What’s the Best Way to Combat Diet Fatigue?

Every year, an estimated 45 million Americans attempt some kind of diet to shed weight, especially after the holidays. Whether or not an individual is on a successful weight loss journey, at some point they probably will experience “diet fatigue.” This is the mental and emotional exhaustion associated with engaging in dieting behaviors like calorie counting, weighing and measuring food, meal planning and prepping, and restricting certain foods. 

Diet fatigue is a huge reason (but certainly not the only reason) why diets fail, as dieters can become so burned out that they ditch their diet, return to their former eating habits, blame themselves for their diet failure, and then repeat the cycle.

Alison* became my client just as her diet fatigue was starting to settle in. She had already lost 25 pounds in the prior 6 months while in a coaching program that focused primarily on hitting calorie and macro targets. She had been following an extremely high-protein regimen that relied heavily on animal sources and protein powders. I’m not against using powders to supplement protein needs, but in Alison’s case, she was consuming a powder-and-milk concoction twice per day in place of a meal with actual food. Not only had she become plain sick of the powder, but she was also concerned that all the protein was pushing vegetables off her plate. Alison had been following this plan quite strictly but admitted to indulging in weekend sweets. She recognized that this occasional indulgence could quickly morph into a full-on habit and undo her progress. While Alison had not yet reached her goal weight, we both agreed that she needed to change up her eating routine. 

Getting a patient through diet fatigue involves identifying which dieting behaviors are causing them the most angst and then guiding them toward a more sustainable approach that provides a similar benefit. For example, many dieters develop a huge disdain for calorie tracking, which they most often describe as tedious. One alternative to tracking calories is food journaling, which encourages accountability and mindfulness but is not as time-consuming as plugging every single ingredient you ingest into an app. Alison, however, didn’t have a problem with tracking, nor with weighing her food (as a Type A personality, she preferred having this kind of control). But she was clearly lacking a few things in her previous diet: variety, fiber, and flavor. In short, Alison was not enjoying her food — hence, her increased desire for treats on weekends, which she saw as a kind of reward for “being good” all week. 

To keep Alison from slipping into a weekend bingeing pattern, we discussed a few tweaks to her regimen. First, we had to ditch the protein powder in favor of balanced meals. I recommended reducing her daily protein target, which I felt was unnecessarily high. This provided some wiggle room to add a well-rounded dinner. I encouraged her to start adding spices and herbs to make dishes more exciting. 

Finally — and this one might be controversial — I encouraged Alison to actually plan for a weekly indulgence. In my experience working in the weight management space, complete restriction of a desired food always backfires, so it made sense for Alison to simply build the chocolate into her plan in a reasonable way. 

I’m confident that Alison will reach her weight loss goal (and keep the weight off) if food continues to bring her pleasure. When it comes to weight loss, I believe that if the solution is temporary, success will also be temporary. As a dietitian, preaching sustainable, long-term habit changes is my priority, not just because it’s responsible, but because it’s the only approach that truly works.

*Patient’s name changed to protect privacy. 

Ms. Hanks is a registered dietitian at Well by Messer in New York City. She disclosed no relevant conflicts of interest.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com. 

Every year, an estimated 45 million Americans attempt some kind of diet to shed weight, especially after the holidays. Whether or not an individual is on a successful weight loss journey, at some point they probably will experience “diet fatigue.” This is the mental and emotional exhaustion associated with engaging in dieting behaviors like calorie counting, weighing and measuring food, meal planning and prepping, and restricting certain foods. 

Diet fatigue is a huge reason (but certainly not the only reason) why diets fail, as dieters can become so burned out that they ditch their diet, return to their former eating habits, blame themselves for their diet failure, and then repeat the cycle.

Alison* became my client just as her diet fatigue was starting to settle in. She had already lost 25 pounds in the prior 6 months while in a coaching program that focused primarily on hitting calorie and macro targets. She had been following an extremely high-protein regimen that relied heavily on animal sources and protein powders. I’m not against using powders to supplement protein needs, but in Alison’s case, she was consuming a powder-and-milk concoction twice per day in place of a meal with actual food. Not only had she become plain sick of the powder, but she was also concerned that all the protein was pushing vegetables off her plate. Alison had been following this plan quite strictly but admitted to indulging in weekend sweets. She recognized that this occasional indulgence could quickly morph into a full-on habit and undo her progress. While Alison had not yet reached her goal weight, we both agreed that she needed to change up her eating routine. 

Getting a patient through diet fatigue involves identifying which dieting behaviors are causing them the most angst and then guiding them toward a more sustainable approach that provides a similar benefit. For example, many dieters develop a huge disdain for calorie tracking, which they most often describe as tedious. One alternative to tracking calories is food journaling, which encourages accountability and mindfulness but is not as time-consuming as plugging every single ingredient you ingest into an app. Alison, however, didn’t have a problem with tracking, nor with weighing her food (as a Type A personality, she preferred having this kind of control). But she was clearly lacking a few things in her previous diet: variety, fiber, and flavor. In short, Alison was not enjoying her food — hence, her increased desire for treats on weekends, which she saw as a kind of reward for “being good” all week. 

To keep Alison from slipping into a weekend bingeing pattern, we discussed a few tweaks to her regimen. First, we had to ditch the protein powder in favor of balanced meals. I recommended reducing her daily protein target, which I felt was unnecessarily high. This provided some wiggle room to add a well-rounded dinner. I encouraged her to start adding spices and herbs to make dishes more exciting. 

Finally — and this one might be controversial — I encouraged Alison to actually plan for a weekly indulgence. In my experience working in the weight management space, complete restriction of a desired food always backfires, so it made sense for Alison to simply build the chocolate into her plan in a reasonable way. 

I’m confident that Alison will reach her weight loss goal (and keep the weight off) if food continues to bring her pleasure. When it comes to weight loss, I believe that if the solution is temporary, success will also be temporary. As a dietitian, preaching sustainable, long-term habit changes is my priority, not just because it’s responsible, but because it’s the only approach that truly works.

*Patient’s name changed to protect privacy. 

Ms. Hanks is a registered dietitian at Well by Messer in New York City. She disclosed no relevant conflicts of interest.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com. 

Every year, an estimated 45 million Americans attempt some kind of diet to shed weight, especially after the holidays. Whether or not an individual is on a successful weight loss journey, at some point they probably will experience “diet fatigue.” This is the mental and emotional exhaustion associated with engaging in dieting behaviors like calorie counting, weighing and measuring food, meal planning and prepping, and restricting certain foods. 

Diet fatigue is a huge reason (but certainly not the only reason) why diets fail, as dieters can become so burned out that they ditch their diet, return to their former eating habits, blame themselves for their diet failure, and then repeat the cycle.

Alison* became my client just as her diet fatigue was starting to settle in. She had already lost 25 pounds in the prior 6 months while in a coaching program that focused primarily on hitting calorie and macro targets. She had been following an extremely high-protein regimen that relied heavily on animal sources and protein powders. I’m not against using powders to supplement protein needs, but in Alison’s case, she was consuming a powder-and-milk concoction twice per day in place of a meal with actual food. Not only had she become plain sick of the powder, but she was also concerned that all the protein was pushing vegetables off her plate. Alison had been following this plan quite strictly but admitted to indulging in weekend sweets. She recognized that this occasional indulgence could quickly morph into a full-on habit and undo her progress. While Alison had not yet reached her goal weight, we both agreed that she needed to change up her eating routine. 

Getting a patient through diet fatigue involves identifying which dieting behaviors are causing them the most angst and then guiding them toward a more sustainable approach that provides a similar benefit. For example, many dieters develop a huge disdain for calorie tracking, which they most often describe as tedious. One alternative to tracking calories is food journaling, which encourages accountability and mindfulness but is not as time-consuming as plugging every single ingredient you ingest into an app. Alison, however, didn’t have a problem with tracking, nor with weighing her food (as a Type A personality, she preferred having this kind of control). But she was clearly lacking a few things in her previous diet: variety, fiber, and flavor. In short, Alison was not enjoying her food — hence, her increased desire for treats on weekends, which she saw as a kind of reward for “being good” all week. 

To keep Alison from slipping into a weekend bingeing pattern, we discussed a few tweaks to her regimen. First, we had to ditch the protein powder in favor of balanced meals. I recommended reducing her daily protein target, which I felt was unnecessarily high. This provided some wiggle room to add a well-rounded dinner. I encouraged her to start adding spices and herbs to make dishes more exciting. 

Finally — and this one might be controversial — I encouraged Alison to actually plan for a weekly indulgence. In my experience working in the weight management space, complete restriction of a desired food always backfires, so it made sense for Alison to simply build the chocolate into her plan in a reasonable way. 

I’m confident that Alison will reach her weight loss goal (and keep the weight off) if food continues to bring her pleasure. When it comes to weight loss, I believe that if the solution is temporary, success will also be temporary. As a dietitian, preaching sustainable, long-term habit changes is my priority, not just because it’s responsible, but because it’s the only approach that truly works.

*Patient’s name changed to protect privacy. 

Ms. Hanks is a registered dietitian at Well by Messer in New York City. She disclosed no relevant conflicts of interest.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.