I’ve Tried the Diets. The Results Were Real, But They Didn’t Last.

If fad diets worked forever, I wouldn’t be writing this.

Like a lot of people, I’ve tried just about every popular approach out there. I’ve done keto. I’ve dabbled in paleo. I’ve experimented with intermittent fasting. At one point, I even tried eating nothing but potatoes for 30 days to “reset my taste buds.” And to be fair, most of these did work… at first.

The scale moved. My clothes fit differently. I felt motivated and hopeful.

But eventually, something always happened: life showed up.

Because here’s the part most diets don’t talk about, if the way you’re eating doesn’t fit into real life, it won’t last. And if it doesn’t last, the results won’t either.

The Keto Wake-Up Call (a.k.a. The Bread Incident)

Keto is a perfect example. When I started, the weight dropped fast. I remember thinking, Wow, this really works. What I didn’t understand at the time was that a lot of that early “weight loss” wasn’t fat at all, it was water. Carbohydrates store water in your body, so when you cut carbs dramatically, your body releases that water. The scale drops quickly, and it feels like magic.

In simple terms: I didn’t suddenly become a fat-burning superhero, I just flushed out water weight.

Then came week three.

I saw a loaf of bread and completely lost my mind. I didn’t have a slice. I didn’t have two. I ate the entire loaf like it had personally offended me. That moment taught me something important: deprivation doesn’t teach balance, it teaches obsession. And sooner or later, that obsession wins.

Why Most Fad Diets Feel Great… Until They Don’t

Fad diets usually have one thing in common: they promise fast results by cutting something out completely. Carbs. Eating windows. Entire food groups. Sometimes joy.

And again, short term? You might see results.

Long term? That’s where things get messy.

• Keto cuts carbs so aggressively that many people feel tired, foggy, or irritable (hello, “keto flu”). Carbs aren’t evil, your brain actually needs them to function.

• Paleo sounds wholesome, but it removes grains, dairy, and legumes, foods that provide fiber, calcium, and important nutrients.

• Intermittent fasting works well for some people, but for others it creates intense hunger, irritability, and binge-style eating when the window opens.

• Detoxes and cleanses sound fancy, but your body already detoxes itself, your liver and kidneys handle that just fine without expensive juice.

The problem isn’t that these diets never work. The problem is that most people can’t live like that forever and they’re not meant to.

The Myth That Keeps Us Stuck

One of the biggest myths in diet culture is the idea that “all carbs are bad” or that your body is broken and needs extreme measures to be fixed.

That’s just not true.

Your body isn’t your enemy. It’s incredibly smart. It adapts to what you give it, including restriction. When you deprive yourself long enough, your body pushes back. Hard.

That’s why so many people lose weight, regain it, and then feel like they failed, when in reality, the plan failed them.

What Actually Worked for Me

What finally clicked wasn’t another diet, it was a mindset shift.

Instead of asking, “What can I cut out?” I started asking, “What can I do consistently for the rest of my life?”

That meant:

• Eating more whole foods, not perfectly clean ones

• Including carbs instead of fearing them

• Enjoying foods I love without turning them into forbidden fruit

• Moving my body regularly in ways I didn’t hate

• Letting progress be steady, not dramatic

No extremes. No insanity over bread. Just a way of eating that fits into holidays, bad days, busy schedules, and real life.

A Simple Rule of Thumb

If a plan:

• Promises rapid weight loss

• Eliminates entire food groups

• Requires “starting over” every Monday

• Or feels miserable to maintain

…it’s probably not a lifestyle. It’s a phase.

The healthiest approach is usually the least exciting one: balanced meals, consistency, patience, and grace when you’re not perfect.

Final Thought

I don’t regret trying those diets, they taught me what doesn’t work for me. And that’s valuable. But if you’re tired of the cycle, the hope, the restriction, the burnout - just know this: you don’t need another extreme plan. You need something sustainable enough to live with, not fight against.

Because the best diet isn’t the one that works the fastest.

It’s the one you can keep.