The question above is definitely among the ones that have troubled many generations of people who had to deal with weight issues in any way. It comes as no surprise that at the time this article is being written, google search comes up with more than 74 million “answers” to it!

But before we give a factual, acceptable answer to this question, we need to clarify a few things first so that there is absolutely no misunderstanding.

The definition of a diet

To begin with, let’s have a look at the definition of the word itself. What is a diet? According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, the noun diet is used literally with the following meanings:

diet di·​et | \ ˈdī-ət \

a : food and drink regularly provided or consumed

       e.g. a diet of fruits and vegetables, a vegetarian diet

b : habitual nourishment

      e.g. links between diet and disease

c : the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason

      e.g. was put on a low-sodium diet

d : a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight

     e.g. going on a diet

The first meaning describes the kind of foods and drinks we consume habitually. Such are, as the example states, a vegetarian diet, or a fruit and vegetable diet, or the Mediterranean diet.

The second meaning has to do with nourishment, with providing our bodies with the nutrients and energy we need. It’s the definition most closely related to nutrition.

The third meaning is about special eating regimens given for a specific purpose. The possibilities are many in this case but to keep our train of thought short, we’ll use three as an example. A low-sodium diet, a diet rich in fiber and a gluten-free diet. They are all special-purpose diets that are usually given to people with a certain health condition.

The last one is also a special eating regimen but with one specific goal: weight loss.

You probably understand that when we talk about a diet, we could actually be using more than one from the above definitions. For example, someone could switch to a vegetarian diet (definition number one) but with the purpose of losing weight (definition number four.)

So, which of these four “diets” are we talking about when we wonder whether they work?

Well, definitely not the first two, right? They are general meanings that indicate habitual forms of food consumption and nourishment. Which leaves us with the other two meanings.

Now that we have a better grasp of the word, let’s go back to our original question. Do diets work?

The purpose of a diet

In order to be able to answer the question, we need to give some thought to a couple more things.

Do diets work at doing what exactly?

What is a diet supposed to do? What is its purpose?

We need to understand the difference between weight loss diets and diets that are followed because of a specific health condition, either temporary – like a gastrointestinal infection that may cause diarrhea – or permanent – like diabetes.

Let’s think of our examples.

A low-sodium diet may be given to a patient with hypertension or renal disease and its purpose is to control blood pressure or to prevent further kidney damage.

A diet rich in fiber may be given to a person who suffers from constipation and its purpose is more frequent bowel movements.

A gluten-free diet is given to a person with coeliac disease in order for them to find relief from the symptoms and to stop further damage on their gut caused by gluten particles.

A weight loss diet is usually given to a person who is overweight or has obesity and its purpose is to help them lose weight.

So, do any of these diets work?

What do you think?

The outcome of a diet

Ok. It’s about time we give an answer. Do diets actually work?

Of course they do.

A special diet that is personalized for a certain individual with a specific purpose, when followed with strict adherence to the instructions, will work most of the times. And when it doesn’t, the reasons are usually due to an unknown or undiscovered factor that hasn’t been addressed yet by the health professional.

I know this answer may have left you confused. You may not have expected this kind of answer on a website called offadiet.com after all.  You may think that I’m clearly sabotaging my own work here. But I never claimed that diets don’t work.

They only work for as long as they are followed. Their effectiveness comes down to the nature of the problem they are trying to solve. If the problem is temporary, a temporary change may actually solve it. But if the problem is permanent, a temporary approach will have temporary results.

A patient with hypertension who stops the low-sodium diet and starts adding salt to everything they eat, will sooner or later see their blood pressure rise.

A person who is prone to constipation and stops eating enough fiber every day, will sooner or later have to deal with it again.

A person with coeliac disease who starts eating foods containing gluten will sooner or later start experiencing symptoms again.

Similarly, a person who has lost weight while on a diet and gets back to their old eating habits will sooner or later have the weight creep back on.

But when it comes to weight loss diets, things are not as simple as weight off-weight back on. People who regain weight after a diet will eventually try to lose it again. They will probably enter the repetitive dieting cycle, also known as weight cycling or yo-yo dieting, which, according to research could have many negative physical, mental and emotional effects.
This poses a new, more substantial and more important question about diets…

Do diets work to maintain a healthy weight and do they have a place in a balanced lifestyle that aims at physical, mental and emotional health?

To answer this question, one can draw arguments from many different sources. Like the commonly-known statistic fact which says that only 5% of the people who lose weight manage to maintain it for over 5 years. They can also base their opinion on several studies that prove the effects of diets on mental health and eating behavior. Or they can have a look at the clientele of slimming professionals who, surprisingly, remain loyal for years… And then, one can answer based on experience. That is the kind of answer that I will give you.

As a woman who has been exploring the path of diets for years and has seen the number on the scales dangerously go up and down more times than I can count. As a person who has experienced the effects of obsession with food and numbers first-hand. As a nutrition professional who has talked to people on both sides of the spectrum of health-compromising body weight – both morbid obesity and anorexia nervosa – and has studied their cases clinically. As a mother of girls who has been fighting to teach them balanced principles of nutrition and body image, in a society that continues to judge women by their size.

My personal opinion is that weight loss diets should only be followed when they are absolutely necessary for health reasons and are clinically indicated as the only safe treatment method. Diets always disrupt our instinctive relationship with food and our body image. They put us in a vicious circle of a constant battle with ourselves and affect our emotional and mental integrity.

Conclusion

All diets serve a purpose and are designed to meet that purpose. We need to realize the differences and distinguish between weight loss diets and other, health-related diets. Every diet works for the specific time period that it is followed. Returning to pre-diet habits will result in a return to the previous state, whether that was a bigger body weight or any other condition we initially began to resolve.

Now that you know the truth about diets, it’s up to you whether you will continue your dieting journey. If you feel that you have suffered from diets, you can answer a short questionnaire to realize how much dieting has affected you. If you are interested in trying a different way, you can read more about the off-a-diet approach to nutrition.