Why Your Diet Didn't Work - (...and Why No Diet Ever Does)

"This isn't working!" "It's my metabolism!" "My genetics are no good!" "I'm too old." "I'm too busy."

"I can't do this - it's too hard!"

STOP!

Here's the deal - diets suck, and they fail.

I've seen them all.

One diet a client showed me that she had tried a while back made her faint. She was eating 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese, three sunflower seeds and one celery stick three times a day. Yes really.

I've heard of magical fiber crackers you eat 8 times a day and diets where you only eat uncooked red meat.

I've seen a ton of people get fooled into thinking eating a high-in-saturated-fat diet is the magic cure all they need. It's not.

I've seen so many come and go (South Beach, Paleo, Atkins, IIFYM, Carnivore, Keto, Master Cleanse, and on and on and on...) Let's make this SUPER clear - no diet works for the long haul.

What works is a nutrition plan that takes into account your life, your situation and your goals.

YES - there are basics that everyone needs - you need to hydrate well, you need to eat enough protein and carbs and fats and fiber - and when you start you need a set of rules and you need to learn the basics of nutrition.

...and you need a plan.

...AND you need to stick to that plan.

...AND if you've tried everything and it hasn't worked

STOP!

Stop and get introspective for a second.

Ask yourself if you've really done your best, if you've really followed the plan - or if you've slowly but surely strayed from the plan.

Be bluntly honest with yourself.

It's ok to admit failure to comply. What's not ok is continually fooling yourself - because you're only fooling you.

Definitely not me - I've seen it all a thousand times.

AGAIN - Lets keep this simple.

The Dan Plan works if you work it. That's a BIG if.

If you skip meals, don't hydrate, rearrange portions, give yourself unscheduled treats on weekends, eat out regularly, drink a lot of booze and generally don't move as much as you should, you're not sticking to the Plan - you're doing something completely different. It's something, but it's not a plan. Maybe it's a "diet" - I dunno, I don't do diets. I do plans. Plans work, diets fail.

You owe it to yourself to skip the fads, the diets - and get a plan - and then stick to it! Because you're worth it - you're worth the effort and the time and the investment.

You really, really are.