The Top 3 Reasons Why Most Diets Fail and What You Can Do to Make Sure Yours Succeeds

Introduction: What is the Real Reason Behind Diet Failure?

For many of us, the idea of dieting can be daunting. We often start a new diet plan with enthusiasm only to find that we have failed within weeks or even days. But why do so many diets fail? In this article, we will explore a study on diet failure. We will look at the common pitfalls that lead to failure and discuss strategies for successful dieting. A study by the World Obesity Federation reviewed 8 different studies that followed individuals through the process of dieting. All the participants were successful at losing weight in the short term. However, the majority of those that participated in these studies regained weight within 1 year after the diet was over. Almost 40% of the participants gained MORE than their original weight after 3 years.

Unfortunately, this is very common, let's explore the reasons why:

Reason #1: Unrealistic Expectations

Many people set unrealistic expectations when it comes to weight loss, believing that they can lose a large amount of weight quickly and without much effort. While it is totally possible to do that, sustaining that loss for a long period of time has been shown time and time again to be unrealistic unless properly planned for.

Reason #2: Not Having a Long-Term Plan for Maintenance

One of the best examples of how not having a long-term plan for Maintenance drastically reduces your chances of keeping that weight off is the show "The Biggest Loser". The contestants are equipped with all the tools and support necessary to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time. But after the show, when left to their own devices, almost all the contestants regain their weight. A study from 2016, followed up with 14 contestants of the show "The Biggest Loser". About 6 years after the show, only 1 person had kept the weight off. More than half of them regained everything they had lost and the rest gained ended up gaining a lot back but still under the weight they started with. Losing weight is a long-term lifestyle change. When you try to shortcut that process you don't create the habits necessary to sustain the weight loss that you might achieve through dieting.

Reason #3: Not Enough Support

Having a support system is essential to achieving any goal. Without support, it can be difficult to stay motivated and on track. That’s why having an accountability partner or diet buddy can be so helpful when it comes to sticking with your diet and exercise plan. The two studies above show exactly that. During the process of dieting the participants have that support system in place. However, that doesn't follow through to the maintenance phase and they end up not sticking to the new habits they created.

The Slope Approach

At Slope, we focus on creating the healthy habits you need first. We truly believe developing new habits and establishing them into your routine is a much better approach to achieving long-term results. It isn't sexy, and it doesn't seem exciting at first. However, there is nothing more exciting than seeing your progress week over week and feeling empowered to build on that for your whole life. With us, not only you will lose that weight, but you will also keep it off. Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31675146/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27136388/