Why Diets Don't Work

he·don·ism (hdn-zm) n.

Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.

di·et ¹ (dt) n.

A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.

Our culture usually holds that Hedonism is bad, that sensual pursuits are frivolous and sinful, and the pursuit of pleasure is to be frowned upon. Dieting, on the other hand, is good. Restraint, self-denial, and restriction are to be admired (and of course emulated if you have any sense). We praise those who eat a restrictive diet and punish themselves with grueling hours in the gym, marveling at their "pride" and "commitment." Some of us may even try it for ourselves, entering into that endless cycle of weighing counting and logging and measuring and suffering. We try it for a while and then we fall off the wagon and feel like failures when we eat a piece of cheesecake or skip the gym one day or hit a plateau and stop losing. Most people feel that failure and give up until the next time they can muster the courage to try. Others are more stubborn, and will subject themselves to this self-abuse cycle a few more times before giving up.

No matter how strong the willpower, the results are very nearly always the same. Eventually, we get tired and give up. We quit because it's hard work and it's not fun and the positive aspect of it is very far away. The long-term health benefits are distant, but that piece of cheesecake is right here, right now. There comes a point in every traditional or fad diet where the drive to "succeed" is outstripped by our bodies' cries for nutrients and we lose the energy to continue. We just get to that point where we can't stand the deprivation any longer.

And then we quit.

And every time we quit, we learn a few things about ourselves. We learn that we're quitters, that we're just doomed to be fat, that there's no point anyway, or that we're losers. We learn that fitness is something for those other people we see on TV, and every single time we enter into this cycle, those messages get reinforced.

After doing this myself for a long time, I came to a realization: I will never, ever diet again.

Why?

Because it DOESN'T WORK!