When most people want to lose weight, the first thing they do is go on a diet. While that may seem to make the most sense, here are 20 solid reasons why you shouldn’t take this route, especially if your goal is weight loss:
- It slows your metabolism, making it even harder to lose weight.
- The feelings of deprivation increase your cravings.
- It doesn’t prepare you for when you “go off” the diet.
- You become absolutely obsessed with food.
- Even if the diet does work, it’s a short-term fix.
- Most people who diet gain the weight back…and then some.
- You’ll constantly be fighting hunger, and hunger usually wins.
- Because swearing off your favorite foods often leads to bingeing on them.
- Dieting tends to keep you from enjoying food-related events with family and friends.
- Dieting isolates the dieter because family and friends get sick of “hearing about it.”
- Limit your calories too much and you’ll keep your body from getting the nutrients it needs to not only thrive, but possibly even survive.
- Dieting doesn’t make you happier; if anything, it makes you unhappier.
- It’s pretty hard to lose weight when you’re constantly telling your body it’s bad (as in, too fat).
- Diets can be boring as most require you eat the same foods over and over again.
- You tend to have minimal energy when you’re on a diet, making it hard to keep up with work, family, and home obligations.
- Lose weight too fast or in the wrong way and you could put your health at risk.
- Dieting can be a gateway to serious food-related disorders (like anorexia or bulimia).
- Dieting pits you against the scale, even though weighing yourself doesn’t give you an accurate depiction of total fat lost.
- Dieting does nothing for emotional eaters.
- There are better, more positive ways to lose weight (like more physical activity and simply choosing healthier foods!).
