Why Isnt My Diet Working?

Have you been on a new diet for a couple of weeks and found thatyou STILL can't lose weight? Have you actually GAINED a pound ortwo since you've been on it? Are you just about ready to throwthis diet out the window and try something else? Well, hold on aminute. There might be something else going on that's preventingyour diet from working.

Getting your diet to work is like planting a seed in a garden.In order for the seed to grow, you have to plant it in goodsoil. You have to water it, fertilize it, and protect it fromweeds. In other words, a seed needs a good environment if it'sgoing to have any chance at all to sprout, take root, and grow.

Similarly, in order for your diet to start showing results foryou, it also needs a good environment. Here are 10 "weeds" thatwill prevent the success of any diet and may actually be thereason that yours isn't working.

1. YOU'RE NOT REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT

For your diet to work, you obviously have to be serious aboutlosing weight. You need to have the right mental attitude aboutweight loss. In other words, you have to get your "head right."This includes:

a. Making a firm commitment to lose the weight, no matter what.b. Making sure you're doing this for the right reasons. Tryingto lose weight to please someone else never works. c. Convincingyourself that you CAN lose the weight--and that you WILL!

If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're notreally serious about losing the weight in the first place.

2. YOU'RE CHEATING ON YOUR DIET

Cheating on your diet and cheating on love both end indisappointment. Consistent weight loss requires, well,consistency. Most of us work so hard to stick to our diet duringthe week that we convince ourselves that we can splurge on theweekend. Or we think that because we skipped breakfast, we canhave dessert with lunch. Both are a bad choice.

It's easy to convince yourself that having a small snack won'thurt, or that you'll work it off later. The problem is it does,and you never do. If your diet isn't working, it could bebecause you're not following it consistently.

3. YOU'RE NOT EATING FEWER CALORIES

I heard of someone that started one of those protein shakediets. He actually gained a couple of pounds. When he was askedhow often he was drinking the shakes, he said, "I drink one withevery meal." It never occurred to him that the shakes weresupposed to replace his meals, not supplement them.

Many dieters buy low-cal foods, and then eat twice as much.Don't be one of them! The only way to lose weight is to reduceyour total caloric intake. Make sure you reduce the size of yourportions and cut out all snacks that are not part of your dietplan. If your diet isn't working--or if you've actually gained apound or two--it could be because you're not eating fewer totalcalories.

4. YOU'RE NOT EATING THE RIGHT FOODS

Eating fewer calories is only part of the battle. You need tomake sure that the foods you do eat are the right types. A goodrule of thumb is to make sure you get plenty of fruits, salads,and dark green vegetables. Stay away from refined foods andstarches and eat meat in very small amounts (sorry, I'm not anAtkins fan).

Leafy, green, water-rich vegetables will aid digestion, helpkeep you healthy, and will actually help your body get rid ofexcess fat. If your diet isn't working, it could be becauseyou're not eating the right foods.

5. YOU'RE NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER

When you go on a diet, your body goes into overdrive to get ridof the excess fats and toxins that the diet liberates. Manydiets (especially the protein ones) put a strain on your body'sorgans, especially the kidneys. Because of this, it's vital thatyou drink plenty of water.

Drinking 8 or so full glasses of water every day helps to flushout the excess fats and toxins your body is trying to eliminate.Drinking plenty of water has other benefits including reducingheadaches and improving your hair and skin. If your diet isn'tworking, it could be because you're not drinking enough water.

6. YOU'RE NOT EXERCISING ENOUGH

The best way to increase the number of calories you burn isthrough exercise. Pick walking, running, playing sports,swimming, or whatever--just make sure that when you exercise,you actually exercise. Some people go to the gym to socialize,not to exercise. Make sure you're not one of them! Get to workand make sure you stay with it long enough to burn off someexcess calories.

To lose weight, shoot for 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise,every other day. Note that these 20-30 minutes do not includestretching, warm ups, cool downs, or checking yourself out infront of the mirror. Sure, these are an important part of yourexercise routine but you're not going to lose any weight bystretching. At least 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, everyother day.

If you've reduced the amount of calories you're eating and yourdiet isn't working, it could be because you're not exercisingenough.

7. YOU'RE EXERCISING TOO HARD

This may be counterintuitive but it's true. If you exercise toohard, your body goes into an ANAEROBIC state (without oxygen).This is when you get so out of breath that you can't seem totake in enough air. When the body is in this state, it burnsmostly carbohydrates and very little fat. This is why runners"carb up" before a big race--and also why runners have just asmuch body fat as the rest of us.

Slow your exercise down to no more than 85% of your maximumheart rate (subtract your age from 220 to get your max heartrate). At this pace, your body is in an AEROBIC state (withoxygen) and most of the calories that are burned are from fat,not carbs. An added benefit is that aerobic exercise tends to below impact making it easy on your joints.

If you already get plenty of exercise and your diet still isn'tworking, it could be because you're exercising too hard.

8. YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH REST

We all live stressful lives. Dieting typically changes youreating and exercise habits-- two more stressor's your body hasto deal with. The only chance your body has to relieve tension,rejuvenate and rebuild itself is during sleep so it's importantto get enough when dieting.

Not getting enough sleep can actually slow your metabolismmaking weight loss difficult. It can also make you feel"groggy," which means you probably won't make the best foodchoices throughout the day. If your diet isn't working, it couldbe because you're not getting enough rest.

9. YOU'RE FIGHTING TOO MANY BATTLES AT ONCE

Weight loss requires both consistent effort and focus. You won'thave either if you're trying to diet and deal with other "majorevents" in your life at the same time. Major events includethings like changing jobs, moving to new house or city, tryingto stop smoking, a death, accident, or sickness in the family,and so on. All of these things create a disruption in our livesand cause us to put everything--including our diets--on hold. Tomake matters worse, how do most of us deal with the stresscaused by these major events? By snacking! Your diet doesn'thave a chance.

So don't even try. Give yourself permission to put your diet onhold until you can give it the consistent energy and focus itneeds. Choose your battles carefully and fight only one at atime. If your diet isn't working, it may be because you'retrying to fight too many at once.

10. YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOAL IS NOT REALISTIC

Like all good things, healthy weight loss takes time. Make sureyou're not setting yourself up for disappointment by setting aweight loss goal that is totally unrealistic. This includes notonly the amount of weight you want to lose, but also the amountof time you think it will take. If you're doing all the rightthings and your diet isn't working, it may be because yourweight loss goal-or the time required to reach it-isn'trealistic.

Once you get all of these issues resolved, you've cleared theway to get your diet back on track. As your diet takes root andbegins to work, you should start to see the weight come offeasily and naturally.