The beginning of a new year motivates many of us to adopt healthier habits. If losing weight is one of your goals, you may be surprised to find out that following a structured diet is not the best way to get it done and may even set you up for failure. That’s because most diets don’t work and many people who lose weight on a diet gain it back.

Why is dieting not a good way to lose weight?

Most structured diet plans are designed to restrict the types of foods you eat or how much you consume. This type of food restriction is hard to sustain and can thwart your weight loss efforts. You may experience:

• A sluggish metabolism. When you don’t eat enough, your metabolism slows down and your body burns calories less efficiently. Even if you’re eating less, you may not lose weight or may regain lost weight (or more!).
• An inability to follow. If you cut out certain types of food or limit calorie intake too much, it’s hard to maintain. Most people find they can’t stay on restrictive diets too long and then gain weight back over time.
• A lack of nutrients. Cutting out certain foods or restricting how much you eat may result in nutrient deficiencies. This can leave you feeling tired or unwell. It can also make you hungrier, prompting you to eat too much.
• A negative relationship with food. When you diet, it can cause you to associate strong emotions with eating, such as stress or guilt. This can lead to unhealthy habits, such as binge eating, overeating or other types of disordered eating.

If dieting isn’t the answer to losing weight, what can you do?

Instead of following the latest diet craze, make a few tweaks to your eating and exercise habits. Doing so is more likely to result in long-term success when it comes to losing weight and being healthier. Here are a few tips that can help you lose weight slowly and maintain your weight loss over the long term:

• Slowly tweak habits. You’re more likely to make sustainable changes to your eating habits if you do so slowly. Start by committing to one small change and add others over time. For example, drink seltzer at dinner instead of soda. As one healthy habit feels natural, add another.
• Eat fewer processed foods. If your diet is made up primarily of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, you’re more likely to get the nutrients you need and will fill up on protein and fiber. This makes it less likely you’ll overeat.
• Don’t give up foods you enjoy. Don’t restrict whole food groups in an effort to lose weight. Instead, make healthier swaps or reduce portions while still enjoying foods you love. Can’t live without carbs? Combine smaller amounts of healthier carbs like wild rice, peas, potatoes or corn with protein and veggies. Or have one slice of bread instead of two. If you’re a protein-lover, stick to leaner cuts of meat such as skinless poultry and fish and make healthier high protein recipes.

Your weight is impacted not only by what you eat but how much activity you do. The more you move, the more calories you burn. Physical activity also offers many health benefits. So if losing weight and getting healthier is your goal, plan to slowly become more physically active in addition to making small tweaks to your eating habits over time.

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