Why am I still overweight after trying different diets?

New studies show that chronically dieting overweight individuals, especially those who gain and lose weight, do eat less than skinny people but continue to gain weight. For instance, the study by Dr. Rudolph L. Leibel published in the journal Metabolism entitled Diminished Energy Requirements in Reduced-Obese Patients compared the basal metabolic rate (calories burned per day at rest) in chronic dieters who had lost significant weight in the past to those of the same weight who had not chronically dieted nor lost significant weight in the past. The authors found that those who had dieted and lost weight in the past had, on average, a 25% lower metabolism than the control patients who had not lost significant weight. A recent study also mirrored these findings and was published in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation. This study found that individuals with insulin resistance, which includes a large majority of overweight individuals, required 23 percent less calorie intake per day for the same body weight (18 percent reduction per fat free mass) to maintain their weight.

Diets don't work for long-term weight loss. If you lose weight with a diet and then go back to your previous eating habits you will gain weight. Instead, eat more fruits and vegetables and less sugary beverages, sweets, and alcohol. Eat 2/3 the amount you used to eat. And of course to seal the deal, increase physical activity. Do something. Just move your body.

Even worse than the psychological land mines that comes with dieting are the physical problems. Dieting on a regular basis actually resets your body's metabolism to a lower level. One study showed that dieters, after just three days of decreasing their calorie intake, also decreased their basal metabolism (that's your metabolism when you're not doing anything) by 20 percent.