Every year in late December and into early January people lay out their New Year’s resolutions with the belief that a fresh year also represents for them a fresh start in certain areas of their lives. Almost every year, the number one New Year’s resolution among Westerners is to lose weight or to accomplish some other health or weight loss goal. And the way that most plan on accomplishing their health-related goals is by dieting. Dieting is not only the most commonly made New Year’s resolution but it is also the most commonly broken one as well. The weight-loss industry generates billions of dollars of revenue every year off of the New Year’s resolutions that people make, and when do these companies make the bulk of their money? You guessed it during the first three months of every year.
Healty Food – Part of Each DietBut why do so many people fail at dieting? Is it the person trying to diet or is it the diet itself that doesn’t work? Many psychologists believe it is the general overall concept of dieting that is flawed. There are countless different types of diets, from the vegan diet, to the DASH diet, to the eat-what-you-want-and-still-lose-weight diet. It may be a matter of nomenclature but there are two distinct definitions of a diet. The first simply refers to the customary day-to-day food and drink that is consumed by a group or individual a person’s diet. The second refers to any eating plan usually a restrictive one – that is implemented with the intention of losing weight.
The latter rarely works for people for several reasons, one being that by definition it is only a temporary food and beverage plan. So the vast majority of people who start this kind of diet in order to lose weight may in fact shed pounds, but they are almost guaranteed to regain the weight they have lost within 1 to 3 years. Dieting in this regard never generates lasting results.
“Fad” diets are among the biggest offenders in the quest for weight loss because they often end up being a detriment to the dieter. This is because by prohibiting certain foods from being consumed, many essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are sacrificed. Most people get through these multi-week or multi-moth diet plans but go right back to eating the foods that caused their weight gain in the first place which can result in the “yo-yo diet”.
In many cases, dieting can be not only counterproductive but also downright harmful to one’s health. Dieting usually means that the dieter is constantly weighing him or herself in order to gauge progress. This constant restrictive eating and weighing pattern can lead to eating disorders, especially in women.
There are several more reasons why diets do not generally work but these are a few of the more common ones. Weight loss is a worthy and admirable goal and considering the obesity problem in America, it should be encouraged. Traditional dieting, however, is probably not the way to go and, as has been pointed out here, can often end up doing more harm than good.