Stress eating also, according to Potenza, is why most restrictive fad diets fail. Potenza points to a highly influential study conducted by scientists in the UK. It found that fad dieters who faced heavy work stress crumpled and ate the foods that were off-limits, while their coworkers who weren’t fad dieters didn’t eat any differently when stressed. The all-or-nothing approach seems to make the off-limits foods more attractive and rewarding. Other
