Why Dieters Crash and Burn, Part 2

Earlier this week, I made a guest appearance on Ben Greenfield’s Get-Fit Guy podcast. Ben and I explored some of the most common reasons that people fall off their diet and exercise plans. All too often, we’ve found, people actually sabotage their own success.It was such a great conversation, I invited Ben to be my guest on today’s show so that we could continue the conversation with you. (Check out Part 1 of our discussion for reasons 1-5 of why dieters crash and burn, if you missed it.)

See: Why Dieters Crash and Burn, Part 1

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, get back in shape, or simply maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, you’ll want to watch out for the following things that often cause people to give up on their diet and/or fitness regimens before they’ve achieved their goals:

Reason #6: Unrealistic Expectations

Getting in shape takes time (although Ben can help you do it faster than anyone!) and losing weight doesn’t happen overnight either. You can’t reasonably expect a week’s worth of diligence to erase a year—or decade’s—worth of neglect.

And no matter how strict you are about your diet and exercise, it’s also unrealistic to expect that you’ll steadily lose weight, week after week. Whether you’re trying to lose a significant amount of weight or to gain a significant amount of strength or speed, your progress will probably come in fits and starts. The important thing is to be mentally prepared for the inevitable plateaus so that they don’t cause you to get discouraged and give up.

Ben and I both have good tips for dealing with weight loss plateaus. Here’s my article on How to Break a Weight Loss Plateau. Here’s Ben’s take on How to Get Off a Weight Loss Plateau.

Reason #7: Obsessing Over One Nutrient or Food Group

As I’ve talked about in previous shows, eating more protein can help you lose weight by helping you feel more satisfied after meals. Eating fewer carbohydrates—especially refined carbohydrates—can also help you stay trim and healthy. But that doesn’t mean you should eat only protein or completely eliminate carbohydrates.

Not only does your body function best with a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, but diets that go to extremes are notoriously difficult to sustain long-term, setting you up to crash and burn.

And now, here’s Ben with three more all-too-common ways people sabotage their fitness goals.

Reason #8: Not Sticking to a Plan

In this internet era, it’s very easy to bounce around from diet to diet and workout to workout, without ever sticking to one solution or plan. When it comes to weight loss, there’s definitely more than one way to skin a cat – and I’ve seen people succeed on exercise programs that range from fasted morning cardio to P90X to Crossfit to triathlon training.

The truth is that when you consistently stick to one strategy, you’re more likely to see steady results. This doesn’t mean you should do the same workout day in and day out (I address this very topic in my book Get-Fit Guy’s Guide to Your Ideal Body), but it does mean that you need to have a plan, stick to it, and not get sidetracked by fancy new exercises or diet fads.

Reason #9: Not Varying Your Workouts

This may sound contradictory to Reason #8, but in fact, it is complementary. Here’s why: Many of us jump into an exercise program that only includes cardio, or only includes weight training. Or we jump into a diet program that is all vegetables, or perhaps no vegetables. Either way, these drastic measures often result in positive changes. That’s because the act of simply making any switch from a “Standard American Diet” (SAD) or from a sedentary lifestyle is likely to produce positive changes.

And so you may lose weight rapidly when you begin running on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day while eating primarily cabbage soup. But half a year later, you might be nutrient-deprived, with too little muscle to sustain a healthy metabolism. So while you shouldn’t use this as an excuse to bounce from plan to plan, you should always be willing to identify positive modification that could be made to your program, especially if you hit a plateau and quit getting results. That’s a sure sign that you need to adjust your plan.

Reason #10: Using Fat Burners as a Substitute for Healthy Food and Exercise

In Do Weight Loss Supplements Work?, you learned that fat burner pills only give you a minuscule advantage compared to consistent physical activity and calorie moderation. And unless you’re a serious bodybuilder trying to cut from 3.5% body fat down to 3% body fat, when you put all your faith in that little pill, whether it’s green coffee extract, raspberry ketones, or some other overpriced fad, you’re telling yourself that you just don’t have willpower, motivation, or tools at your disposal to successfully lose weight.

Think about it this way: If I took away your fat burning pill, would you still consistently hit the gym, stay physically active, and continue to eat right? More importantly, are you using a fat burning pill to justify avoiding physical activity or diet? If so, you may want to reconsider using these relatively ineffective supplements until you’ve made the most important weight loss tactics a habit.

Thanks, Ben, for this great advice and for kicking off this great discussion. Nutrition Diva listeners who are ready to take their fitness to the next level should check out Ben’s fantastic Get-Fit Guy podcast!

Keep in Touch

If you have a suggestion for a future show topic send an email to nutrition@quickanddirtytips.com or post it on my Nutrition Diva Facebook Page. If you’ve sent a question, be sure to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter, so you’re sure not to miss it.

Have a great week and remember to eat something good for me!

Image courtesy of Shutterstock