Unveiling the Secrets as to Why Your Diet Isn’t Working!
Do you want to know the truth about the MATH behind ALL diets to lose weight?
I am sure we have all tried some form of “dieting” at one point or another in our lives — myself included. The CDC reports that, from 2017–2018, 17% of Americans say they were following a diet plan, up from 14% a decade earlier. Over the same time period, obesity rates for Americans rose to 42% in the U.S., up from 34%.
So, the more we diet, the more the obesity rates rise. Therefore, the logical question is: “Do diets actually work?”
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My answer is YES…and NO. If you want to fit into your dress for the reunion temporarily, then YES, it will work. But in order to maintain your health and size with that specific diet, the answer is NO.
Diets are like sprinting while trying to run a Marathon. You won’t be able to finish a Marathon if you start sprinting right after the starting whistle blows. You must figure out your own long-term balance between a comfortable and a challenging pace.
And it is the same with eating; if you want to remain in healthy and happy shape for the rest of your life, you must find your own healthy and happy eating pace.
Your Calories Consumption Is Directly Proportional to Your Weight, More Calories, More Weight & Vice Versa!
The average adult woman expends roughly 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day. Let’s say that on a regular food day, a woman consumes 2,500 calories, which has been causing her to gain weight because her body requires only 2,000 calories to function properly.
She decides to go on a diet. Every diet requires giving up certain food groups and switching to fat burning foods:
- Keto Diet (no carbs)
- Low Fat Diet (no fat)
- Paleo Diet (no sugar or processed foods)
- Vegetarian Diet (no meat)
- Liquid Diet (no solid foods)
So, let’s say each forbidden food group has a value of 600 calories/day, which would mean 2,500–600 = 1,900 calories/day. So now, that woman is eating 1,900 instead of 2,500 calories on her new diet.
Golden Formula for Weight Loss
There is only ONE formula and one of the best weight loss tips is calorie counting:
[x Calories IN] — [x calories OUT] = Must be a NEGATIVE number
So, in this case:
[1,900 cal. IN] — [2,000 cal. OUT] = -100 cal.
(To cover the 100-calorie deficit, the body uses its “deposits,” which consist of the extra pounds she is trying to lose.)
Golden Formula for Maintaining Weight
There is only ONE formula for maintaining the same weight:
[x Calories IN] — [x calories OUT] = 0
Of course, diet plan for weight loss can work — but only in ONE condition: we consume fewer calories. There is no “magic ingredient” that miraculously triggers weight loss.
However, you can get the same results by cutting down on your highest-calorie food, like hamburgers, pizza, chips, ice cream, or wine, choosing weight loss foods and adding exercise (which is the best tool for calorie burning) to create your calorie deficit — and get the same results without the mental torture of diets.
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So, the question is, can you win a Marathon by sprinting while others are jogging? Yes, you can! But can you sprint a whole Marathon? And do you know what happens if you stubbornly decide to sprint? …CRASH!
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But this post is not about taking away your hopes of fitting into your dream dress with a diet. This post is about common sense and the “Heavenly Body after 40” formula that will help you to finish not just one Marathon but multiple Marathons…and win them ALL!
“Why is my diet not working anymore? The more I diet, the more weight I gain! WHY?”
You started a new diet because your best friend tried it and lost 15 pounds. You lost 10 pounds, and you were so thrilled — but then you had to go to a few special events, and then you took a vacation, and then those darn lemons came…, and the 10 pounds snuck back on with the blink of an eye.
So, you have started the diet again, only this time, your mind and willpower simply don’t want to cooperate with you. On top of that, you are not losing weight as quickly as you did the first time. Your motivation plummets.
There are two main reasons why you are not getting the same results with your diet as you did the first time:
- Your mind is smart
Staying on any diet puts humongous pressure on our minds. I am not afraid to say that it is almost like a trauma.
The very first time you do it, your mind will go with your diet plan, and you will likely be able to stay on a diet for however long you committed to doing it — perhaps 3 weeks to a month. The mind knows that, after one month, the commitment is over, and after that, it’s “party time.”
The mind is like a rubber band; by suppressing your desire for the food group that is “not allowed” during the dieting period, you are stretching your mind (the rubber band). The stricter the diet and the longer you are on it, the bigger the stretch.
However, every band has its limit, just like our minds — and after a huge stretch, there is a huge snap!
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No matter how well-disciplined we are and how strong our willpower is, it will eventually snap. I recently wrote a post about the truth of the math behind each diet (please read it to understand my point). The reason why our minds don’t like diets is that minds must be given choices. Diets limit our food choices and cause trauma to our minds.
This is what your mind is saying when you are on a diet: “Ok, Tatiana, you said one month, and you got it. But after that, it is my party, and I run the show.” And that’s why, when you get off the diet, there is no place where food can hide from you.
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So, why is it so much harder to follow the second diet, and the third? Well, have you seen an animal tamer try to put a wild animal back into its cage the second time? Would YOU want to go back into the cage again? Your mind knows what the cage means now, and it will fight for its freedom — for those choices.
2. Your metabolism is thrifty
Your metabolism is how your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. Imagine your metabolism to be like a huge factory that uses the energy and workers based on how much material it receives. If it receives enough material (food), it works to its full capacity.
However, as I mentioned in my previous post, we cut down on calories when we are on a diet. If the diet has a huge difference in calorie intake compared to our normal way of eating, the factory will slow down because it doesn’t want to waste energy or workers. It will cut down on the energy used and send some workers home.
The longer you stay on a diet, the more workers get laid off. Then after the diet, you go back to normal — but first, you inhale all of the forbidden foods — but the factory continues to operate at 50% while missing half its workers.
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Each time you go on a diet, the factory production gets cut down without returning to its full 100% capacity once the diet is over. People who try to go back on a diet for the second or third time must restrict even more calories than they did the first time in order to make the diet more effective.
Due to the consumption of too few calories or going too long between meals (more than 3–4 hours), the metabolism slows down.
A study in the Journal of Metabolism showed that the metabolic rate slows down by 178 calories after just one week of dieting.
So now you say, “Great, this is not helping me. 😐
So, what can I do to get my body back into the shape I’m happy with and maintain it for the rest of my life? Oh, and I want to do it without any struggle!”
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Well, then I would reply, “You have been seeking, trying, and following all kinds of diets, programs, and plans — but nothing has worked. Why? Because every one of those plans disregarded YOU: YOUR body, YOUR mind, and YOUR soul!
As the wonderful mom, when you had your little child, you were the only one who knew the reason for her cry — whether it was from hunger, sleepiness, or she was just missing you.
YOU KNOW what your body needs to do to get into shape if you are willing to listen and do what it asks. You didn’t ignore your child’s cry when she was hungry or when she missed you. Why are you letting your body cry, and why are you not listening? Why are you letting someone else (diets, programs, plans) take care of YOUR body?
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I will help you to understand and believe that YOU are your own best coach, your own best diet plan!
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