It's Not You: Why Diets Don’t Deliver What They Promise

Imagine this—you’ve spent the last three months carefully planning your meals, tracking every bite, and dedicating an hour a day to movement. You’ve reached a number on the

scale that you thought would finally bring peace and confidence. For a while, it feels like it has.

Fast forward another few months. You’ve continued many of the same habits, but life has thrown some curveballs—tight deadlines at work, skipped workouts, late-night snacks. The number on the scale is climbing again. You feel discouraged, frustrated, and maybe even ashamed. You wonder why your efforts weren’t enough and whether you simply lack the willpower to keep going.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.

This cycle—intentional weight loss followed by weight regain and subsequent weight loss attempts—is commonly known as weight cycling, or more colloquially, yo-yo dieting. And it’s not just emotionally exhausting; research shows it can be harmful to your health. Weight cycling is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, inflammation, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance.

And here’s something many people don’t realize: the pattern of losing and regaining weight isn’t a personal failure—it’s a predictable biological response to restriction. Studies have shown that more than two-thirds of people who lose weight through dieting will regain all the lost weight, if not more. In fact, intentional weight loss is the strongest predictor of future weight gain.

So if you’re wondering, “Why do diets keep failing me?” the answer is simple:

You’re not failing. The system is.

No amount of willpower, self-discipline, or motivation can compete with the power of our biology. Our body is wired for survival. Here’s how:

1. Your body stores more energy after restriction

When you reduce your calorie intake, your body interprets this as a potential threat to survival. In response, your body increases the enzymes that make and store fat in the body, thus making it store more energy (fat) in preparation for future periods of perceived scarcity.

2. Your metabolism adapts to protect you

Dieting can slow down your metabolism, making your body more efficient at using fewer calories. This means that over time, your body may require fewer calories to function, making weight maintenance more difficult.

3. Your hunger and fullness signals shift

When food is restricted, hormones like ghrelin (which increases appetite) and neuropeptide Y (which boosts cravings, especially for carbohydrates) go up. At the same time, levels of leptin, the hormone that signals fullness, drop. These biological changes can make it harder to feel satisfied and easier to feel out of control around food.

A New Way Forward

Repeated dieting not only fails to deliver it’s promised results, but it can undermine your physical and emotional well-being over time. If you've found yourself caught in this cycle, it's worth considering whether this traditional weight-focused approach is truly serving you.

You deserve to nourish your body in a way that feels sustainable, flexible, and grounded in body respect. If you are ready to take the leap away from dieting and towards an approach that supports your authentic health, let’s connect.

Haley Golich is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, and the owner of Redefine Health. Contact her today to learn more about 1:1 virtual nutrition counseling.