{"id":138,"date":"2022-10-28T12:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T04:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/?p=138"},"modified":"2022-11-27T18:33:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T10:33:45","slug":"why-diets-dont-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/why-diets-dont-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Why diets don’t work and 6 ways to fix them"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Diets don't work - except in the short term<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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You\u2019ve probably heard an overweight person telling you that diets don\u2019t work.\u00a0 Maybe you are that overweight person and you\u2019ve found that diets don\u2019t work for you.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, you\u2019re right!\u00a0 Diets don\u2019t work, at least not in anything but the very short term.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why don\u2019t diets work?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Think about it like this:\u00a0 if you can only lose weight by dieting, what is going to happen once you stop dieting?\u00a0 You’ll go back to your old ways and gain it all back again.\n<\/p>

\nIf you\u2019ve tried a diet before you already know this is true.\u00a0 You might lose weight when you\u2019re on the diet and being very careful to eat only the things you are \u2018allowed\u2019, but usually you start to gain it back as soon as the diet is finished and you go back to your old way of eating.\n<\/p>

\nDiets are supposed to work by creating an energy deficit (also called a calorie deficit), meaning that you are burning more energy (calories) than you are consuming as food and drinks.\n<\/p>

\nThat\u2019s fine in principle, but the problem is that most diets are restrictive by nature (some even have lists of foods that you aren\u2019t allowed to eat).\u00a0 Not only that; everyone hates being \u2018on a diet\u2019 so we all look forward to the day we can be off our diet and back on the pizza and burgers.\n<\/p>

\nIf all that wasn\u2019t enough, many people find that by eating less, their body uses less energy and they even feel as though they have less get up and go, so they sit down more and move around less.\u00a0 That makes it even harder to be in an energy deficit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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If diets don\u2019t work, how do people lose weight?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you decide that you want to lose weight then what you really need to choose is to be healthy rather than thinking \u201cI must go on a diet\u201d.\n<\/p>

\n\u2018Diets\u2019 are usually an attempted quick fix, designed for people who are unhappy with themselves and desperate to lose weight quickly with very little thought given to an actual long term solution.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t designed to be sustainable and they don\u2019t take into account the fact that people are not perfect.\u00a0 In many ways, diets can set you up to fail, even if you have the best possible intentions.\n<\/p>

\nWhat actually helps people lose weight and keep it off forever are the small everyday changes that become habits; things like going for a 10 minute walk after lunch, making their own lunch rather than grabbing fast food or even eating more vegetables with their meals.\u00a0 (It might seem counterintuitive to ADD food rather than take it away, but by eating more vegetables you will feel fuller and less likely to snack on less healthy alternatives).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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These 6 easy tips will help you eat more healthily:<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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  1. Get the idea of a diet out of your head.<\/span>
    \nImproving your weight and health comes from making permanent changes, not short-term fixes. If you can, try to start out with the understanding that this is forever, not for a few weeks.\n<\/li>\n
  2. Start to cook for yourself.<\/span>
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    …or at least eat home-cooked food. If you are cooking for yourself you know exactly what you are putting in your body, right down to the last 5ml of oil (which you can measure out in a teaspoon).<\/p>\n

    Have you ever watched a tv chef pouring out \u2018a tablespoon of olive oil\u2019 into a pan and compared it with an actual measured tablespoon? There is a substantial difference which can equate to hundreds of calories you don\u2019t even realise you are consuming. You\u2019d be surprised just how little your favourite restaurant cares about your weight loss goals, even those who market themselves as the \u2018healthy\u2019 choice. All they really care about is that you enjoy your food, and that usually means more calories.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s very easy to convince yourself that a tasty restaurant steak with mashed potatoes is healthy, but although it sounds like a good choice it is almost certainly laden with extra oil and butter, and far more calories than you need.\n<\/li>\n

  3. Learn about the energy density of food<\/span>
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    Some foods contain a lot more energy than others \u2013 and that\u2019s usually a bad thing.\nA good way to understand energy density is to look at the volume of food, or how much room it takes up on your plate. None of us wants to sit down to a meal with only a quarter of the plate full; we want a good-sized meal so that we can expect to feel satisfied when we have finished it.<\/p>\nLet\u2019s take an example of 100 calories. That\u2019s about one and a half cucumbers. Or just 6 macadamia nuts! The macadamias might be delicious, but you could easily fit all 6 in your mouth and they\u2019d be gone in seconds. The cucumber has a far lower energy density and much greater volume – how long would it take you to eat that much cucumber?\nRealistically your meals should sit somewhere between these 2 extremes, but understanding a little bit about volume and energy density can help you make better choices to feel fuller and snack less.\n<\/li>\n

  4. Start eating vegetables!<\/span>
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    Vegetables provide nutrients and fibre, and also help keep you full without adding many calories to your meal. Some vegetables are even linked to better brain health as we age too so there really is no excuse not to add more to your meals.<\/p>\nBy vegetables we don\u2019t mean potatoes! Ideally we mean leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, but even sweet potatoes have a fraction of the energy density compared to bread and pasta. Try and eat a wide variety of different vegetables in all the colours you can find. It can be fun to go to a local market and try some varieties you have never eaten before – try them raw, steamed, even gently sauteed in a little oil with garlic – however you prefer them, as long as it isn\u2019t swimming in butter or drowned in a cheesy sauce, just eat your vegetables!\n<\/li>\n

  5. Stop and think before eating<\/span>
    \nIt\u2019s very easy to fall into the trap of just popping something in your mouth. But the 20 seconds of pleasure you get from eating a piece of chocolate might be the difference between eating the number of calories your body needs for the day and having too much energy which converts to fat! Is it worth it? When you stop and think, you\u2019ll probably think not.\n<\/li>\n
  6. Make small or gradual changes<\/span>
    \nThis doesn\u2019t apply to everyone, but if you\u2019re like most people you will get the best results by making progressive changes to your diet instead of trying to make a complete change overnight. Consistency trumps almost everything else, so a small change like swapping your daily venti size frappucino for a small size one twice a week forever will yield better long term results than giving up all sugar\/ dairy\/ alcohol for 1 month and then going off the rails when you return to \u2018normal\u2019.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tClick here to read how you can \"Learn to love healthy food\"<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    How does ATP Personal Training help clients with this?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe will work with you to audit your current lifestyle, and make recommendations that enable you to make informed choices.\u00a0 By doing this we are able to ensure that you can achieve the result you want without completely compromising on the lifestyle you enjoy.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be able to use our knowledge and advice to build sustainable, healthy habits for your long-term health and you\u2019ll find that these become effortless over time.\n

    Get in touch with us using the form at the link below:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tClick here to enquire about ATP Personal Training's services in Singapore and Hong Kong<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Diets don’t work – except in the short term You\u2019ve probably heard an overweight person telling you that diets don\u2019t work.  Maybe you are that overweight person and you\u2019ve found that diets don\u2019t work for you.   Well, you\u2019re right!  Diets don\u2019t work, at least not in anything but the very short term. Why don\u2019t diets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,10],"tags":[6,8,11],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1856,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/1856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atppersonaltrainingblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}