For those of you who have been following along for a while, you’ve likely heard me say that we don’t diet here. Instead I teach my clients how to lose weight without restrictions, endless calorie counting, or avoiding favorite foods.

My clients and I lose weight by following a Habit Based approach. In this episode of the weight loss habits podcast I share 3 Reasons diets are not helping you lose weight, and simple steps to get started with Habit Based Weight Loss.

If you’d like to read instead of listen, read on!

3 Reasons Diets are Problematic

Diets are unsustainable. If you have to avoid food groups to lose weight, it probably isn’t going to last. Let’s take carbs for example. Carbohydrates are in many of our favorite treats as well as family traditions. If your diet doesn’t let you eat Ice Cream, Birthday Cake, Chips and Salsa, and make you uncomfortable going to parties or restaurants that have those foods available, your diet won’t last.

Your diet has an end date. Whether it is a dress you want to fit in for a wedding, graduation, or a bikini you want to wear to the beach, you’ve probably tried to slim down for an event. Then as soon as the event is over, you reward yourself with food for reaching your goal. Afterwards you go right back to your old habits and gain the weight back, plus a few extra pounds.

Your body sees diets as a famine. I’ve seen some IG influencers lately trying to say that “starvation mode” where your body better utilizes calories and slows down your metabolism when it doesn’t get enough calories is a myth. Well it is not. This is a survival method that has kept human beings alive for generations! If food wasn’t available, the human body adapted to use less of the precious calories it was given. Then after the famine ended, and food was available again, the body stored as many calories as it could as fat in case of another famine. This is why yo-yo dieting exists! We starve ourselves, our body compensates. We think it is our fault, starve ourselves again, and get frustrated because the scale keeps creeping up anyway!

Diets don’t work. They are designed to fail to keep you going back to them, spending your time, effort and money on a process that won’t give you the results you want.

What to do instead of a diet?

Habit based weight loss!

Habit based weight loss ensures that you will keep your weight off once it is lost, because the behaviors that helped you lose weight are an automatic part of your daily routine.

You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to use will power, or force yourself to exercise, drink enough water, eat veggies with your meals, because you have made it a habit!

Tips to get started

Start small! By starting small, with one habit you can ensure that it becomes automatic. I recommend choosing a single habit to work on, rather than overwhelm yourself by taking on too many new changes all at once.

Commit to this new habit for at least 21 days. There has been a lot of research done on habit formation suggesting that a habit can be formed in 21 days, or take up to 66. I find that each habit I have created in my own life have fallen somewhere within that range. By making the commitment to change your habit for 21 days, you have three full weeks to start your new habit.

During that time, it is alright if you miss one day, but do your best to get back on track as soon as possible. Jump right back in, or if it has been more than two days, start your 21 days over and recommit to making the change.

While establishing a new habit it is normal to feel resistance to change. When you have done something the same way for years, your mind will want to hold onto the past habit, even if it no longer serves you. You will want to give up. Your brain will try to argue that it isn’t that important to you to make a change. This is when you need to stay committed! Remind yourself why you want to change your habit.

Once you have reached the end of 21 days, it is a good time to reassess. Has your new habit become automatic yet? If yes, great! Choose the next habit you want to work on and make a new commitment. If your habit is not automatic, that’s fine too! Recommit yourself to making the habit automatic, and keep going.

If you want more guidance on how to get started with Habit Based Weight Loss, download my free guide here!