7 Reasons Why Diets Don’t Work

There are a large number of diets for every day and occasion – on kefir or buckwheat, fruit mono diets or raw food, intermittent or dry fasting – the list is endless. If you are seriously concerned about losing weight, then you probably managed to try several options. But what if none of them are producing results? Let’s talk about this in our “Diet” section.

Reason 1: short duration of the result

7 reasons why diets don’t work

The diet is said to work if it produces long-term results. But, as a rule, the results of exhausting fasting are visible only at a short distance. The desired result persists for the first weeks or months, and then an inevitable return to the previous kilograms follows. Sometimes you can dial even more than it was before the restrictions.

Strict diets are effective if, for example, you need to fit into a small dress by a certain date at all costs. Adhering to this way of eating for a long time is not only difficult, but also not recommended, because it can lead to serious health problems.

On this issue, it is difficult to disagree with the trainer and specialist in the field of food anthropology and evolutionary biology Eric Edmeads: “Diet does not mean a temporary change in nutrition for short-term results, diet is a way of life.” It is important to give preference to a balanced diet and stick to it constantly, and not just limit yourself to food for a while. Let in this case the result will not be as fast as we would like, but it will be stable, and the body will not suffer from such a diet, it will only benefit.

Reason 2: It’s all about the brain

The brain receives information about food deficiency and makes us think about it more often. Familiar products become more appetizing and attractive. At the same time, the brain instructs the body to accumulate as much energy as possible, because it is not known when the next meal will be. As a result, we become irritable and constantly think about food. All this inevitably leads to impulsive overeating, and as a result of such breakdowns, the body receives more calories than usual.

Reason 3: Less muscle and more fat

With an unbalanced diet, kilograms do not disappear due to the burning of fats, muscle mass decreases. Strict diets do not teach you how to eat well, but instead emphasize weight loss in record time by cutting calories to the extreme. You really lose weight quickly and see the desired result on the scales, but it is achieved by getting rid of energy-consuming tissue – muscle. The body, as it were, saves energy (the fewer muscles, the less resources are needed to support them) and at the same time receives the elements that are missing due to an unbalanced diet to renew and maintain vital activity.

In this case, the weight quickly returns back and accumulates in the form of adipose tissue. This available energy is recruited significantly faster than muscle mass. As a result of such experiments, the body composition becomes even worse than before the diet.

Reason 4: Messy snacking

“I practically do not eat, but I still don’t lose weight” – you must have heard this phrase from a person who is on a diet, or, perhaps, said it yourself. An ordinary notebook will help to understand the problem. Write down everything you ate during the day, even a handful of nuts that are often not taken seriously. At the end of the day, add up what you have eaten and count at least an approximate number of calories. Most likely, you will be surprised how many of them actually enter the body, and a harmless piece of cake with coffee in terms of energy value is not inferior to a full meal. Chances are good that you have actually given up the main meal, but replaced it with small snacks. So you harm your body even more. Moreover, when you completely refuse to eat, he begins to store nutrients, from which the weight only increases. Therefore, it makes sense not to starve, but to learn to eat according to the schedule, in moderation and without overeating.

Reason 5: Breakdown is a natural reaction

Our body perceives the idea of ​​voluntary starvation and prohibitions as something unnatural. When deciding to go on a diet, a person mentally sets himself up for deprivation, but more often than not he breaks down. At such moments, food acts as a reward, because the body has received the missing energy. Along with the desired comes satisfaction, which will necessarily be followed by a feeling of guilt – we broke loose, which means that we acted badly and broke our word given to ourselves. Pulling himself together and again refusing forbidden food, a person unsuccessfully tries to deceive his own body, although it is really easier and better to replace junk food with healthy alternatives that can be eaten without strict restrictions.

Reason 6: the body is against willpower

Diets are often based on the principle of avoiding any substances – fats, carbohydrates, and sometimes even proteins, although they all perform vital functions. This inevitably leads to disruption of the body and health problems. So with a lack of vitamins, the skin becomes dry and flabby, rashes appear. A lack of fiber leads to digestive problems, a lack of protein and calcium leads to hair loss and fragility of bones, and due to irregular nutrition, hormonal imbalances appear.

Instead of listening to their own body and figuring out the reasons, many mindlessly try to remove unpleasant symptoms with medications. Although it is wiser and more correct to consult a doctor, who will select a balanced diet based on the state of the body.

Reason number 7: nowhere without hormones

Hard diets are stressful for the body, and stress increases the level of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol in the blood, from which the “cortisol belly” grows. Fat deposits are of 2 types – visceral and subcutaneous. With an excess of the stress hormone, the first of them is formed. It is located deeper than the subcutaneous and does not go away, even when you sit on the toughest diet.

All of the above points say one thing – to adhere to a strict diet for a while, and then return to the previous way of life without fear of gaining the lost pounds is almost unrealistic. If you want to get a lasting result without harming your health, focus on fractional balanced nutrition and make a healthy diet your way of life. The main thing is to listen carefully to the body and be sure to consult a doctor for advice! Be healthy!

Leave a Comment