#66, 3 Reasons Why Fad Diets Don’t Support You

Happy New Year! I used to always be on the lookout for a diet plan, book, or weight loss program that would help me reign in my chaotic eating. There are tons to choose from. Sometimes they would help me shed my weight, but within a few months I was looking for the next diet. It was an endless circus. It wasn’t until I found life coaching and did the deep work of permanent weight loss, that I realized why fad diets don’t work. Let me break them down for you and tell you what you can do at home to get different results. 

1. Fad Diets Usually Aren’t Sustainable

We always begin strong. We are only going to eat organic and we’ll measure and weigh everything. Or, we will no longer touch another piece of cheese again. We go all in, but then we stare at our kids eating their normal food and wish we could have a bite, or we get home from work and we just don’t have the energy to put together that diet-perfect meal we planned. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, eating in truly healthy ways consistently is doable for anyone, but it usually doesn’t happen on January 1st just because you decided to go Whole 30. Fad diets carry this mentality of either being “in” or “out”, “on” or “off” and they don’t give us that loving space to grow and change in a way that is enduring and life-changing. 

Want the hack? Change your mindset. Focus on meals that are sustainable for you. Think about the way things taste and how you can still have your meals with your family. For me, I stopped cooking the special food, but I have made tons of changes over time to the dishes I cook. I use mostly whole grains, lean meats, and lots of fruits and veggies. When I make my plate with my family, it is usually at least half fruits or vegetables but I don’t make meals just for me anymore. 

1. Fad Diets Don’t Focus on Natural Body Signals or Rhythms

This one really gets me. A lot of fad diets are mostly incredibly healthy. But we have this prison mindset while we do them, believing that we are caged in by our diet and have to “eat this way.” Then, we miss out on an incredible opportunity. If instead we really focused on how foods make our body feel, we would be empowered to keep eating in a healthy way. Fad diets also discount things like listening to your body’s natural hunger signals or rhythms. If we are encouraged to eat five tiny meals a day then we do it even though we aren’t really feeling hungry. Our body’s needs change from day to day, but when we refuse to tune into that, we will always need someone else telling us when and what to eat. 

Here’s what to do, start noticing your body before, during, and after you eat. Before you eat, ask if you are really physically hungry. While you eat, pay attention to textures and flavors and ask if you are enjoying your food. After you eat, notice changes in energy and digestion issues. All that is great information that will help you keep diet changes sustainable and give more success in your weight loss.

1. Fad Diets Don’t Address Emotional Eating

Here’s the kicker: most people who are overweight got there because they are emotional eating. Emotional eating is consuming anything even though you aren’t hungry. There are a lot of reasons: stress, boredom, anxiety, pleasure seeking, or even just because it is a habit. So, when you don’t address those issues it really won’t matter what diet you go on--you will have urges that will even have you over-eating the healthy food on your plan. 

The hack is simple and yet also hard work: you need to deal with your real issues. Are you a recent empty-nester who eats because you don’t know what to do with your extra time? Get a hobby. Meet a friend for coffee. Go to bed! Or, are you a busy mom who is turning to goldfish in the pantry or even a glass of wine to take the edge off at the end of the day? Give yourself breathing room. Take five minutes alone. Call a friend to have a laugh. Do a devotional on your phone. The real problem of your stress level really isn’t getting fixed by a handful of chips. 

Okay, my dear. As you jump into your 2023 weight loss journey I just want to remind you that I’m here for you. Keep listening to the podcast. Keep doing the work. And, if you realize that this time you really do want better help, sign up for my weight loss program. You get to spend 12 weeks with me and have lifetime access to all the resources and lessons of the program. You can do it.

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