Why Dieting Doesn’t Work: Building a Healthier Relationship with Food
- Sep 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 15
Every January (and many Mondays), millions of people embark on a new diet hoping for rapid weight loss and a healthier lifestyle. Yet, research shows that the majority of diets fail in the long run, often leading to frustration, weight regain, and even harm to mental health. So why doesn’t dieting work, and what can we do instead?
The Illusion of Quick Fixes
Dieting is often marketed as a quick solution to weight management. Low-carb, keto, juice cleanses, and restrictive calorie-counting plans promise dramatic results in short timeframes. While these approaches may produce initial weight loss, studies show that most people regain the weight within one to five years [1]. Restrictive diets simply aren’t sustainable for long-term behaviour change.
The Biological Backlash
When you significantly restrict calories, your body interprets it as a threat to survival. This triggers a cascade of physiological responses: metabolism slows, hunger hormones increase, and satiety hormones decrease [2]. In other words, your body works against your diet. This is why maintaining weight loss through restriction alone is so challenging.
The Psychological Toll
Beyond biology, dieting can have negative effects on mental well-being. Constantly labelling foods as “good” or “bad” fosters guilt and shame when dietary “rules” are broken [3].
A 2009 study discussed five common themes found in struggling weight loss participants [3] Theme 1: Dieting Mode: "Samantha offered a different perspective on a similar experience whereby she claimed dieting was ‘unnatural’ to her: ‘It’s a regime isn’t it, and I probably rebel from that a bit … [ ] so I, for me, I need to tame my—not my spirit, but personality I suppose’" (pg 1000) A state of mind or "mindset" with heightened self-awareness and discipline concerning eating behaviours. A mode that needs to be switched on and maintained. Even when not actively dieting, this sense of self-monitoring often stayed in the back of dieter's minds. Additionally, lying, denial or unconscious forgetfulness can be experienced during food intake monitoring as a means to prevent the ego mind from shame and guilt. Theme 2: Multi-Me: "So if I had to make a decision to do something, have a kebab or something [ ] the good person is saying ‘Don’t do it!’ you know … and I’ve got this little devil going ‘Come on!! It’s lovely!!’ … he’s quite big and he’s up here (gestures air to right of head), and the little one’s about this big (gestures much smaller) and he sits here (gestures left shoulder) … so …" (pg 1001) Dieters often explore the concept of different personalities when attempting to lose weight. A "good" vs. "bad" version or voice on either shoulder, portrayed by the mind to debate the emotional aspects concerning food intake. Theme 3: Not Me:
"My problem is, some people are lucky they can eat as much as they want and they just don’t put anything on, I’ve got friends like that … [ ] It’s wrong! It shouldn’t happen! But I, I can look at something and put weight on, that’s just the way I am … I’ve got myself a very low metabolism rate, is it, or whatever it is and er, I struggle, I have to do exercise a lot to even get anywhere near what some people have to do. (Ian)" (pg 1002)
Popular biological factors have been known to be blamed for unsuccessful weight loss, a hopeless outlook that the internal body functions were not within one's control. Addiction was also a factor to blame as if external and outside of one's control, creating denial and disempowerment.
Theme 4: Modern Life
"I just feel like I’ve got it—I do everything! Each morning, I’ve got baby and housework to do all day, prepare tea, pick up from school, do their homework, prepare their tea, then prepare our tea, I don’t feel I’ve got time to think for myself … [ ] I mean, in between that I’ve got to do the washing, ironing, shopping, you know so—I just don’t have the time to prepare for myself, or even to think. (Claire)" (pg. 1003) Competing priorities and busy schedules make people feel they have "no time for themselves", in particular for women balancing children, household and work commitments. Theme 5: Challenges of emotional and social eating "That feeling … ‘Oh god I just need to eat something now!!!’ That feeling is horrible it really is horrible, so feel so … it’s the feeling that other people are controlling me to the extent that I have to rebel and I’m going to do that ...You know, you can’t control that bit for me, only me controls that … and it’s a rebellion Isuppose in a way. (Barbara)" (pg 1005)
People often use food as a stress coping mechanism to regulate their emotions. Comfort and emotional eating are overlooked influences of dysregulated eating behaviours, food guilt, distorted body image and unwanted weight gain. This is why when you work with a holistic dietitian, we not only address the physical factors causing imbalances in appetite and metabolism; but also mental and emotional stress that influence comfort eating (through Emotions and Metaphysical Kinesiology).
Dieting and Weight Cycling
Weight cycling, also known as “yo-yo dieting,” is the repeated loss and regain of weight. Research links weight cycling to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and overall poor health outcomes [4]. Instead of improving health, dieting can sometimes make it worse.
What Actually Works: Sustainable Habits
The alternative to dieting is focusing on long-term, sustainable lifestyle changes:
Mindful eating: Paying attention to hunger and fullness cues [5].
Balanced nutrition: Incorporating a wide range of whole foods rather than restricting certain food groups.
Joyful movement: Choosing physical activities that are enjoyable and consistent.
Self-compassion: Allowing flexibility and removing guilt around food choices.
By shifting away from restrictive dieting and toward a holistic approach, individuals can achieve better physical and mental health without the cycle of deprivation and rebound.
Conclusion
Dieting doesn’t work because it fights against our biology, damages our psychology, and sets us up for long-term weight regain. Sustainable health comes from nurturing habits that are enjoyable, flexible, and supportive of overall well-being. If your goal is better health this year, focus less on dieting and more on building a positive, balanced relationship with food.
References
Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A. M., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62(3), 220–233. https://escholarship.org/content/qt2811g3r3/qt2811g3r3.pdf
Sumithran, P., Prendergast, L. A., Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes, A., Kriketos, A., & Proietto, J. (2011). Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 365(17), 1597–1604. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1105816
Green, A. R., Larkin, M., & Sullivan, V. (2009). Oh stuff it! The experience and explanation of diet failure: an exploration using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(7), 997-1008. Link
Montani, J. P., Schutz, Y., & Dulloo, A. G. (2015). Dieting and weight cycling as risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases: Who is really at risk? Obesity Reviews, 16(Suppl. 1), 7–18. Link
Dunn, C., Haubenreiser, M., Johnson, M., Nordby, K., Aggarwal, S., Myer, S., & Thomas, C. (2018). Mindfulness approaches and weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight regain. Current obesity reports, 7(1), 37-49. Link
