6 Reasons Your Diet May Not Be Working For You

Imagine controlling your cravings, breaking up with your favourite food and sticking to a strict diet for months, only to find out that the scale hasn’t moved in the slightest. It’s a feeling nobody wants to experience but sadly, many do. What you need to understand is that diet alone isn’t the secret weapon. Your mental stability, lifestyle and how you adapt to new eating habits all contribute in determining whether or not a diet works for you. Read on to find out the reasons behind your unsuccessful diet journey.

You’re Skipping Meals

Healthy weight loss isn’t about giving up on food completely, but to ditch high-calorie meals for lighter ones. Many think skipping meals will help them lose weight faster and that’s where they go wrong. Doing this hinders your weight loss. Not consuming anything for long can put your body in starvation mode, which will slow down your metabolism. The body then compensates for the insufficient calories by burning fewer calories than it normally would. Missing meals also increases your craving and as a result, you end up eating more than usual. Having said that, there’s a right way to skip a meal, and it’s intermittent fasting. It allows you to eat anything you want but in a specific time period.

You’re Following The Wrong Diet

There’s a plethora of diets out there, each claiming to be the most effective and healthiest. But not all of them are worth trying. It is common for people to give up on their healthy diet and switch to a celebrity fad or an extreme diet recommended by someone on the internet. But a diet which works for one, may not necessarily work for everyone. Since everybody’s bodies, genetics and lifestyles are different, they cannot lose weight the same way. According to a new research, even identical twins have different responses to food. The most effective strategy for weight-loss is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that best suits your food preferences and lifestyle.

You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

It is no secret that not drinking enough water can disrupt all the functions of your body. While drinking water may not be the key to weight loss, it definitely helps. When you don’t drink water your body feels empty, which often leads to overeating. Whereas, consuming more water helps you fill up and this way it reduces hunger. Not only this but water also helps boost your metabolism, cleanse your body of waste, and acts as an appetite suppressant.

You’re Not Eating Mindfully

The main goal of dieting is to consume fewer calories. But that isn’t possible unless you’re attentive about what you’re eating and how much of it eating. Being distracted while you eat never satisfies the body’s hunger signals. This is where mindful eating comes to the rescue. The concept of mindful eating is to make you more aware of everything you put into your mouth — how it tastes, smells, feels. Getting into the habit of mindful eating helps reduce the amount you consume.

You’re Not Exercising Enough

Many believe that changing their nutrition is enough to lose weight. But we all know that’s not how it is done. Eating right is only one aspect of healthy weight loss, the other is obviously exercise. Your weight is a balance between the calories you take in and the calories you burn. Consuming fewer calories may make some difference, but you won’t lose enough weight without burning those calories. A weight loss plan based on regular exercise is not only more successful but healthier as well.

You’re Stressed

Along with the many other ways in which stress disturbs your body, it also keeps you from losing weight. In a study, researchers have found a direct link between emotional issues like stress, anxiety and depression, and higher body mass indexes (BMI). It is common for people to overindulge when dealing with bad news or exhaustion. Stress causes an increase in cortisol, which in turn, leads to an increase in fat storage.