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Why You Keep Gaining Weight After Every Diet (And How to Fix It)


I’ve done it all. Every diet, every trick, every so-called "lifestyle change" dressed up as a diet in disguise. And you know what? None of them ever worked long-term.


Because diets don’t work. Not for the long haul. Not for real, sustainable change.


Yet, the diet industry would have you believe that failure is your fault. That if you just had more willpower, more discipline, more dedication, then you’d finally succeed. I call bullshit.


Why Do Diets Fail?


It’s not because you’re weak. It’s because diets are designed to fail. Here’s why:


1. Diets Are Too Restrictive


When you’re told you can’t have something, what happens? You want it more. That’s human nature. The more you restrict, the more you crave. It’s like holding your breath - eventually, your body forces you to gasp for air. The same thing happens when you deprive yourself of food. Eventually, willpower runs out, and you find yourself knee-deep in the very foods you tried so hard to avoid. Then comes the guilt, the shame, and the promise to start over, reinforcing the cycle of restriction and bingeing.


Worse still, diets remove your ability to make smart food choices. Instead of developing skills to nourish your body in a way that feels good, you become dependent on external rules. When the diet inevitably fails, you’re left feeling lost, unsure of how to eat without a set of rigid guidelines.


2. They Ignore Human Psychology


Food is more than just fuel; it’s social, emotional, and deeply ingrained in our habits and culture. We don’t just eat because we’re hungry. We eat because we’re stressed, bored, celebrating, grieving, or simply because food is damn delicious. Diets that treat food as just numbers on a spreadsheet fail to acknowledge that we are emotional beings. Ignoring the psychology behind eating and reducing it to "calories in vs. calories out" is a gross oversimplification of how human behavior actually works.


This disconnect between diet rules and real human behavior promotes psychological distress. It creates an internal battle where you constantly judge your eating choices, second-guess yourself, and feel like a failure when you don’t meet impossible standards.


3. They Create an "All or Nothing" Mindset


Diets force you into a perfectionist mentality. You’re either "on" or "off," "good" or "bad." There is no in-between. This extreme way of thinking backfires when you inevitably eat something outside the plan. Instead of brushing it off and moving on, you spiral into "I’ve ruined everything" mode, leading to a full-blown binge and the promise to start fresh on Monday. Sound familiar? This isn’t about lack of control. It’s about a system that sets you up to feel like a failure the moment you step out of line.


Not only does this mindset create stress, but it also promotes unhealthy eating behaviors. It normalizes binge-restrict cycles, emotional eating, and a disordered approach to food that leaves you stuck in a loop of guilt and frustration.


4. They Teach You to Distrust Your Own Body


Instead of tuning into your hunger and fullness cues, diets teach you to rely on external rules - counting calories, macros, fasting windows, and meal timing. You’re told what, when, and how much to eat, with zero consideration for how you actually feel. Over time, you lose the ability to trust your own body’s signals. You second-guess your hunger, ignore cravings, and end up disconnected from your natural ability to regulate food intake. This loss of trust leads to frustration and, ultimately, a return to old eating habits that feel comfortable, even if they aren’t serving you.


6. They Are Physically Damaging


Many diets, particularly extreme ones, can leave you nutrient deficient. When you cut out entire food groups or drastically reduce your calorie intake, you risk missing out on essential vitamins and minerals. Over time, this can lead to low energy, hair loss, weakened immunity, poor digestion, and even long-term damage to your metabolic health.


On top of that, chronic dieting can alter your body's natural hunger and fullness cues, making it harder to maintain a healthy balance when you do try to eat normally.


6. They Sell You the Illusion of Control


Diets promise structure, rules, and a sense of order—something many of us crave when we feel lost in our eating habits. But that control is an illusion. You might feel in control at the start, meticulously following every guideline, tracking every bite. But what happens when life inevitably gets in the way? A night out with friends? A stressful week at work? A holiday? Suddenly, the control you thought you had disappears, and you feel like you've failed. The truth is, diets don’t put you in control—they control you. Real control comes from developing a flexible, balanced approach to food, one that adapts to real life rather than trying to fight against it.


7. They Make You Feel Like a Failure


The worst thing about diets isn’t just the physical or psychological toll - it’s the way they make you feel about yourself. Diets set unrealistic expectations, and when you inevitably fail (because they are unsustainable), they leave you drowning in guilt, self-doubt, and low self-esteem.


They don’t just drive you away from food freedom; they drive you away from a healthy relationship with yourself. You start believing you lack willpower, that you aren’t disciplined enough, that you’re broken. But you’re not the problem. The system is.


The After-After You Never See


We’ve all seen those before-and-after photos plastered across social media, promising life-changing results in just a few weeks. But what they don’t show is the after-after - what happens when the diet stops, when the restriction becomes too much, and when real life gets in the way.


At first, everything feels great. You’re lighter, leaner, and feeling on top of the world. But then, the weight creeps back. The energy dips. The cravings become unbearable. You find yourself trapped in the same cycle, restarting the next “miracle plan” on Monday.


The truth? Fad diets don’t transform you - they trap you. The real transformation happens when you stop chasing quick fixes and start focusing on sustainable habits.


So, What’s the Alternative?


Instead of following another set of rules, let’s take a different approach - one that actually works for the long haul. Sustainable eating isn’t about deprivation; it’s about creating habits that support your health and well-being without making you feel miserable. It means eating in a way that satisfies you both physically and emotionally.


This starts with listening to your body, not fighting against it. It means learning to recognize hunger and fullness cues rather than ignoring them because a diet says it's not time to eat yet. It means choosing foods based on what makes you feel good and nourished, not what an arbitrary meal plan dictates. And most importantly, it means giving yourself permission to enjoy all foods without guilt or shame.


When you shift your mindset from dieting to sustainable habits, everything changes. You stop seeing food as a moral decision. You start trusting yourself around all foods, even the ones you once considered "bad." You no longer fear eating out, holidays, or unexpected changes in routine. Food becomes just food - something that fuels your body, brings joy, and fits into your life without controlling it.


Diets aren’t the solution. Changing your approach to food and your mindset is. And that’s exactly what we’ll dive into next: How to break free from diet rules and build a healthy relationship with food.



 

About Karen

gym owner Karen Coghlan enjoying her walk in Greystones

Hi, I’m Karen, owner of Freedom Fitness and a firm believer that diets set you up to fail. I’ve seen too many people trapped in the cycle of restriction, guilt, and frustration, thinking they just need more willpower. But the truth? Food freedom comes from breaking the rules, not following them.

When I’m not coaching in the gym, I’m helping people ditch fad diets for good and build a way of eating that actually works in real life. No gimmicks, no extremes - just balance, consistency, and habits that stick.

Got questions or want to chat about your goals? Drop a comment below, or get in touch - I'd love to hear from you.

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