Most fad diets fail because they simply aren’t realistic in the long term. We live in a world where people want quick fixes. In fact, I just invited my friend to the workout program & eating plan that helped me lose 3% body fat and drop 15 pounds in just 3 months. This program changed my entire perspective on weight loss and fitness.
However, when I told her that she’d drop about 4 to 5 pounds per month, she said that’s not motivating at all. She needs to be dropping 5 pounds per week. That’s when we get into “fad diet” territory. It’s a mentality that the fitness industry has instilled into our heads because of so many false promises that it makes.
The thing is most fad diets actually work initially. At the time of this writing, the king of them all is Keto. A friend of mine was doing very well on it. But that friend gave up on it a little after a year of starting. Well, she didn’t actually say she gave up. But she’s eating pizza, fries, and non-Keto-friendly foods now. A full year is impressive though, cause most people don’t stick with diet programs that long.
It’s a mental game we’re playing when it comes to dieting. I get it though. We want so badly to lose weight, and we want results quickly. But anything in this world worth having takes real effort and time.
Diets suck. They make you jump through dangerous hoops in exchange for your money and sanity. I don’t advise dieting. I however do strongly suggest eating at a reasonable calorie deficit. That simple info helped my best friend lose 30 pounds in just a few months. What I teach is a lifestyle, not a diet. You can learn about it here.
Let’s get to the reasons fad diets aren’t successful.
The Mental Battle With The Word “Diet”
First and foremost, there’s a mental battle we have to fight the moment we embark on the journey of dieting. It’s just the word alone. It freaks people out. It makes us realize, that at least for a little while, we are going to have to abandon our everyday routines and begin the journey of punishing ourselves by eating cardboard meals.
The punishment might be in the form of strict salads, or possibly hard-boiled eggs and cottage cheese. Maybe we’re allowed to eat meat, oils, and non-starchy vegetables. We must know the rules. It’s very possible that bread, rice, pasta, pizza, burgers, candy, cookies, and ice cream are absolutely prohibited!
And this is the very first issue. We’re no longer allowed to be ourselves & enjoy life. Even if it’s possible to restrict ourselves from eating certain foods for a while, it’s now just a mental game. We fool ourselves into believing that we enjoy what we’re doing, but deep down, we wish we could eat what we’re actually craving.
But we can’t eat a regular burger or we’ll gain weight. The moment we choose to embark on a fad diet, we have to prepare ourselves mentally to let go of the enjoyment of food and be ready for restrictions. I had this problem for many years, and when I finally realized that a burger isn’t going to make you gain any more weight than a Keto-friendly steak, eggs, and avocado dinner, I decided to eat burgers. Cause that’s what I want to eat.
You’re Starving On A Diet
Most fad diets are unsustainable because they require you to become superhuman. One of the superhuman powers you must possess is the ability to eat at a ridiculous calorie deficit. In other words, it means you must practically starve yourself by eating way less food per day than your body needs.
And even if you can do it for a few months, or even up to a year, you know in the back of your head that you’re not enjoying any of it. When I search Pinterest, I notice a lot of people looking for info on how to eat 1000 calories per day. There’s a very popular 1200 calorie diet plan at the moment.
What on earth? Do you really want to experience dizziness, nausea, and ridiculous hunger cravings that you have to fight for your life to overcome? It may be fine for a day, a week, or even longer. But you’re gonna have a really hard time keeping this up month after month. Not to mention the harmful effects it’s having on your body.
You’re hungry! You want more food. And that’s totally fine. I say eat more food. However, this diet probably says that if you go over that ridiculous superhuman calorie budget, you’re going to gain weight and fail the entire program.
Yes, the health and fitness industry is a giant trap filled with millions of mini traps. A lot of those mini traps involve calorie restrictions telling you to eat far less food each day than your body requires.
The sad part is you can easily still lose weight eating more calories, but most people just don’t understand how a simple and realistic calorie deficit plan can get them get results with ease.
The Food Choices On Diets Suck
For the most part, food choices on diets suck, regardless of what they tell you. They often advertise that you can eat what you want, and it’s never true. There’s always some food that’s absolutely, positively not allowed in the diet.
I’ve tried so many different eating plans, and they all have some kind of restriction where you discover that one or multiple items you love to eat are no longer allowed. So, you shed a few tears and decide to try the diet anyway.
I’m going to give you two dinner options below.
If you knew both of them would help you lose weight, which one would you choose?
- DINNER OPTION #1
Steak sauteed in coconut oil, with a side of cauliflower rice, avocado & a hard-boiled egg with cottage cheese.
- DINNER OPTION #2
New York strip steak, cheesy mashed potatoes, bread roll, steamed veggies, and a side of tortilla soup.
Scenario #1 is a Keto diet dinner option. I tried variations of that diet for years. I lost some body fat, but never anything substantial. It was extremely frustrating, considering how hard I tried to eat right. Not to mention, I did insane amounts of cardio that didn’t seem to really do much either.
Scenario #2 is how I eat dinner. It’s how I lost 15 pounds of pure body fat while gaining lean muscle in just a few months. It blows my mind to this day how simple it is. Combined with a simple workout routine, it has the power to transform your physique at the same time. Here’s the exact workout & nutrition plan I follow.
The only difference between the two options above is that one is completely restrictive and the other isn’t. The first one is a diet with so many rules it’ll make your head spin. Plus, it makes you dread even getting started. The second option is a normal meal following a simple calorie deficit. It revolves around your life, so there’s very little effort required to implement it into your daily routine.
BTW – If I’m in a rush for dinner, I’ll just grab a steak burrito from Chipotle, or a foot long sub from Subway. The point is, with scenario #2, you don’t have to restrict yourself. Just eat what you want.
Overnight Success Doesn’t Happen
The world we live in is one of instant gratification. If we don’t get what we want, and now, we’re not interested. People want overnight success, and that’s especially true when it comes to weight loss. But you know those before and after pics of people who had amazing transformations? They actually understood the value of taking small steps and being consistent over a period of time.
People are searching the internet on how to quickly lose weight. But they might be better off asking themselves how quickly they gained that weight in the first place. It wasn’t overnight. It’s highly unlikely you’ll lose it overnight either.
So, if you’re serious about weight loss, and you’re determined to keep it off, a mind-shift is definitely required. The fad diets out there don’t care whether you have the right mindset. They want your money and promise you’ll lose 20 pounds in 14 days. I’m sure it’s possible too. But my question is, how long before that weight comes back?
Real and sustainable weight loss requires an actual shift in the way you think about and consume food. It requires a change in your habits and daily lifestyle. There is real effort involved, but it’s simple. And the program I follow makes it so incredibly fun to do. Learn all about it here.
That’s Why People Throw In The Towel With Diets
As you can see, most fad diets fail because of a number of reasons. I’m sure there are more reasons that I didn’t mention. For instance, a lot of fad diets eliminate many of the essential nutrients you need in order to be a healthy human being.
I could go on and on about why they fail, but really, these 4 reasons listed in this article are the top ones I can think of. If you are serious about losing weight and keeping it off, then I strongly suggest eating at a reasonable calorie deficit. There is no magic bullet and it’s not an overnight thing, but you will notice progress, and be proud of your results in just a few months.
HERE’S AN EFFECTIVE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM FOR MEN
HERE’S AN EFFECTIVE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM FOR WOMEN
Even though it is geared towards men, it’s equally beneficial for women. In fact, the same company has a program geared towards women. But really, I feel the company’s programs are powerful for both.
I hope this article was helpful regarding diets and why I feel that they fail. Are there any other reasons you know of that they aren’t successful? These were what came to mind instantly, but I’d love to know your take on it. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I’ll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you so much for reading I really appreciate you being here.
Really most diet plans are unrealistic and people tend to get fed up along the line and end falling out of it. Only if they knew of this work out program and eating plan, I know they would jump at it, knowing they can still eat well and lose weight.
Hi Glad – thanks for your perspective on the topic – I agree most diets are unrealistic, and I’ve been talking to more and more folks who discuss that they’re main concern is that it’s a mental block they can’t get past…so dieting is more than just food restriction, but also one in our minds that we have to overcome. There definitely are ways to lose weight while actually enjoying life!
These tips are well detailed and informative. This article is the best.
Thank you Victory for reading through it and I’m glad you feel that way! 🙂
When going for a new diet we need to be realistic with our goals. Setting our expectations too high is usually a recipe for disaster
Hi Daphne and thanks for the comment – I totally agree, one of the biggest disasters I see is when people set their expectations way too high…so those fads like the boiled egg diet for instance, which is a crash diet designed to help you lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks, are not sustainable, and unhealthy, and I think they give people the wrong mindset going in, in the first place.
You are right. I once joined a group to help me diet, initially, I was getting along with it but it got to a point the I had to tell myself the truth that I can’t do this for long. I can’t continue to eat veggies, fruits… Haaaa no way. I backed out after a week. But now I’m into exercise and it has really helped me without starving. Though it won’t bring fast results as people want.
Hey there thanks for sharing your experience with this! From what I can tell, many people go through a similar situation as you did, and they come to realize that a fad diet is not something that is sustainable. I can’t imagine only eating fruits and veggies and nothing else, especially for weeks on end. Even if I were vegan, I’d want some diversity in the meals. I’m glad to hear you’re into exercise and it’s helping you without starving. BTW – this article here explains how to eat at a calorie deficit to help with weight loss. In conjunction with exercise, it can do wonders. You’re right – there is no such thing as overnight results, at least not anything sustainable. Taking small steps daily towards your goal is always the best and most effective route.
If these four simple truths are known and adopted with Care, then the fad diets would have been a success. Thanks for this healthy post.
Thanks for your take on this! Glad you found the post to be helpful.
I can’t agree with you more on the point about success not happening overnight. As is with anything in life, adopting a new diet takes time and dedication before you can actually see the results.
Hey Teddy – thanks for your perspective on the topic. I’m glad you have that mentality, and I think it’s definitely the right attitude for success. It all takes time, but anything worth having is worth the time invested in my opinion.
I like the idea of a realistic and healthy food plan that can be maintained in the long term. I like your proposal a lot.
Hi Danielle – than you for the feedback. A healthy and realistic food plan is the only thing that’s ever worked for me in the long run…I was just talking to a friend yesterday who tells me the diets she follows work initially but they aren’t sustainable, and I think that’s where the problem is with most diets. They can initially help someone, but in the long run, they’ll be hard to keep going with cause you want to be eating foods you enjoy.
Though this post looks funny, it’s real. Dieting alone might depress someone. Always calculating, depending on cardboard meals it’s really a great job, I have been there.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this Wilson – well the thought of always calculating and depeding on cardboard meals, sounds really bad, and that’s exactly what I think of when I hear the word “diet”. But really it can be simple and fun, we just need to learn to treat food a bit differently.
The prudent thing to do before embarking on any kind of new diet is to consult with a dietitian. Many fad diets out there today can even risk one’s life.
Hey Diana – thanks for your perspective and I think you’re totally right – it would be a very smart thing to consult with a dietitian, especially with certain diets like hard-boiled egg, which to me, seems very unhealthy and potentially dangerous.
For me, losing weight is all about eating less and starving myself. I never knew anything about calories deficit, this review is really an eye opener and I am blessed
Thanks for sharing your experience with this, and while you’re right, losing weight IS about eating less, it’s NOT about starving yourself, and I think that’s where so many fad diets are unsustainable, because people are always eating foods they don’t want to eat or on the other hand, eating so little, that it feels like they’re starving themselves. I’m glad this was an eye opener!
The key to a good diet is one that doesn’t make you starve and at the same time provides you with all the nutrients your body needs and in the right amounts. Hit all those marks and you have the perfect diet!
Hey Louis thanks for sharing that here! You’re totally right – all you’ve got to do is hit those marks, and you’ll have a really enjoyable time eating. There’s no need to diet in the traditional restrictive sense. Food and eating can be very fun! We just need to change our mindsets about how to lose weight.