It’s not often I directly reference a diet article, but this was a simple and obvious: Why do weight-loss programs fail?…which they seem to do quite often.
One client [of John Berardi, fitness and diet coach for several Olympic programs, in an ISSA article] tried low-carb, then low-fat, and finally, balanced macronutrient diets with the same result each time; he lost weight and then regained the weight. Then he tried the next diet. Regular exercise was a part of each diet.
Each time, he rebounded and regained or gained more weight than before. Says Berardi “After giving up, he got off track, stopped exercising and started eating poorly again. However, it wasn’t the food that causes this, it was a host of Lifestyle problems that triggered the relapse. Indeed, it was only when, working with my team, he addressed these factors that he changed his fundamental habits and he lost his excess body fat for good.”
The key idea is that weight loss has to be accomplished by a change in LIFE STYLE; when you permanently behave differently, then you’ll change. That phrase, “life style”….easy to say, but requires constant work until, after some time, it’s the new way you live. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it requires constant attention and it’s easy to “fall off the wagon”; and, depending on any pre-existing conditions or your genetic inheritance, it can be harder for some than others.
It’s similar for those who became alcoholics, who have to go through a life-long process, being aware of their sensitivity to alcohol. I think the closest I can get to understanding the feeling/need is when I was working a night shift…my total awareness, for a year and a half, was constantly focused on scheduling my sleep while the rest of the world was awake. Possibly, if I had maintained that schedule for longer, it would have become more natural; I would have internalized my new LIFE STYLE!
So to reiterate, it seems that most diet and weight reduction programs work quite well. And I’m pretty sure everyone really understands why they might fail, in the end. They simply quit doing the things they did and what they learned while losing weight….like everything else, it’s a job, it’s work, “Suit up and show up” every day and you’ll get paid! Cheers! (see the article here https://bit.ly/2mztWEQ)