Top 5 Reasons Your Diet is Failing and How to Fix It

You've been on a diet but you see no change in your appearance or the scale. Or even worse, you continue to gain weight.

Does this sound like you?

If so, you are not alone, many people have this problem, but it doesn't have to be this way.

What You are Probably Doing Wrong

There can be many reasons that you aren't losing weight on your diet, but here are the main areas where most people go wrong.

1. You Are Eating More than you think you are.

I see a lot of people who are concerned about their weight and they state they are dieting. However, I also see them constantly eating throughout the day. And I'm not talking about several small healthy meals either. I'm talking about eating cookies, potato chips, and cake and things of that nature. These all add up.

So tip number 1 is you need to write down everything you eat or drink all day, everyday.

This is the only way you'll know exactly how much (or how little) you are eating.

Make Sure You Are Eating Enough

You need to make sure that you are eating enough food each day. Otherwise your body will go into starvation mode and will try to hang on to all of the fat you've got. By writing down what you eat and drink each day, you'll make sure you aren't eating too much or too little.

2. You're Eating the Wrong Foods

What you really want to lose is fat, not weight. It is all about fat loss. In order to lose fat, you are going to need to eat some fat, along with protein, and carbohydrates. What you want is a balanced diet.

Furthermore, research has shown that people who eat a high protein and carbohydrate breakfast are able to lose and maintain a healthy weight over the long-term. I found it interesting because this is exactly the type of breakfast I have ingested for the past 18 years and my weight is very good.

Here is what I have for breakfast each day (and I am of a very healthy weight):

8 oz of skim milk with 1 scoop of Optimum Whey protein powder, blended up with a banana and/or some other fruit (strawberries, blueberries, ect). I also add in a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds.

In the protein shake, the flaxseeds are mostly tasteless, but have added health benefits by adding fiber and essential fatty acids.

Fiber is the key to happiness.

It is true. Not only is eating lots of fiber good for you and will help keep you regular, but it also aids in fat loss and lowers cholesterol.

By starting your day off with a breakfast like this you won't get hungry and need to eat that bag of chips or cookies mid morning.

You can use any kind of protein powder (I just happen to like Optimum Whey Vanilla Ice Cream flavor). In fact, you don't even need to use protein powder if you don't want to. You can substitute any kind of lean protein (low fat yogurt or cottage cheese, for example). If you eat yogurt, it is best to buy it plain (not flavored) and mix the fruit in yourself. That way you won't end up with added sugars.

Sometimes dairy products get a bad rap, but some studies have shown that low fat dairy products may help achieve weight loss. Milk does contain a lot of sugar, which does not faciliate fat loss.

Supplements I'd suggest with this type of breakfast are 2 fish oil capsules and a multivitamin.

You can have any kind of sensible lunch and dinner, along with two healthy snacks. Just make sure you don't go over your total calories for the day.

To calculate total calories needed see this article: How Many Calories Do I Need?.

I'd try to avoid prepackaged processed foods as much as possible. This is true even for foods labled low calorie or diet as these often contain very high amounts of sodium.

3. Consistency

It is what you do of a regular basis that affects the shape you are in the most. If you only eat healthy sporadically, you won't lose weight or get into better shape. You can have one or two cheat meals per week, but I'd keep it at that.

4. Drinking Alcohol

People who drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis tend to gain more weight than those who don't.

It's not so much from the calories in the alcohol itself, but alcohol slows down calorie burning (because the liver is busy processing the alcohol), and also often leads to overeating after a person drinks.

5. Failure to Exercise

You really need to exercise if you want to get into shape.

Unfortunately, changing your diet alone probably won't work for long-term fat loss. Changing your diet for the better will help, but to become healthy and in good physical shape you will have to exercise.

Even if you feel you don't have time (or the energy) to exercise you still need to do it.

Be sure to check with a doctor to rule out any health problems before starting an exercise program.

If you haven't been exercising you can start slowly. Set aside about a half hour each day to exercise.

Even walking will help you lose weight. If you aren't used to walking you can start by taking short walks and then progress to longer ones.

If you are really serious about wanting to lose fat and get into shape (and be healthy), I'd also suggest doing some resistance training with weights. All you will need to get started is a couple of inexpensive dumbells.

Nothing will get you into good shape better or faster than working out with weights.

Finally, make sure you get enough rest. Numerous studies have shown a relationship between lack of sleep and obesity.