Why do conventional diets fail?

Whether or not a diet plan can be called "conventional" is largely in the eyes of the beholder. There are several common reasons why diet strategies fail, including:

• They're boring. If a diet severely limits the variety of foods you can eat, over time your palate can become bored. As a result, you'll start craving forbidden foods, which could lead you to overeat and gain weight.
• They're too restrictive. Some diet plans simply include too little food. While that may lead to rapid weight loss, most people will not be able to tolerate a growling stomach. Many will respond by gorging themselves and gaining back any weight they may have lost.
• They reset your metabolism. Another problem with very-low-calorie diets is that they can lower your metabolism, or the rate at which your body burns calories. That means your body needs fewer calories to operate, which makes it easier to gain weight. (Very-low-calorie diets should only be attempted with a doctor's guidance.)

The lifestyle program was a success and not the conventional one because:

• Most diets are too complex to follow for very long, the food doesn’t taste good, and you feel hungry and deprived.
• Comprehensive changes are easier to make than moderate ones, because you feel healthier and so much more energetic, so quickly - instant gratification.
• Joy is a more powerful motivator than fear - change to feel better, not just to live longer.

Find out more about this book: Eat More, Weigh Less: Dr. Dean Ornish's Life Choice Program for Losing Weig...

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