Why Quick Fixes Fail (and What Actually Works for Fat Loss)
The Trap of Quick Fix Diets
The fitness and dieting industry has a knack for shiny promises.
“Drop ten pounds in a week.”
“Burn fat in 21 days.”
“Get a six-pack in six weeks.”
And let’s be honest…they work. Not the programs themselves, but the marketing. Because we love the idea that if we just sacrifice hard enough for a short burst of time, the payoff will be huge.
All through high school and college I fell for this “quick fix” marketing constantly. I bounced from one fad diet to another. I was cutting carbs, counting calories, buying supplements, and always chasing the next quick result. And despite all that effort, I wasn’t seeing any progress in the fat loss goals I was constantly chasing. Every time I “failed” to follow the plan perfectly or didn’t get the promised results on schedule, I quit. Until the next promise came along.
And that’s the trap of the dieting industry:
Quick fixes don’t just fail us - they teach us to become quitters.
When we don’t lose ten pounds in a week, we think, “Why bother?” When cutting out carbs inevitably backfires, we swing to the other extreme and eat all the carbs in the pantry. When that expensive gadget doesn’t magically give us abs, we decide exercise must not be for us.
The problem isn’t you or your willpower; it’s the false expectation that real change should be fast, dramatic, and fueled by restriction.
How Diets Actually Work
Let’s start with a quick refresher on what a diet even is.
At its core, your diet is simply the sum of the foods and drinks we eat regularly. That’s it. It’s not inherently good or bad — it’s just our pattern of eating. “Dieting,” on the other hand, usually refers to intentionally changing that pattern to achieve a specific outcome: most often weight loss.
What a “Calorie Deficit” Really Means
Here’s the behind the scenes part: every diet that results in fat loss works because it creates a calorie deficit, meaning you’re consuming fewer calories than your body uses. That can happen in a lot of ways: cutting carbs, reducing sugar, lowering fat, skipping meals, eliminating animal products, or just eating smaller portions. Keto and Atkins create a calorie deficit by cutting out carbs, carnivore creates a calorie deficit by cutting out everything but meat, and intermittent fasting can create a calorie deficit by shortening your eating window.
While these dieting patterns may work for some, they can be really restrictive for others. When you cut out entire foods or food groups, it’s easier to eat fewer calories—but it’s also harder to sustain long-term. The good news is that we don’t have to go to extremes to make progress. We can create a calorie deficit without removing your favorite foods or living in constant hunger.
I’m not anti-diet; I’m anti–diet culture (the part that ties your worth to a number, fuels guilt and shame, or promotes obsession over nourishment). It’s perfectly okay to want to change your diet, improve your health, or pursue aesthetic goals. It’s also okay to want to feel more energized, improve your habits, and have a better relationship with food.
Wanting change isn’t the problem. Restriction, guilt, and an unsustainable approach to our eating habits is.
Why Quick Fixes Don’t Last
Quick fixes usually:
Set unrealistic expectations we cannot maintain (fast fat loss, rigid rules, following a strict meal plan with no wiggle room).
Require extreme restriction (zero carbs, daily cardio, “no days off”).
Don’t build transferable skills (you know the list of “off-limits” foods, not how to fuel your body).
Lead to burnout, guilt, and eventually giving up or feeling like a failure when you can’t keep up
Even when they “work” for a few weeks, they rarely last. That’s because quick fixes don’t teach you what to do beyond a list of following restrictive rules. There is no practice for how to maintain habits when life gets extra busy, when you’re on vacation, or when you have a spontaneous meal out.
The Science of Behavior Change
The science of behavior change paints a very different picture than “21-day shred” challenges. If you want lasting change - whether that’s fat loss, building strength, or improving health markers - it comes down to a few key principles:
Building self-efficacy (aka our confidence matters)
When you believe you can follow through on a behavior, you’re actually more likely to succeed. Small, doable habits build confidence over time, while impossible rules (like “never eat sugar again”) destroy our confidence when we can’t stick to them.
Lowering friction
It is far easier to maintain making choices that align with our health goals when those choices are easy to repeat. Prepping protein, keeping sneakers by the door, or having a water bottle ready makes action less about willpower and more about environment and our preparation.
Consistency always wins over intensity
A plan you can repeat most days matters more than a perfect plan you abandon in week two. Small steps practiced often compound into big change. In other words: our progress is the product of what we do a majority of the time, not because of the times we inevitably are “off track.”
Building skills is always better than sticking to rules
Diet rules say “don’t eat carbs.” Skills and habits teach you how to balance a plate, prioritize protein, tune in to your hunger cues, or fuel for your workout. Skills travel with you; rules crumble the moment life shifts.
Building Habits That Actually Stick
Exiting the cycle of constantly chasing quick fixes isn’t about finding the “perfect” diet; it’s about practicing habits that feel doable, repeatable, and flexible enough to live with long-term and through the ups and downs of our lives. Those habits may feel less consequential or, frankly, unsexy, but they are the behaviors that truly propel us forward towards our goals.
Real-Life Examples of Sustainable Habits:
Eating protein at each meal
Going for a 10-minute walk after dinner.
Setting out a glass of water before bed so you drink first thing in the morning.
Planning two “macro-friendly” dinners for busy weeknights.
None of these are dramatic. But repeated over time, they add up to efforts that can help us make and maintain our fat loss, performance, and health goals. And they make us resilient so we don’t quit when life throws us a curveball because we’ve built the confidence, skills, and systems to keep moving forward.
Quick fixes sound exciting, but they don’t teach you how to sustain results. Instead, they keep us stuck in the cycle of perpetually chasing the same goal, perpetually feeling like we’re letting ourselves down, and perpetually starting over.
As we head into a new year, this is an opportunity to put a stop to that cycle once and for all and instead redefine our goals as something that will require creating solid habits. Habits that you don’t just stick to when you feel like it, but habits that you practice imperfectly
Ready to stop chasing quick fixes?
Work with a KLN coach to build habits that actually last. Our personalized nutrition coaching gives you the tools, accountability, and support you need to feel confident in your approach.
Kate Lyman
Leader, nutrition educator, and former chronic dieter helping clients rebuild their relationship with food, escape the cycle of yo-yo dieting for good, and cut through the overwhelm of nutrition misinformation.
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