Dieting doesn't work for many people because it focuses on short-term changes rather than developing healthy lifestyle habits. Successful weight loss requires permanently changing one's dietary lifestyle by eating more fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and avoiding junk food. While occasional treats are acceptable, long-term success depends on consistency and finding enjoyable ways of eating healthy and exercising regularly.

1. Why Diets Don’t Work
Many people are carrying more weight around the middle than they would
like, and they want to shed a few pounds. They head to the Internet and
look up the latest weight-loss strategies, trying to find the easiest solution.
Then, they are confused when the diet doesn’t work.
shed = lose, eliminate
Sure, it might help them drop a couple pounds, but they gain them back
soon after. Sometimes people even end up putting on more weight than
they initially lost. What’s wrong?
The fact is that there are several flaws in the dieting model. Fortunately,
you can move past these obstacles once you know how.
First, you have to have the right mindset – and that includes being willing
to make permanent changes in your life. Following a diet for three months
and then returning to your old habits is not going to result in anything but
frustration.
mindset, outlook = attitude and point of view
You have to change your outlook. You don’t need a diet; you need a
completely new dietary lifestyle if you want to make real and lasting

2. changes. Once you understand and accept this, it becomes easier to make
the changes.
The key to developing good eating habits is high quality, healthy foods.
Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, and stick to lean meats. Cut
down on red meat and stay away from fried food, fast food, and other
junk food. It might be hard to resist those French fries, but you’ll ultimately
be healthier and happier without them.
lean meats = meat that is mostly muscle; it doesn’t have a lot of fat
This doesn’t mean that you have to give up all of your favorite foods
forever. You just can’t eat them all the time. If you’re at a birthday party
and you want to eat a small slice of cake, that’s fine. But eating two
portions of dessert every day after lunch is not. If you don’t allow yourself
any unhealthy foods at all, there is a good chance that you will end up
binging on them in a moment of weakness.
binging = consuming an excessive amount
Fad diets and pills that promise rapid weight loss are the snake oil of the
modern world. These may have short-term effects, but they do not work in
the long run. A lot of them are nutritionally unbalanced, so you might even
be doing more harm than good to your body. The only weight-loss “secret”
that you need to know is to eat healthy foods, and not too much of them.

3. fad diets = diets that are currently popular and trendy
snake oil = something that is promised to have great positive effects,
but actually doesn’t do much of anything
Another reason that many dieters don’t see results is that they are missing
a crucial ingredient – exercise. When you exercise, you’re burning more
calories, and this will help you lose weight faster.
One study found that the main factor in losing weight successfully is
actually not the type of diet or exercise routine, but how long the person
sticks with it. The key to a diet that works is finding one that you enjoy
following. Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring and bland. The same is
true of exercise – look for workouts that you like doing, so they’ll be fun
and not feel like a chore.
sticks with it = continues it
bland = has little or no flavor
a chore = a task you have to do, but you don’t enjoy