Why Most Diets Fail & How to Achieve Lasting Weight Loss

Clinical Nutritionist Bec Miller reveals how to achieve lasting weight loss by focusing on quality calories, hormone balance, and sustainable lifestyle changes, not just restrictive dieting.

Introduction:

The Frustration of Dieting
Are you tired of the relentless cycle of dieting and weight loss, followed by the disheartening weight regain? Fad diets and restricting your calories too low could absolutely be to blame.
I understand this frustration intimately. In my late teens and early twenties, I was a textbook example of a restrictive, yo-yo dieter. I’d diligently restrict my calories throughout the week, only to unravel on the weekends and overeat. It was an exhausting, emotionally draining cycle, devoid of any real food freedom or balance. This pattern negatively impacted my gut health and energy levels, and I know a lot of women can relate to my story!

The Turning Point:

Education and Empowerment
My personal experience fueled my passion to complete my Bachelor of Science in Nutrition degree about 10 years ago. Shortly after, I made clever, informed tweaks to my diet and found a sustainable approach to eating that kept me energized, full, and free of the bloat and yo-yo dieting. I finally felt like I could enjoy life without the anxiety that accompanied my previous eating patterns.
Why Restrictive Dieting Doesn’t Work
Restrictive dieting isn’t the answer—it actually exacerbates the problem. I completely transformed my eating habits and now teach women worldwide how to do the same. The science behind this transformative shift highlights the flaws of most conventional diets. Severe calorie restriction (under 1200 calories for most women) for long periods of time triggers metabolic adaptation—your body lowers its resting metabolic rate to conserve energy, making weight loss significantly harder and weight regain considerably easier.

The Role of Hormones in Dieting Struggles
This metabolic slowdown is further exacerbated by hormonal imbalances. Restricting calories sharply increases cortisol (the stress hormone), leading to intense cravings, while simultaneously decreasing leptin (the satiety hormone), leaving you feeling constantly hungry.

Why Most Diets Fail:

Short-Term Focus, Long-Term Consequences
This explains why so many diets fail. They prioritize short-term weight loss through restriction, ignoring the crucial long-term aspects of sustainable weight management. The all-or-nothing, strict adherence during the week followed by weekend binges is a particularly common culprit. The restrictive nature of most diets fosters feelings of hunger, deprivation, and resentment, setting the stage for inevitable relapses of binge eating and that ‘all or nothing’ approach to eating, keeping women trapped in a cycle of weight loss and weight gain.

The Solution:

Focus on Quality, Not Just Quantity
So, what’s the solution? It’s simple: don’t drop your calories too low or for too long. Focus on the quality of your calories, not just the number of them!

The Power of Calorie Cycling
A scientifically proven approach that I use in my programs is calorie cycling: strategically alternating periods of moderate calorie restriction with “refeed” days at your weight maintenance calorie level (otherwise called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE).
This flexible strategy prevents the metabolic slowdown and hormonal imbalances associated with losing weight. I suggest that women drop their calories to be around 75% of their TDEE (but not lower) for 5 days of the week, and at their maintenance amount for 2.

Quality Matters:

Protein, Healthy Fats, and Fiber
It’s also extremely important to focus on the quality of those calories, not just the number! If you ensure that each meal contains over 20g of protein, a healthy source of fats such as olive oil, avocado, or nuts, and plenty of fiber from vegetables, nuts, seeds, or legumes, you’ll set yourself up for far less hunger. This helps to minimize feelings of restriction, reducing the risk of relapsing into weekend overeating.
Protein, healthy fats, and fiber are absolutely three key macronutrients to focus on if you’re serious about losing (and maintaining) weight without the hunger. Not only do they keep you full, but they’ll also help to keep your blood sugar and insulin levels low, which creates an optimal environment for fat burning and reduced cravings.

Sustainable Weight Loss:

Balancing Enjoyment and Health
My programs integrate calorie cycling with delicious and filling meal plans that nourish your body without sacrificing enjoyment. The 80/20 rule is also an integral component, allowing for a drink, social events, meals out, or takeaway over the weekends, creating a sense of balance. I LOVE knowing that I can eat out and grab takeaway without guilt now, unlike I did 10 years ago—it’s so freeing!

The Key to Long-Term Success:

A Lifestyle Change
For effective, sustainable weight loss, it’s time to ditch the fad diets and instead, foster a sustainable lifestyle. Ditch perfection and embrace the idea that it’s GOOD for your metabolism to eat a little more a few times a week! If you don’t enjoy the process of losing weight, it makes it very hard to keep it off.

Join My Programs for Lasting Change

Women always begin with my 3 Week Body Reset, and if they get results and want to continue to turn their new ‘diet’ into a lifestyle, my membership, the Health with Bec Tribe, comes next! Both can be found on www.healthwithbec.com!

Bec Miller is a 32-year-old qualified Nutritionist, founder of Health with Bec, and host of the top ranked podcast, Body Bites with Bec. She specialises in weight loss and gut health, helping women who feel like they’ve “tried it all” finally slim down, beat the bloat, and find sustainable food freedom—without the hunger. Her mission is simple: to make weight loss feel achievable, sustainable, and freeing, so women can finally quit the fads and become free from the toxic yo-yo dieting cycle. Connect with bec on instagram – @health_with_bec , or via her website – www.heathwithbec.com.

For the full article grab the April/May 2025 issue of Women’s Fitness Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.