Why Do Most People Fail at Dieting?

The number one reason why most people fail at dieting is simple: they can't stick to it. Most people fall into the trend of saying "Okay, next week I'm going to start a diet" or even setting their New Year's resolutions as losing weight or getting in shape. But why can't these people stick to it? So many people try diets, why isn't everyone walking around in great shape?

The problem is that people most often jump in to a super strict diet plan or fad diet that is very unreasonable. Eating barely anything along with a few salads per day is going to get you no where; in fact, you may gain more weight back than you lost after you finish starving your body of the calories and nutrients it needs. Let's talk a little about what exactly your body does when it is faced with a situation where calorie intake is dropped dramatically.

Starvation Mode

When faced with low calorie conditions, your body enters a state known commonly as "Starvation mode". If you suddenly drop your caloric intake by 1000 calories or more, your body's instinct is to hold on to as much fat as possible in order to prolong your life, as if you were being faced with real famine conditions. Sure, you may lose a few pounds in the beginning, but your body will quickly adapt and bring your weight loss to a halt. Your body will lower your metabolism and begin to eat away at muscle mass, leaving you feeling lethargic and very hungry. After returning to normal eating habits your body will store as much fat as it can, often leading to a higher weight and body mass index than when you started dieting in the first place.

Body Mass Index: a measurement of the relative percentages of fat and muscle mass in the human body, which is used as an index of obesity.

Keeping this in mind, it wouldn't make sense to drop your calories to low levels, would it? Although this seems to be common sense when faced with the information above, people still ignorantly and defiantly try to drop pounds quick by severely under eating. To succeed in your diet and weight loss goals, phase in dieting over time; don't suddenly drop calories, but rather slowly reduce them to a healthy level.

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