Most dieters end up gaining weight

I suspect that it's not just women though Amanda.
 
Only 4 in 10? I would have thought it was much much higher than that. I dont beleive 60% of the people that go on a diet keep it off. Dieting is the devils own work, once you start one you will always be on one. As we can all testify no doubt lol
 
MMM, well does maintenance count as a diet Lynn?
 
well, tbh I thought it was worse; if 6 in every 10 women keep the weight off long-term it's a very positive thing.

About what Lynn said I understand what she means. I'm very short, so I have to exercise everyday (or almost) and be carefull with eating to keep the weight stable... So, sometimes it may feel like a non-ending diet, but after some months/years it becomes second nature and we start doing it naturally.
In my mind I'm still between diet and maintenance mentalities (althought the weight hasn't been changing more than 4lbs over or under my usual).
 
I think its mind set as well though, if you see it as a diet then it will feel like one, i see it as a whole lifestyle change and feel so much better for it! Fingers crossed i keep it up lol x
 
The most commonly agreed-on figures I have found over the years - and again, recently - are that between 95-98% of all dieters regain the weight within one year, and usually gain around a stone, more.

Slimming clubs, magazines, diet plan companies, etc never publish success/failure rate figures. They want people to keep coming back. Not suggesting that this is malicious but these enterprises are profit-making businesses.

From my own experience and that of friends and family I agree with the percentages above. I can also say that finding the right maintenance plan is essential; this is what makes the difference. I chose Atkins and feel blessed to have found it!
 
So I'm in the 3 - 5% bracket then, I must be very lucky indeed
 
The proper meaning of the word "diet" is the specific food eaten by a particular creature, ie "The Panda lives on a diet of shoots and leaves" so technically, everyone is always on a diet. But it's all in your perception I think. If you consider it a task with a specific short term end goal then you are "on a diet" and then you'll probably put it back on. If you're changing your eating habits permanently and for good then you are "changing your diet" and that, in my opinion is the way to go.

Personally, I'm not on any specific diet(of the type referred to by the article) at the moment: I've tried Slimming World, Atkins and Slim Fast over the years but none of them have really lasted. What I've done at the moment is I've started eating more sensible food so I'm eating the same things but adjusting them to be more healthy by having more vegetables and less meat or having healthy snacks most of the time instead of chocolate and crisps and so on. I'm still eating fatty food and chocolate and the like, I'm just varying things by having them far less often than I used to. This is working for me better than another crash diet, in the course of this year I've lost over a stone and a half and it's generally staying off too.
 
Well I've went on LT, lost around 18kg, it's the second year now and I've been keeping at the same weight despite me eating a normal non calorie restricted diet.
I think what changed was the types of food I eat and how much of it I eat. Like less junk food for eg. I think with just an occasional treat and a regular exercise we can all do it.
People fall off the bandwagon because their eating habits go back to normal. If you know that your eating habits and lifestyle is the problem, if Ur unwilling to change, no amount of dieting will ever take it off permanently.
 
I'm really amazed with your loss. Gives me more motivation and determination. ;) I hope to meet my goal soon. :eek:
 
I read this and from a personal perspective I have to say I agree. Whenever I diet in the long run I end up putting on weight... it could be that as a teenager I'm obviously still growing but I think the dieting has had something to do with it.
It's tempting for me when I diet to go overboard a bit, so that when I relapse I can go a bit mad with what I eat!! So this time I'm trying a sort of rule of 'everything in moderation'...
 
I started SW 13 months ago and lost 1 stone in a few weeks. Then it was christmas and I put 1 stone 7lb back on in a matter of days. I think because in my head I had starved myself (even though I hadn't) I just starting gorging myself. I'm now 2 stone heavier than when I started that diet 13 months ago, so I'm back on it but with an even greater loss to achieve. Maybe it's because I thought if I managed to lose a stone in a few weeks that it wouldn't be difficult if I tried it again? Who knows.
 
I can well believe this. I've lost weight twice in my life and stayed at a healthy weight for a while both times, but as soon as I had a bit of stress in my life it all went back on again.
 
reading this kinda makes me feel determined to push myself - best of luck to you all !!
 
I agree Worried-Chick. Everyone's speaking a lot of common sense here. I have lost and regained varying amounts of weight on many different 'diets' but am not giving up!! I love the quote on Jim's signature as I'm a teacher and am currently reading Denis Avey's 'The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz'. Just thought I'd randomly share that! x
 
Saying 'diet' is just a shortened form of 'slimming diet', or 'weight loss diet', or in the USA, 'reducing diet', etc. Over the years it has come to be immediately understood in the slimming sense unless specifically applied to animals or one's diet - food consumed - in general.

Finding the right diet for US, as individuals, is, I believe, what makes the difference. Atkins for example ticks all the boxes except fast weight loss. And for those of us sensitive to carbs (I sure am!) Atkins also offers the perfect maintenance plan. It's a continuum from Induction (Phase One) to Maintenance (Phase Four), all carefully planned and laid-out for us in the books and on the Atkins Community site.

Slimmers are not known for their patience. We hate being fat so we want the fastest results humanly possible. This generally means using a VLCD. Once we get used to the sheer speed of VLCD losses it can be difficult to impossible to 'settle' for the much slower losses of not only Atkins but also WW, SW, Rosemary Conley, etc.

What makes Atkins special is that it offers a healthy, uncomplicated way of eating and living that allows us to eat real food in moderate portions. All the way to maintenance and indeed for the rest of our lives. That doesn't mean that it is always easy to stick to! We are carb addicts and the old cravings will, on occasion, hit very hard. But even if we fall we can simply get up again, dust ourselves off, and get back on the Atkins wagon.

This is why Jim and others have lost so much weight and kept it off. Hard work, determination, and Atkins principles!
 
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Saying 'diet' is just a shortened form of 'slimming diet', or 'weight loss diet', or in the USA, 'reducing diet', etc. Over the years it has come to be immediately understood in the slimming sense unless specifically applied to animals or one's diet - food consumed - in general.

Finding the right diet for US, as individuals, is, I believe, what makes the difference. Atkins for example ticks all the boxes except fast weight loss. And for those of us sensitive to carbs (I sure am!) Atkins also offers the perfect maintenance plan. It's a continuum from Induction (Phase One) to Maintenance (Phase Four), all carefully planned and laid-out for us in the books and on the Atkins Community site.

Slimmers are not known for their patience. We hate being fat so we want the fastest results humanly possible. This generally means using a VLCD. Once we get used to the sheer speed of VLCD losses it can be difficult to impossible to 'settle' for the much slower losses of not only Atkins but also WW, SW, Rosemary Conley, etc.

What makes Atkins special is that it offers a healthy, uncomplicated way of eating and living that allows us to eat real food in moderate portions. All the way to maintenance and indeed for the rest of our lives. That doesn't mean that it is always easy to stick to! We are carb addicts and the old cravings will, on occasion, hit very hard. But even if we fall we can simply get up again, dust ourselves off, and get back on the Atkins wagon.

This is why Jim and others have lost so much weight and kept it off. Hard work, determination, and Atkins principles!

True words. It's easy to get in to a negative cycle and the article ultimately could be read as a bit depressing - that there is no point losing weight as you'll only gain it again. I certainly don't subscribe to that theory and agree with you girlygirl - you have to find what works for you. For me it's SW. It's the only plan I've ever tried that I can actually see myself following for the rest of my life and that doesn't leave me feeling deprived or hungry. The best of luck to everyone on their weight loss journeys xxx
 
I thought the figures would be higher tbh, but some people who say have a baby and then go on a diet to lose the baby weight they naturally gained, are they counted as dieters too and taken into consideration? They probably would be the ones who didnt regain.

Cos I see that as different to someone who has had a lifelong weight problem. This type I see as someone who has to be concious of being on a diet for the rest of their lives, ie me!
 
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