There's a controversial statistic that's been floating around the health and fitness community for around a decade now-- you've likely heard of it. The statistic is that 95% of diets fail (Freedhoff, 2014). Right off the bat, there's a lot to unpack with that statement. Does it mean that 95% of the diet plans on the market are doomed to fail their adherents? Does it mean 95% of dieters will fail, and that basically dieting is a hopeless endeavor?
For this particular study, the daunting statistic came from self-reported data from a large number of dieters who admitted that either: 1) they failed to lose any weight on a recent diet, or 2) they did lose some weight but they regained all of the lost pounds within a year, or 3) they wound up heavier within a year than they were when they started the diet. Researchers put forth a number of theories as to why the failure rate was so high, and most of their theories line up with what professionals in the health and fitness community observe from clients and patients on a regular basis.
The most prominent theories revolve around one word: adherence. Think of adherence to the diet or nutrition plan as the most obvious answer to the "what", but it requires more understanding to dissect the "why" of the matter. So, why is adherence such a struggle? One potential reason why is deprivation. Many of the most popular diets of the past half century involve the removal of entire food groups, labeling all foods as being either bad or good with no room for nuance. Whether real or imagined, depriving our bodies of entire food groups, or foods with which we've been familiar, can make our brains and our bodies respond negatively, whether that's through increased stress levels or our bodies choosing to slow down our metabolism in an effort to conserve energy. Sometimes, those food-group restrictive diets leave the adherent with too few options that they genuinely enjoy, making it even more painful to stick to a diet over the long run. Banning sweets altogether from a diet has been shown to lead to a dieter eating closer to 133% more of that sweet snack, compared to how much they would have eaten if sweets weren't forbidden for them in the first place (Soetens, 2008).
What can we learn from this? One, we can see the importance of starting with a sustainable nutrition plan or diet plan? Being too restrictive on things you enjoy ultimately has a negative effect on reaching your goals. Two, the importance of habit forming to aid with adherence is bigger than you might expect. Having a standardized grocery list, having a handful of 5 or 6 dishes that you regularly eat and still allow you to lose body fat, and saving time via weekly meal-prepping can all help to make the process easier to stick to in the long run. Let the next time you try to lose bodyfat be the most successful and long-lasting endeavor you've ever had!
This is the challenge I experienced with maintaining a 100 percent plant based diet. As an adaptation, I can maintain a mostly plant based diet by introducing small amounts of dairy and fish, with an occasional animal protein. This diet which is more a lifestyle than a ‘diet’ keeps me satiated to a point where I can intermittently fast rather easily.