If you’re following a healthy diet plan to lose weight, there are honestly 2 things that are probably happening: you’re either losing weight and feeling great or you’re not and you’re frustrated, trying to be patient for results.
If there is one thing I know after working with hundreds of women as a registered dietitian, is that most women give up very quickly when they don’t see success. I’m specifically thinking of those clients of mine that question their every bite, aren’t sure if they are eating and exercising right for their goals… when in reality they just have to keep going a little bit more and BAM they see results!
But I also can’t lie to you babes… of course there are reasons why your diet may not be working and it might be time to ditch it. I mean, there are tons of diet programs out there that I 100% don’t agree with. And it’s what those programs are recommending to you that is the reason why you’re having trouble losing weight!
If you’re not sure if you should stick or ditch your diet, I’m here to help you out!
Let’s first start off with when to stick with your diet.
If you’re not seeing results is in the first 2-3 weeks, you should definitely stick with the plan. Honestly speaking, every babe’s body is different when it comes to seeing progress depending on what weight you’re starting at, your lifestyle, genetics, and what changes you’ve been able to make.
If you’re just starting off, it’s not abnormal for your body to take time to see results. While most diet programs promise fast weight loss, I’m here to give you a fit babe reality check: real results take time! If you wanna look like J Lo… that shit doesn’t happen overnight.
On a scientific level, here’s a FUN example. When you start eating healthier foods filled with fiber such as fruits and vegetables, it’s very common to have an increase in weight at first because of it’s fiber content. Fiber “bulks up” your stool (aka poop) and sometimes even pulls water into it! It can literally back you up… if you know what I mean. That doesn’t mean you’re gaining fat… that means your body is actually using energy to break down these foods and they will help you lose weight once your body adapts.
In addition, another major reason to stick with your diet program is when you feel and even potentially see yourself making progress despite what the scale says week to week.
If you feel like you’re losing weight, the bloating in your stomach is going down and you have more energy throughout the day (no more headaches at 3pm)… those are all the signs that you’re making progress despite whatever the scale reads! In those moments, I tell my clients if you feel like your body is changing even though the scale doesn’t show it, chances are it’s working and you just have to stick with it.
At the same time… there are instances when no matter how hard you try to stick with a program that no matter what, you should definitely ditch it. One of those signs is that you’ve been following a program for months and you’re not seeing results. Chances are if you’re not seeing results, the diet may be a “fad diet” that is not specifically what your body needs to shed the weight or the diet isn’t personalized to you enough. I mean… let’s not forget nutrition is a science! Just like you go the doctor for specific prescriptions of medications, same goes with diet. Just because your friend lost weight doing keto doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for your body!
Step 1 of my proven method focuses on eating the right amount of calories for YOUR body and YOUR goals. With that in mind, if you’re following a diet program and eating healthy foods without any awareness of portion sizes or how much you’re eating… chances are you should ditch that diet or make the necessary changes to your portions to make it work.
Another reason to ditch your diet is if it feels really restrictive and it’s causing you to constantly think about food.
If you’ve cut out major food groups such as carbs and feel like you’re eating close to nothing with no results, chances are cutting out more food and calories isn’t going to make the situation better. What usually happens when my clients follow bad diet programs like this is they constantly think about food, become obsessed with it and end up overeating. Instead I recommend finding a diet program that includes all foods and consistent meals to “reset” and then reevaluate how you feel in a few weeks before resuming a weight loss diet program.
