The Top 10 Reasons Diets Don't Work

More than $4 billion is spent by those who want to lose weight every year on books, tapes, foods, programs, diets, pills, herbs, shakes, and who-knows-what-else. Unfortunately, less than five percent of those who lose weight actually keep it off for more than one year. In fact, researchers are saying that it's easier to cure cancer than it is to lose weight and keep it off for two years! Here's why diets don't work.

1. They are short-term.
Yes, they help in losing weight, but they don't offer long-term results.

2. They are restrictive.
By their very nature, they restrict the dieter from eating at certain times, or eating certain foods, that result in a sense of real or imagined deprivation.

3. They can be a form of self-punishment.
"I was really bad on my vacation. Now I need to go on a diet." Or, "I ate my way through the holidays, I'm going on a diet on January 2nd." Diets begin to seem like a good way to get a grip and to get back in control. Unfortunately, while it creates an initial sense of control, it usually results in calamity when it collides with the reality of everyday life: the business lunch, the office party, the family dinners, etc.

4. They aren't practical.
Very often, a diet will require a variety of behaviors that are difficult to sustain in public, while traveling, vacationing, or just living normally. For example, "Just drink this shake every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," assumes you eat at home and never venture out. It also assumes that you'll be satisfied having the same thing day in and day out. Cont. on page 6