.

Statistically, more diets fail than succeed. However, if you train yourself to think of the process as a weight loss plan, rather than a diet, you are more likely to reach your desired goal. Before beginning the plan, educate yourself about the reasons why diets result in the desired weight level one year following the diet. There are several reasons, including both physical causes and psychological causes. A failed diet is bad for you in two areas. First, it is demoralizing to try very hard to succeed at something and fail. Second, yo-yo dieting results in increasing difficulty in getting the weight off each time.

Nutritionally unsound diets

If your weight loss plan is nutritionally unsound, it can leave you feeling hungry all the time, particularly if you are eating significantly fewer calories than you normally consume. It takes planning to provide fewer calories and avoid hunger pangs at the same time. By their very nature, diets place a lot of emphasis on food and you will be thinking more about food which exacerbates the feeling of hunger. Eliminating certain food groups from your diet is an example of a nutritionally unsound diet as is eating only one of two foods during the course of the diet.

Boring Diets

Diets which rely on only one food may sound like the pounds will melt away, but often, the dieter will last through only two or three meals of grapefruit or something similar that is touted as the latest 'lose weight quickly' fad. Instead, choose a weight loss plan that provides a variety of nutritious and filling foods and be sure to include some of your personal favorites as a treat. By reducing the size of portions and including healthy exercise, you can often take the pounds off gradually and never feel like you are bored or suffering from the results of monofoods during the course of the diet.

Unrealistic Expectations

If you prepare a weight loss plan that calls for losing lots of weight in a short period of time, you will almost certainly fail. The plans which show the best likelihood of success are those that use tested approaches to weight loss and set realistic intermediate goals. A weight control program that doesn't allow adequate time to work is almost certain to cause discouragement, usually resulting in the dieter giving up in despair, well short of the desired weight loss goal.

Physical problems

Sometimes physical problems are the issue in weight gain, and even the best weight loss plan won't result in dropping the pounds. However, if you review your diet plans with your physician prior to beginning the weight reduction program, he or she will be able to determine if there are any medical problems that should be addressed prior to altering eating habits. Certain diseases such as diabetes and thyroid problems can result in drastic and sometimes dangerous weight gains. By seeking medical attention, these issues are almost certain to be monitored and corrected through the use of medications, diet or exercise.