Diets Don’t Work and That’s the Whole Point

Let’s be real for a second. Most fad diets fail because diets don’t work.

If diets actually worked, we wouldn’t keep needing new ones. And yet, here we are. We’re constantly bombarded with the latest and greatest diet, a new list of foods to avoid, and a promise that this time will be different.

Spoiler alert: it won’t be.

Think about it. The weight loss industry is worth billions of dollars, and it thrives on repeat customers. That means it needs people to keep coming back. If one diet truly worked long-term, the industry wouldn’t be nearly as profitable. If diets actually worked, diet companies would put themselves out of business and slowly shut down, not quickly multiply.

Instead, diet culture sells us the illusion of success: short-term weight loss. However, this weight loss almost always leads to weight regain, making you feel like you failed. When in actuality, the system is designed to fail you.

Why Do Most Fad Diets Fail?

Sure, diets can “work” in the short term. You cut calories, you see the scale drop, and you get that little dopamine hit of progress. But what happens next?

Hunger kicks in, cravings intensify, life gets in the way, and suddenly, that super-restrictive plan isn’t sustainable anymore. And then what? You gain the weight back, often plus some.

It’s not a willpower problem, it’s biology. Your body is literally trying to protect you from starvation.

The Science Behind It: Why Diets Don’t Work

Diets create a cycle of restriction and bingeing. The more you deprive yourself, the more your body fights back with cravings and increased hunger. And when you finally “give in” and eat that thing you’ve been avoiding, you feel like you failed. But you didn’t fail, the diet did.

1. Your Body Fights Weight Loss

Your body has built-in mechanisms to protect you from starvation. When you significantly reduce your calorie intake, your body perceives it as a threat and reacts by:

  • Slowing down your metabolism: To conserve energy, your body reduces the number of calories it burns at rest. This phenomenon is known as metabolic adaptation. Studies show that even after weight loss, metabolic rates can remain lower than expected for extended periods, making weight maintenance challenging.
  • Increasing hunger hormones: Hormones like ghrelin (which increases hunger) and leptin (which signals fullness) are impacted by dieting. Ghrelin levels rise, and leptin levels drop, making you feel hungrier and less satisfied after meals.
  • Cravings and obsession with food: When your body is under-fueled, it increases cravings for high-energy foods. It’s not a lack of willpower, it’s your body’s survival mechanism kicking in.

2. Psychological Effects of Restriction

Diets don’t just affect your body, they mess with your mind too. Restriction can lead to:

  • Food obsession and preoccupation: The more you restrict, the more you think about food. This is known as the scarcity mindset, where forbidden foods become more tempting simply because they’re off-limits.
  • Binge eating cycles: Food restriction is a predictor of binge eating episodes. When you finally “break” and eat the restricted food, the “what-the-hell” effect kicks in, leading to overeating.
  • Guilt and shame: Dieting often promotes a moral value to eating (good vs. bad foods), which can lead to feelings of guilt and shame when inevitably “failing” the diet.

3. Weight Cycling and Health Risks

Diets often lead to weight cycling or yo-yo dieting, which is the repeated loss and regain of weight. Weight cycling is linked to:

  • Increased risk of heart disease: Fluctuations in weight can negatively impact cardiovascular health, increasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
  • Higher body fat percentage: With each cycle, you often lose important lean muscle mass and regain fat, leading to a higher body fat percentage over time.
  • Mental health consequences: The cycle of dieting, failing, and restarting can contribute to anxiety, depression, and decreased self-esteem.

The Billion-Dollar Lie

But diet culture doesn’t tell you all of this. Instead, it convinces you that the solution is to try harder. Start over. Find more discipline and willpower.

Try keto, intermittent fasting, Whole30, or whatever the latest trend is. And when that one inevitably doesn’t work either, the cycle repeats. And guess who profits? Yep, you guessed it: diet culture, which is a multi-billion dollar industry. Yes, billion, with a b.

Weight loss companies, meal replacement programs, detox teas, wellness influencers, or anybody selling weight loss rely on people buying into the idea that their bodies need to be fixed.

These companies or individuals conveniently create a problem that only their product can fix. By that, I mean they sell you the problem (your body) and then sell you the solution (their diet, program, or product).

It’s a never-ending business model built on insecurity.

What’s the Alternative?

The truth is that most fad diets fail, and you really don’t need another diet. What you need is to break up with the mindset that you have to shrink yourself to be worthy, happy, or healthy.

You don’t have to spend your life tracking every bite, feeling guilty for eating carbs, or cycling between restriction and bingeing.

What if, instead of chasing another diet, you started trusting your body? What if you focused on what feels good, like eating in a way that satisfies you, moving in a way that brings joy, and letting go of the idea that your worth is tied to a number on the scale?

You could try:

  • Intuitive Eating: A non-diet approach to food that emphasizes listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues without moral judgment on food choices.
  • Joyful movement: Moving your body in a way that feels good, not as a punishment for what you ate.
  • Body acceptance: Recognizing that your worth isn’t dependent on your weight or appearance.

Maybe, just maybe, that’s the place to start. You might just find yourself with a solution that actually works.

Final Thoughts

Most fad diets fail because they were created to. They were never meant to be sustainable.

Your body is not a problem to be fixed. You didn’t fail the diet, the diet failed you.

If any of this resonates with you, consider exploring Intuitive Eating, joyful movement, and body image topics. All of which you can learn more about on my site! 

Thanks for reading!

Rachel Beiler, MHS, RD, LDN