Most people at some point in their life have tried a diet that worked initially only to find that it failed in the end.  We blame ourselves and wish we had more willpower.  The problem may not have been your willpower but the diet plan itself.

1.  Eating too few calories – In my experience as a practicing Internist, I find that eating too few calories in a motivated dieter is a common problem.  In general, once you restrict your calories below 1,000-1,200 you start losing significant muscle mass.  Your muscles are some of the most metabolically active tissue in your body.  Your goal should be to preserve and build as much muscle as possible through regular exercise and adequate nutrition.  Losing weight does require calorie restriction, and in the process some muscle will be lost.  Muscle loss can be limited, however, with a balanced diet of quality protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  The other problem with a severe calorie restricted diet is debilitating fatigue.  You have no stamina.  Your ability to mentally focus wanes and your ability to be engaged in meaningful ares of life becomes restricted.  Such fatigue becomes unsustainable over the long haul.

2.  Relying heavily on prepared foods –  Several studies have showed that eating prepared diet products such as calorie-limited frozen meals or diet shakes can help people lose weight initially.  I have used those successfully to help me get started.  The problem comes when we don’t eventually make the transition to “real foods.”  A sustainable diet plan requires that you learn how to prepare and chose “real foods.”

3.  Your diet is too bland – A tasteless boring diet works initially, but eventually you will grow sick of eating the same thing.  Part of the enjoyment of life comes from experiencing a variety of tastes and textures.  Limiting those simple pleasures only sets you up for failure.  Even if the a food has a high calorie content or has a lot of sugar, small amounts will not hurt you and can add to the pleasure of life.

4.  You are too tough on yourself – You don’t have to aim for perfection.  Foods are not either good or bad, or black and white.  There area shades of grey (not a reference to the recent popular book.)  Allow yourself some splurge room.  Hold to your diet 90% of the time.  My daughter and I went to Dairy Queen and ate small blizzards together.  I throughly enjoyed the ice cream and the time spent with my daughter.  Because my diet is good the rest of the week, that little splurge made no negative impact on my health and satisfied a simple craving that could have derailed my plan if I had not compromised.  Think in terms of choices not imperatives.

5.  You are following a dubious/fad diet – If it sounds to good to be true it usually is.  Fraudulent diets claim to cause rapid weight loss with very little effort.  They claim to cause focused weight loss in specific areas of the body.  (As an aside when you lose weight you lose fat from the entire body.  Your genetics will determine where you will see fat loss first and which areas will be more stubborn.  Some trends are common, for example, women tend to lose weight in the hips last and in men the love handle area tends to be last.  No diet or exercise program can target these areas.)  Beware of nutrition counselors that act as pushy salespeople trying to sale the latest diet pill, weight loss supplement, hormone blockers, etc.  Most of these programs promise unrealistic goals and have not actual maintenance plan.

Here’s to the Journey!