15 Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Working

Trying to diet over and over again without any real, lasting results is like playing blocks with my 1 year old.

No matter how hard I try to build a tower, she always knocks it down before it’s finished.

I want to help you avoid that frustration with your diet. Here are 15 reasons (in no particular order) your diet might not be working for you…

1. You Haven’t Considered Your Body Type

Ever heard of endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs? If not, that’s ok. The point is that different body types respond differently to certain diets.

Odds are, this isn’t the only thing causing your diet to be ineffective. It’s simply one of many ways to individualize how you eat.

But if you’re having trouble losing those last few pounds, this is something to consider.

2. It’s Your Friend’s Diet

Just because a diet was successful for a friend, doesn’t mean it will work for you.

It needs to work for you.

The foods you like and dislike, the number of meals you eat, how much protein, carbs, and fat you need, and so much more, all should be taken into consideration.

3. Your Weekend Rocks a Bit Too Hard

You might not even realize it, but your weekends could be negating all the hard work you put into your diet the rest of the week.

It doesn’t take much.

One day of complete disregard for your diet and your body will easily take over to prevent change.

4. Inconsistency

Your diet may be just fine, but you need to stick with it (generally for at least 6 months).

Otherwise change will come and go as you bounce back and forth between dieting and not dieting, ultimately preventing any lasting transformation.

5. You’re Not Eating Enough

Believe it or not, if you want to lose weight, it’s important to not eat too little.

The more extreme your diet (in any direction) the more significantly your body will go into survival mode and inhibit change.

So please, for your own good, stop doing 1,200 calorie diets.

6. It’s the Snacks

Even healthy snacks can be deceptively high calorie.

The real problem with snacking, though, often stems from other issues.

You might not be eating enough at your regular meals. Or it could be a bad habit created out of boredom, stress, or convenience.

Snacking isn’t inherently bad, but if your diet isn’t working, it’s something to evaluate.

7. It’s the Drinks

You might make big changes simply by choosing water when you’re thirsty.

Popular drinks are often high calorie, but aren’t filling. And most of them aren’t nutritious. Diet drinks might get rid of the extra calories, but they discourage a balanced diet.

Switch to water and see how much it helps.

8. You’re Underestimating Calories

We generally don’t recommend counting calories.

We’re not saying it’s bad, or even ineffective per se, but it is complex.

Studies are varied about the actual numbers, but they all agree on one thing: many people underestimate calories enough for it to be a problem.

For an alternative to calorie counting, read Stop Counting Calories.

9. It’s a Bad Diet

There are nuances to every diet that make slight differences in your results.

But some diets are just shitty.

If you’ve followed your diet consistently and still aren’t where you want to be, it might be a bad diet.

If you can’t follow your diet because it’s too difficult, it might be a bad diet.

If you aren’t sure, you can ask us.

Or just download our free ebook, “Forever Fat Loss, 12 Habits For Lasting Change” and learn how to never diet again.

10. You Have Unrealistic Expectations

If you thought you were going to reach all your goals in a couple months, it’s no wonder you might think your diet isn’t working. (Check out How Long Does it Take to Get in Shape)

It could also be that you’ve been so concerned about dropping weight, you haven’t noticed the inches of fat you’ve lost.

If you have appropriate expectations, and keep working toward your goals, you might just find that your diet works great.

11. Metabolic Adaptations

If you’ve been doing the exact same diet for too long and have stalled out, it might be time for something different.

Either your weight has changed, and you need to refigure how much you should be eating. Or your body has adapted to your current diet and you need to take a break. (Don’t try to stay in weight loss mode forever.)

12. It’s Too Advanced

Cheat meals, intermittent fasting, meal timing, keto … these are just a few techniques that are too advanced for the average person.

Work on getting the right portions of protein, veggies, carbs, and fat.

Once you’ve done that for at least 6 months, and after you’ve successfully managed to lose excess weight, that’s when you can think about experimenting with advanced strategies.

13. You Have the Wrong Focus

Being in a calorie deficit can’t be your only focus.

Technically, eating less calories than you burn might “work,” in that you’ll lose weight. But it WON’T work, in that it won’t necessarily get you healthy.

And that’s not a sustainable outcome.

Be sure to also focus on getting proper nutrients, which, in turn, will teach you how to eat when you’re not dieting.