Why Diets Make Us Fat: The Unintended Consequences of Our Obsession With Weight Loss

by Sandra Aamodt

When we try to use willpower to maintain a weight loss, we have chosen the wrong tool for the job.

No matter how willpower got used up, when it runs out, it’s gone from all aspects of life.

Another way to look at the same data is that mental fatigue causes people to become less motivated to complete difficult projects, causing them to voluntarily switch to an easier task.

When willpower is depleted, people become more likely to behave according to their habits,

In addition, as people lose weight, fewer calories are required to support their lighter bodies, so the calorie deficit goes to zero over time.

Yet diet plans don’t make money by making people permanently thin, and food companies don’t make money by selling crunchy fresh apples.

Food is just as wasted if it’s eaten by someone who’s not hungry as if it’s thrown away.