Why Lifelong Diets Do Not Work?

dairy productsThere are many factors that go into the failure of constant dieting.

It’s not impossible to diet all your life, as there are exceptions to every rule; however, it is not realistically possible for many people. Here’s a breakdown of some of the reasons why it is hard for many to diet all their lives.

The first factor has to do with the kinds of diets people participate in. Many diets require cutting back or giving up something, such as calorie intake, carbs, fats, dairy products, etc. When you deprive your body of certain necessities, while it may temporarily help, long-term effects can be severe, even devastating.

For example, if you cut back how much food you eat daily, your body may feel so deprived that it starts to burn muscle in your body as well as fat.

Restriction of dairy products such as milk can reduce the amount of calcium in the body which for women, can lead to issues such as brittle bones.

The more basic and simple reasons have to do with the individual. Life changes so quickly. One moment we are up, the next we are down. Eating healthy requires money. Healthy food is always more expensive than processed foods, and if you’re interested in organic foods, it’s going to cost even more.

Sometimes you may have to make the choice of buying cheap, not very healthy food that will last longer over food that won’t last as long and will damage your wallet. Some vegetables and fruits, depending on whether they are in season, any crop or farming issues, can become more expensive as well.

Next is age. Your body is constantly changing, cells are dying, new cells are coming in and what you could handle diet wise at 20 years old, may be impossible for you to do at 30 years old, let alone 40. Many diets are not personalized enough to deal with these kinds of issues, so it can be impossible to follow the same dietary methods throughout life.

Another factor is motivation and dedication. Many people diet to lose weight or get fit or both. Unfortunately, many revert back to old dietary habits once the weight is lost. Dedication is an essential component to the success of any kind of dietary or exercise plan. All it takes is for a person to slip up once and it becomes that much more likely that he or she will slip up again and again.

Motivation is another key factor. Some individuals give up too quickly if they don’t see outward physical changes in their body. Others tend to give up once their progress has reached a plateau.

People want the miracle cure; the quick fix that will right all the wrongs shown on them, and there is no such thing without consequences. The best that can be done is to make educated choices about what to eat, and not take unrealistic dietary decisions that you cannot stick to.