Being overweight or obese can result in many life threatening issues! Obesity can contribute to cancers, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, back problems, dementia, osteoarthritis, and premature death. People with weight issues usually want to get rid of excess weight as quickly as possible. But quick weight loss diet plans don’t work!
There are three main reasons why losing weight is so hard on quick weight loss diet plans. Keep reading to find out why it’s difficult to lose weight quickly and what steps to take overcome this.
1. Biological Survival Mechanism
Many quick weight loss diet plans are harsh! They restrict the amount of food that you’re allowed to eat to tiny amounts. This makes it very difficult for you to stick with these diets, especially when you feel hungry all the time.
While limiting the kinds and the amount of food you consume is important for successful weight loss, staving yourself doesn’t work! The reason for this is due to your biological make up.
When you’re fasting or on a restrictive diet, you aren’t eating enough food for your body’s biological needs. Your body won’t let you drastically restrict calories for a long enough period for you to lose substantial amounts of weight. Instead, it will fight back using its survival mechanism!
Your body’s survival mechanism is to slow down your metabolism to conserve energy. A slow metabolism means that your body doesn’t quickly burn the food that you eat. Instead, your body will store most of the food you eat as FAT in order to stave off starvation.
To make matters worse, your body will convert your muscle mass into fuel. This spells disaster for your body. Because the less muscle mass your body has, the slower your metabolism will burn fat.
You’ll also feel tired all the time due to lack of energy and nutrient deficiencies. This means you won’t want to do anything that requires any effort. As a result, your muscles will further deteriorate which slows down your metabolism even more.
Solution: Never Starve Yourself
Quick weight loss diet plans don’t work! If you constantly feel hungry whenever you diet, then you’re not consuming enough calories for your body’s needs. To succeed at losing weight never go on a fast or starve yourself!
The best way to lose weight is to take it slow and steady. Instead of fasting or starving yourself, eat enough healthy foods to satisfy your hunger.
Great foods that fill you up include high-fiber foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The fiber in these foods provide volume and take a longer time to digest. This helps you to feel full for longer on fewer calories.
Foods that are high in proteins also fill you up. Proteins are high in amino acids, which helps to boost your metabolism and burn calories. Eggs, lean meats, skin-less poultry, fish, beans, legumes and nuts provide protein. As long as you don’t deep-fry these foods or add fat or sugar, these foods are low in calories.
Foods that fill you up help prevent mindless snacking, so they’re a great way to help you lose weight. If you don’t feel like cooking wholesome meals after a long day at work try saving cooking time by prepping your meals before hand.
The following foods and drinks will help you feel fuller for longer:
- Vegetables such as avocado, broccoli, kale, asparagus, cabbage, beets, Brussels sprouts, etc
- Fruits such as apples and berries
- Lean meat with fat removed and skinless poultry
- Unbuttered popcorn
- Oats
- Greek yogurt
- Fish
- Eggs
- Legumes
- Chia Seeds
- Sugar-free drinks
- Spices such as ginger & chili
- Matcha tea and red tea
2. Quick Weight Loss Diet And Psychology Don’t Mix
The second reason why quick weight loss diet plans don’t work is due to your body’s psychological make up and mind set. You need to reprogram your mind so that you have a positive attitude. Because if you don’t believe that weight loss is achievable, then you won’t ever succeed in losing weight!
Our brains desire food for our survival. Following quick weight loss diets plans result in you suddenly and drastically reducing the number of calories you consume.
A sudden and drastic reduction in the amount of food or calories that you eat causes psychological stress. Psychological stress makes you crave fatty and/or sugary food. This leads to binging which results in weight gain, not weight loss!
Many quick weight loss diets also have a list of “forbidden foods”. The problem with forbidding yourself the foods you love is that forbidden foods become more desirable. Your body’s physiology makes you crave forbidden foods more than if they weren’t classified as forbidden.
As a result, many dieters are tempted to sneak a small piece of “forbidden foods”. An article in Quartz suggests that once dieters believe that they have broken the rules of the diet they suffer from “what-the-hell” effect.
Once dieters break the rules, they feel that they might as well eat the lot and consume more than they intended. This then results in a derailment of the diet.
Solution: Never Have A List Of “Forbidden Foods”
Quick weight loss diets encourage a black and white mindset. This means that dieters believe that they are either “good”, and eat as per their diet plan. Or they’re “bad”, and eat whatever and however much they want.
Dieters that believe that they have “broken the rules” suffer from guilt feelings, and low self-esteem. This can result in them “punishing” themselves by overeating.
Eating healthy nutritious food isn’t an all or nothing approach. Successful dieting isn’t about being “good” or “bad”. It’s about eating everything in moderation, including the foods that you love!!
To succeed at losing weight:
- Use the power of your subconscious mind to develop a positive mind set.
- Only eat when you’re hungry. Eating when you’re not hungry can result in overeating.
- NEVER have a list of “forbidden foods” because you’ll become obsessed with the foods that you can’t have and end up binging.
- Limit your consumption of foods and drinks that are high in sugar, fat, salt and alcohol. If you crave a particular food you should eat a MODERATE amount of that food.
- Don’t gulp down food or drink. Instead, enjoy the look, aroma, taste and texture. If you enjoy food and drink in this manner you shouldn’t feel the urge to binge.
When trying to lose weight limit the following foods and drinks but don’t completely exclude them from your diet:
- Sugary drinks, fruit juices, diet drinks and energy drinks.
- French fries and potato chips.
- Fried and deep-fried foods.
- White bread, white rice and foods made with white flour.
- Pastries, pies, cakes, cookies and doughnuts.
- Candy bars, chocolate bars and sweets.
- Ice cream and cream.
- Alcohol.
3. Environmental Factors Make Quick Weight Loss Diets Difficult
The third reason that it’s difficult to stick with quick weight loss diet plans is your environment. Your work, home, responsibilities, financial situation can all cause you to stress which affects your wellness. Additional factors such as other people’s expectations and the pressure you put on yourself can compound your stress levels.
Many overweight and obese people comfort themselves with food. Whenever they feel stressed, they go to the fridge or pantry for a sugar, or fat loaded snack. And if these are empty, the supermarket isn’t that far away.
If you tend to snack on unhealthy foods make sure that you have some healthy snacks with you at all times. Snack on low-calorie foods such as apples, berries or plain popcorn.
What also makes dieting difficult is the abundant availability of pastry stores, cake shops, and fast-food outlets. Scientific research shows a correlation to the number of fast-food outlets and obesity. The greater the number of fast food outlets in your environment, the higher the odds of you becoming overweight or obese. To lose weight, stay away from these food outlets.
Environmental factors that determine weight gain and obesity include:
- Fast food availability resulting in high calorie intake of processed fatty or sugary foods and drinks.
- Low exercise or activity levels.
- Availability of transport. The more you walk the leaner you become.
- High level of sedentary activities.
- Being surrounded by demanding people, work or environment.
- High stress or anxiety levels.
- Poor sleep.
Solution: Simple Changes To Lifestyle
Losing weight is difficult especially when your environment works against you. If you lose focus don’t stress over your slip ups. And don’t beat yourself up over it. Instead refocus on your weight loss goals and you’ll soon get back on track!
To reach your weight loss goals and improve your overall health make some simple changes to your lifestyle such as:
- Focus on eating whole foods rather than fast foods. Stock your pantry and fridge with healthy foods and snacks.
- Concentrate on eating whole-grain carbs, fresh fruits and vegetables. Include lean or low-fat proteins with meals and snacks.
- Eat regular nutritious meals and don’t skip breakfast. You’ll feel fuller and be less likely to snack.
- Don’t order fast food over the phone or internet.
- Reduce portions size of high-sugar, high-fat and high-calorie foods.
- Include some simple exercises such as brisk walking. Park your car as far away as possible from your work, school or shops.
- Aim to lose one to two pounds a week through a combination of exercise and healthy changes to your diet.
- Avoid places that sell foods that are difficult for you to resist. Take a different route, even if it’s a longer route.
- Take healthy snacks and nutritious lunches with you to work.
- Don’t go to places where you’re surrounded by food outlets or by people who are consuming fatty or sugary foods and/or drinks.
- Reduce contact with people or activities that cause you to stress.
- Don’t watch cooking programs as these will make you want to eat.
- When going out, have a plan about what and how much you will eat before leaving the house.
- Familiarize yourself with online menus and choose what you’ll eat before arriving at a restaurant.
Summing Up: Why Quick Weight Loss Diet Plans Don’t Work
Losing weight takes time, effort and the right mindset. As discussed, there are three main reasons why losing weight with quick weight loss diet plans is extremely difficult. The first reason is biological; your body won’t allow you to starve yourself. It fights back by storing the food you eat as fat.
The second reason why losing weight is so hard is psychological. Successful weight loss is dependent on a positive mindset. It doesn’t revolve around an all or nothing approach. Some days you’ll slip up and that’s fine as long as you don’t beat yourself up. Just stay positive and get yourself back on track.
Also never forbid yourself from eating the foods you love as this results in binging. It’s best to eat everything in moderation.
The third reason why losing weight with quick weight loss diets is hard is due to your environment. Change your lifestyle by reducing your interaction with stressful people, places and situations. Increase the amount of activity you do each day. And lastly avoid places where fast foods are readily available.
I hope this post helps you to understand why losing weight with quick weight loss plans is so difficult. Follow the above advice and you’ll soon lose all your unwanted weight!
