{"id":69118,"date":"2022-06-16T07:08:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=69118"},"modified":"2025-09-12T15:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:29:07","slug":"why-dieting-doesnt-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-dieting-doesnt-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Dieting Doesn’t Work in the Long Term"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do any diets actually work? Why does food- or calorie-restrictive dieting not work in the long term? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Gin Stephens, the author of Fast. Feast. Repeat<\/em>., dieting for weight loss doesn’t work in the long term. However, decades of contradictory advice about how and what to eat for weight loss has created immense confusion, a tangle that she calls \u201cdiet brain\u201d: When you no longer have any clue how to eat \u201cproperly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why dieting doesn’t work in the long term, according to Stephens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform\u2019s guide to dieting<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dieting Is Not a Sustainable Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To understand why dieting doesn’t work, you need to understand how the body stores energy. Stephens explains that when we eat, our blood glucose (blood sugar) levels increase. In response, our bodies release insulin, a hormone that stores excess glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen. If any blood glucose remains after this step, insulin converts it into fat and stores it away. By storing this glucose-based energy, insulin lowers your blood glucose. When your blood sugar runs out and you need energy, the pancreas signals for your liver to release some of its stored glycogen to use as energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephens explains that diets don\u2019t lower insulin levels enough to deplete your glycogen stores and start burning fat. This is because diets work on the logic of \u201ccalories in, calories out\u201d\u2014that is, eat less than you need and you\u2019ll lose weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Fung agrees, and he argues that dieting doesn\u2019t lower insulin levels<\/a> because it doesn\u2019t address insulin resistance<\/a><\/em>. In short, chronically high insulin levels\u2014such as from constant eating\u2014cause your cells\u2019 insulin receptors to become insulin resistant: They need more stimulation (more insulin) for glucose to enter the cell. Eating less<\/em> doesn\u2019t solve this because any <\/em>eating stimulates the release of insulin. The solution, he asserts, is to regularly fast for 24 to 36 hours, since fasting gives your body extended time to break down insulin.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While dieting or eating less works temporarily, it also causes metabolic adaptation, a scenario wherein your metabolism slows down to deal with perceived starvation. It works like this: When you eat fewer calories<\/a> than you need to maintain your weight, your body thinks you\u2019re starving. Then, Stephens says, it makes three changes to handle the situation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n