The weird, wacky time we are in right now cannot be underestimated and it is making people (myself included) do extraordinary things. Like take bread baking for example. Suddenly, plain old white flour is a hot commodity. Junk food sales are up, vegetable sales down. We are emotionally eating and comforting ourself through food more than ever now.

Fear, boredom, loneliness and anxiety can certainly do that.

So, you might think that this is a great time to get off cookies and bread and start that detox diet you always thought about doing but never had the “time”. Time is all you have right now.

And yeah, the “Quarantine 15?” That’s now proven to be real. You’re living proof.

But before you jump into your next punishing cleanse, I want to give you a heads up. Diet’s. Do. Not. Work.

You might be thinking that diets are how you lose weight. Come to think of it, your whole life has been a diet. On the diet, off the diet. Lose the weight, gain the weight back. Yeah, diets like to do that.

Here’s why diets do not work and how you can STILL lose weight, without the diet.

5 Reasons Why Your Last Diet Failed You

Weight Loss Is Fleeting. You’re ready to start you next diet and you’re all in. You’ve got this, you can stick something out for 30 days. You follow the plan, buy all the food, don’t drink or eat any grains. You’re so good! And then…day 30. Diet over, you are back to ordering pizza, having a couple glasses of wine. And before you know it, the weight you lost is back. And then some. You feel terrible about yourself (“why can’t I stick with it?”) and vow to start again in the summer. And the cycle goes on.

Key Takeaway: About 90% of people on weight loss diets end up gaining the weight back, and then some.

You Miss The Opportunity to Nourish Yourself. Many diets lack essential nutrients to keep you healthy.  When you begin to cut out major food groups with the goal of cleansing and losing weight you, in turn, cut out vitamins, mineral, phytonutrients, fiber. And once the diet is over, you likely will go back to what you were doing before the diet.

Takeaway: The way you eat should not only be beneficial for health and weight loss (if that is a goal), but also have your nourishment in mind. Food as medicine!

Diets Confuse Your Hunger. One very important topic I talk to my clients about is learning to identify your hunger cues. Most diets hand you a plan, tell you what to do, when to eat and how much. They take the guesswork out of eating. But in the real world, aka after the diet, knowing when you are physically hungry, or eating simply because you are having a bad day, is critical to eating mindfully and eating well for the long term.

Takeaway: Diets do not teach you anything about mindful eating, confuse your hunger and when to eat.

Diets Take Away All The Fun In Eating. Food, cooking and eating are one of the few consistent joys in life. We include food in celebrations, to socialize, gather with family. Especially during Corona, my one shining light in my day is sitting down with my family to share a meal. The diet you are on creates scarcity and sacrifice. You can actually love food, be around all food AND still lose weight.

Takeway: Knowing how to take real, simple whole foods and make them taste great is key to eating, not dieting. 

Diets Compromise Your Metabolism. Losing weight on low calorie diets is stressful to your body. Once you start eating below a certain number of calories, your brain kicks in to save the day. It raises cortisol levels (your stress hormone) which in turn actually slows your metabolism down to conserve calories.

Takeaway: Eating enough calories is key to keeping your metabolism humming along. Slow and steady weight loss is key to success and keeping it off. 

If you are contemplating starting your next diet to kickstart your weight loss, I would love for you to join me for my next group workshop, the EatFree Summer Reset. I teach you the skills to make your weight loss and other health goals last. We have accountability though Zoom gatherings, fun “homework”, delicious recipes and learn the skills to make eating fun and delicious. We begin June 3rd for 6 weeks. Click HERE for more info and to sign up.