Diets Don't Work.

Wherever you are, take a deep breath, cause I got a big dose of reality coming your way and it’s gonna sting like a shot of dive bar tequila. 

Diets.

Don’t.

Work.

Sounds nuts coming from a Wellness and Accountability Coach, right? But hear me out.

Diets don’t work because 80% of people will gain the weight back in less than a year (and, in all but 15% of those cases, will end up even heavier). 

Yep, it’s been statistically proven that only a lucky 20% will actually keep the weight off.

“Wait, wait, wait. 20%?! That’s it?”

It’s alarming and totally unfair, yes, but before you go throwing your hands in the air and crying into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, let’s take a moment to examine how and why this happens, and how we can overcome the odds with a little thing I like to call the *secret sauce.*

Let’s start with why 80% of people fail at trying to lose weight and improve their health in significant ways.

The first has to do with metabolism.

Your body is, essentially, too smart for its own good, and it adapts to whatever you throw at it, for better or worse.

Think about it in cave man terms. If you restrict your diet harshly and only give it a certain amount of calories or certain types of foods, it assumes that that’s what your primal human body needs to survive. It says, 

     “Oh no! Not much food to be had in these woods right now, I suppose I should ration out this body fat and learn to survive on less.”  

And then when you’ve slimmed down and gone off your diet, resuming your usual calorie intake or lifestyle, your body says,

    “Finally— we’re not gonna die— that’s awesome! Better continue to store this body fat in a safe place in case there’s another dry spell.”  

And guess where your genius-of-a-body stores that extra fat? Your thighs, your love handles, your chin…you get the idea.

In short, any diet that has a start and an end date won’t work the way you want it to because it just doesn’t work that way biologically.

However, there’s a bigger reason people “fail” at dieting. It’s not because they’re lazy or lacking in willpower (that’s just a sad stereotype perpetuated by a society with a proclivity towards “fat shaming”), it's because they’re using temporary or misguided fixes to solve a bigger, more long-term problem. Which brings me to the key point here:

The reason these 20% of people succeed in dieting is because they understand something fundamental about health, which is that only way to really lose weight, tone up, and get healthy for good is to change your lifestyle.

Now that means a lot of things— some big, some tiny— and it means something different for every person. 

It could mean less carbs and more sleep. 

Or more fat and less cardio.

These changes could be as small as drinking a tall glass of water in the morning, or as big as getting rid of toxic people in your life.

Everyone has their own special *secret sauce,” their own combination of things that’ll keep them in optimal health.

And you know what the biggest and most important ingredient of that sauce is?

Loving your lifestyle. If you don’t love it, you’re not gonna stick to it, it’s as simple as that.

And that, my friend, is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed.

The weight loss champions love their new lifestyle— they’re addicted to it.

But those healthy addictions don’t happen overnight. They take time, consistent exercise, habits work, and lots of accountability. 

But where to start? 

It’s starts with the little things. 

It starts with moderation. It starts by changing one small thing at a time so that, over time, you come to crave better foods and a better lifestyle. I call these sustainable changes “microshifts” and they’re surprisingly powerful.

You don’t have to go on the Whole 30, you don’t have to join a crossfit gym, and you certainly don’t have to give up a well deserved cocktail every now and then.

You just have to find a balance that works for you and get accountable to it.