Why diets don’t work
If you are like many women who are perimenopausal or postmenopausal you have been on countless diets. Sometimes you may have had success, but the weight has always come back. Often more. If so many women are dieting why are they not losing weight. The problem is with dieting itself.
If you know anything about me, you know I don’t like an all or nothing approach. I also like to keep things simple. Unfortunately weight loss is anything but simple, but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Diets usually have a set time frame.
They are usually something you go on, which implies that when you are done you go off the diet. That means that you tend to go back to your old eating habits which were likely the cause of weight gain in the first place. Any changes you make should be changes that you can continue to make for the long term.
Diets are often too restrictive.
This has two important effects. One is that you are more likely to go overboard when you stop your diet. Or feel like a failure because you had one bad meal. Another downside of diets being overly restrictive is that your body starts to use muscle tissue for fuel and you lose muscle mass, especially if you are not exercising. Check out this article to see why you should exercise when trying to lose weight.
Diets often work by eliminating (or reducing) certain foods.
Keto or low carb diets have you eating very few carbohydrates. Our bodies need carbohydrates for fuel. Our brain’s preferred source of fuel is carbohydrates. This is why some people feel foggy when they start a low carb diet. Other diets are low in fat. Unfortunately foods without fat are not very satisfying and we tend to eat more. Processed low fat foods are also usually high in sugar. Fats are important for health. Omega 3 fatty acids are important for heart and brain health and many vitamins need fat to be used by the body.
Diets are not individualized.
They don’t take into account food intolerances or preferences. They don’t take into account families. Do you want to be cooking separate meals for you and your family every day? Everyone has different nutritional needs depending on your body shape, your activity levels and your stage or life.
The biggest problem with diets, especially ones that require you to buy their foods, is that they don’t teach you to form healthy habits. They don’t show you how to take your existing lifestyle and start to make small changes. They don’t teach you how to avoid lunchroom treats, or how to eat out and enjoy it. They don’t help you make the healthier choice at the grocery store when you are hungry.
If you are wondering how you can lose weight during menopause, set up a free menopause reset session or download this free cheat sheet to weight loss during menopause. You can also join my facebook group to discuss weight loss and other menopause symptoms with other women going through menopause.
