If Your Diet Worked, Why Did You Stop?

00:00A diet that only works as long as you're on it is not actually a successful diet because a successful diet or a successful approach to nutrition should be something that you can stick for for life. And that's why I love macronutrients. Yo, yo, yo, you guys, what's going on? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

00:37I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode number 233. And today, we're going to tackle something that I feel like a lot of people need to hear. First and foremost, let me ask you guys something. How many times have you looked back at an old diet or an old plan that you once followed and said, Oh, that worked great for me. But if it worked so well, why did you stop it?

01:10Just let that sit for like a second. Like sit with that just for a minute. If you've looked back at an old diet or an old plan and said, yeah, this used to work for me. What I followed five, six, seven years ago, that worked for me. But if it really worked so well, why did you stop? So today, we're going to break down why diets that worked in the past actually didn't work at all. And why you focusing on sustainability and being more realistic and putting in consistency,

01:46why that matters more than what's out there with quick fixes. And like I like to say, pop your body into a microwave and out in 30 seconds. You all want to tone body. And just how to stop the cycle of yo-yo dieting for good. So with that being said, let's dive into this episode. I hope that you guys all enjoy it. If it resonates with you, the only thing that I ask of you guys is to share this with somebody that maybe you've been in conversation with lately, and they're looking to lose X amount of weight and X amount of time. And they're jumping into this program they did five years ago because it worked for them.

02:18Or they're diving back into keto because it worked for them seven years ago. Or it worked for them last year. And X, Y, and Z. If you know somebody that's done a diet, it worked for them. They stopped. They then did the yo-yo. They gained the weight back. And then now they're in the place of like, oh, I'm feeling uncomfortable. I'm not happy with my skin. I want to get results. And now they're diving into the same thing that they said once worked, but clearly it didn't because they would have continued to do it. Then share this episode with someone. Because I really want everyone to understand sustainability matters.

02:49If you guys want results and you want to keep results for the long term and play the long game, you have to be more realistic with yourself and actually follow a plan that works for you and made for you. So first of all, you guys know I'm going to give you guys, this is what, today's Valentine's Day. The day that this is airing. So I'm going to give you guys some tough love in this episode today. And the first thing is that I want to be real with you guys is that so many people have been

03:20through this cycle. I and like, you're not alone either. I want you guys to know that. Like when I first started my journey, I was on the yo-yo diet, trying every different program for like a year to two years. And then I would jump into something in the new year of 2015 when I first started. And I was all over the place for the first like four months. So that you're not alone. If you've been through this cycle where you start a diet, you follow it strictly, you lose weight. Think about, I'm going to just use keto, for example, because a lot of people dive into keto. They follow it pretty strictly.

03:50They lose the weight. But then at some point, either life happens or someone recognizes that they want carbs and they want to enjoy carbs. Or you realize that you just can't sustain it anymore and you stop. And eventually at that point, you regain the weight and maybe even more. Maybe you've done multiple, you know, diets in the past of either intermittent fasting or if I'm speaking to anyone from the 80s, you've done like all of those old programs. That were something that was either a PDF or counting system or point system or something.

04:26And it may have worked then. You lost some weight, but you realize it's not sustainable. And then you stop and you gain the weight back and you gain even more back. And later when you're feeling stuck again, you think, oh, I need to get back to that diet. It worked so well last time. And I can say that because that was me too as well. Back in 2014, I was trying to follow a program for like four to six weeks. And at the end of the four weeks, I saw results because I was following it pretty strictly.

04:57But then at that time, there was pizza involved in my everyday life because my ex-fiance owned a pizza shop. So we would always eat pizza on the weekends. And then I wouldn't be able to stick to what was said diet because of my inconsistency on the weekend. And then months go by. And I'm sure you guys have been here too as well. And you're like, I'm not happy anymore. I'm not feeling like myself. And I want better results. You're feeling stuck. Maybe you're doing the workouts, but you're not following nutrition consistently. And so you think that I need to get back to that diet because it worked so well last time.

05:29But if it was truly successful, why did it stop working the moment you stopped following it? Think about that. If it was truly so successful, why did it stop working the moment you stopped following it? And here's the truth. A diet that only works as long as you're on it is not actually a successful diet. And that's going to sound counterintuitive. Because so many people think that they have to follow a plan to get said results.

06:01But and you do for a period of time. But and I don't want to like hopscotch back and forth here. But a diet like I look at macros is not a diet. I look at it as a skill set is going to serve you for the rest of your life. And I say that all of the time. If you can understand because I look at OK, maybe you have to follow plan for a little bit because you've never followed a plan consistently for a little bit. But then at some point, I hope that you guys understand the how behind the plan that you're following, the why behind the plan that you're following. This is what we teach and preach at Warrior Babe. We don't just want to give you guys a plan to follow.

06:33In fact, we don't give you nutritional plans to follow for the entire time that you're with us. At some point, you just have a protein, fat and carb goal to hit. And then you make your plan in a way that's sustainable and realistic for you day to day. Yeah, because that's what it is. That's a successful like diet. Essentially, I'm putting air quotes because if you can follow something successfully, then it's not really actually like it's not a diet. It's just something that you've become accustomed to with the why and the how behind it.

07:06Because a successful approach to nutrition should be something that you can stick to for life, not something that leaves you feeling deprived or leaves you feeling burnt out or leaves you feeling like irritated or, or irritable or hangry or, you know, whatever said keto does or whatever program out there, like just leaves you feeling like you're either clashing your calories too much or you're exhausted because you're not getting enough fuel and, and then waiting for the moment that you can go back to normal, right?

07:37So it's like, think about if you've been on that roller coaster before, and then just let the words kind of sink in in terms of like, why did it stop working the moment you stopped following it? If it was truly successful, why did it stop working the moment you stopped following it? A diet that only works as long as you're on it is not actually a successful diet because a successful diet or successful approach to nutrition should be something that you can stick for for life. And that's why I love macronutrients. Because yes, maybe you're going to have a plan to follow because you've never followed

08:10a nutritional plan or have the guidance of it. You don't know what to eat or how, or like, you know, what, how, what to eat or when to eat it. So that's what a good plan is. And that's what majority of like all of the plans out there are. Maybe that's where you start a diet, you follow strictly and then you lose weight. But at some point you're like, oh, I'm bored of this, or I can't do this anymore. It's not realistic anymore. Or I plateau because you've been following the same thing for the last six weeks or seven weeks and haven't changed anything. Get what I'm saying? With macros, yes, you're going to maybe at the beginning you have a plan to follow, but then you've got to understand the why and the how behind it.

08:43Because if you can understand the why and the how behind it, then that's something that you are gaining knowledge of. And it's becoming a new like formation in your brain of what you're following and why you're following it. And when you have the why and you understand it more, you're more likely to follow through with it and make it more of a lifestyle shift rather than just like another diet that I'm following. And so most of these like, quote unquote, successful diets, they fail for one simple reason. They're not designed to be sustainable.

09:15Keto is not designed to be sustainable. Intermittent fasting is not designed to be sustainable. Tell me like, let me just ask you for keto. If you are following keto right now, do you plan never eat carbs again in your life? If you are following a carnivore diet, do you plan to only eat meat for the rest of your life? Like I want you guys to think about the big picture here because that's where you can get a little bit more realistic. Sure, those things can work in the moment. Yes, if you follow it strictly, you will lose weight X, Y, and Z. Is it sustainable? Because majority of them are not designed that way.

09:47Okay, here's what usually happens in those diets is that they create extreme calorie deficits. So maybe it's intermittent fasting. And there's ways to do and I've recorded a podcast on this too as well. There's ways to do intermittent fasting right and there's ways to do it wrong. Majority of the time, I feel like people just want to eat one meal a day. And that has been studied and tested on men. But for women, it's way different for us because of the hormonal profile that we have.

10:19And the way we need fuel to function on so many different levels than men. These diets create extreme calorie deficits. So if you're somebody that only eats one meal a day because you've seen it work, maybe for your husband or you've seen it work out there and with other, maybe you've seen it work for other women and maybe it has, but again, they're not designed to be sustainable. You tell me, you want to tell me that you can only eat one meal for the rest of your life. Like that's what I'd like to think about it as. And the way they create calorie deficits is that you eat way too little. Yeah, you lose weight fast, but eventually your metabolism will adapt and you will hit a plateau.

10:54And at that point, it goes back to the cycle of this isn't working. I'm going to give up or I'm burnt out or I've hit a plateau and I've been in a plateau for five weeks now and I don't know what to do. And so the cycle starts again. Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode, take a moment to tap that review button or share this podcast with a friend. It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support this show.

11:28Another way what usually happens with these diets that are not designed to be sustainable is that they have overly restrictive rules. Keto, you cut out carbs or you cut out sugar or you cut out entire food groups and it feels doable at first because those of you guys that do cut out carbs, you will notice pretty like maybe you will notice a weight drop in like the first week and it may be significant because let me remind you for every single carb that you want to, it holds on to X amount of water

11:59weight. As well, or every gram that you eat, it holds on to X amount of water weight. And when you're not having carbs, you're going to drop that water weight. And what do you think is going to show on the scale? A decrease in number. But eventually your cravings are going to go through the roof and eventually you are going to binge. And eventually this is where the cycle then starts again. Yes, keto will work. If you follow it strictly, you will lose weight. But at some point you just cannot sustain it anymore and you stop.

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13:17Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. And then eventually you gain all of that weight back. And then another thing that usually happens with these eyes is that there's no long term strategy. There's no education, as I just said a couple minutes ago, on how to transition back into

13:51real life. So when you stop, you're back at square one with these diets. Why I love what we teach and not bias. It's just because I see what's going on in the industry. And I see this cycle. I've talked to so many women that have been stuck on the cycle. And now I see them on the other side of it because of what they've gained from being inside of WarriorBabe. They gain the understanding. They gain the education. They understand that they're going to go through different phases of protocol or even better

14:22yet. You could even look at it as different seasons of life. Some of you guys are going to want to go into fat loss. But then how do you transition out of fat loss and not gain all of the weight back? That's where education comes into play. That's where the why and the how and this is what you do and this is the protocol and you transition slowly. I mean, I've talked about it so many times on podcasts. You guys giving you guys tactical takeaways on how to transition out of a fat loss and go in to maintenance, not lose all of your progress by eating more.

14:53You guys shouldn't have to put in all of that work by following a diet. And then when you stop your back at square one, because you gain everything back, you should be able to understand how to sustainably or hold that success and then continue to build on it to reach your next goal. And let me remind you guys, if this all sounds familiar, like the problem isn't you. It's the diet itself. And if you ever found yourself thinking that I need to do that diet again because it worked before, like I've heard so many women say, well, this I did keto a year ago and I'm just

15:29going to do keto again now. Let me just remind you, just ask yourself, like, did it really work or did it just temporarily force weight loss in a way that wasn't actually sustainable? Really think about that. Like, I want to challenge you guys in the perspectives that you may hold and have on what weight loss is supposed to look like, fat loss is supposed to look like, you achieving a goal is supposed to look like. Because this narrative is still going on in the fitness space in terms of follow this

16:02plan for four to six weeks or cut your calories for four to six weeks or cut out carbs entirely for X amount of time. Like, you don't need to do that. What actually works? So if all of these diets aren't the answer, what is? What actually works is when it comes to long-term fat loss and you having the right protocol in place, it's going to help you to achieve the body composition that you want. So I want to give you guys four things. I want you to focus on number one, focus on sustainability over speed.

16:37If you can't see yourself eating this way a year from now, or even what I said a couple minutes ago, can you see yourself eating like this for the rest of your life if you want to pull it out and look at a 30,000 foot view? It's not the right approach. Your nutrition protocol plan, it should be something that you can stick to for the long haul without consistently feeling like you're on or off a diet. Okay, so focus on sustainability over speed. The second thing is I want you guys to stop demonetizing food.

17:09What I mean by that is if your diet requires you to cut out all of your favorite foods, if your diet requires you to cut out carbs, if your diet requires you to not have ice cream, if your diet requires you to give up burgers, pizza, wings, like if your diet requires you to cut out your favorite foods, it's going to fail. Not you. The diet is going to fail. Because balance is key. You should be able to enjoy carbs. You should be able to enjoy chocolate. You should be able to enjoy pizza.

17:39You should be able to enjoy a burger or whatever else you love while still hitting your goals. The third one's pretty obvious. Instead of just focusing on the scale, instead of just focusing on, going and doing tons and tons of cardio, instead of focusing on, you know, boot camps or F45 or whatever, focus on building muscle and fueling your body the right way. I want you guys to really seriously, like if you're still dabbling and I'm afraid of strength trainer, I don't know what to do, or I'm just going to keep continuing to do cardio.

18:11I'm going to keep doing these classes. Because I want to challenge you guys to next week, if you're in that arena, go and do two to three days of strength training. Just go do it. Just like take any limiting belief that you have or any narrative that's going on in your mind that's stopping you from doing it and just choose to say yes for yourself that you're going to do the strength training. Regardless of you don't know what you're doing. It's hard. Maybe you feel like you're going to give up. I don't know. Whatever narrative is going on inside of your head, go in and do strength training and eat

18:42your protein because it's going to boost your metabolism. Muscle and protein are going to boost your metabolism. It's going to help you to maintain the fat loss for the long term. And then this one I feel like is probably one of the most important. Learn how to eat for life. The goal isn't to follow a meal plan forever. It's to understand how to fuel your body in a way that feels good, in a way that supports your goals and doesn't require you starting over every few months. Let that sink in.

19:13Learn how to eat for life. And I think that's what we do really freaking well at Warrior Babe. First of all, we're going to break down the narratives that you have around the concepts of dieting and or I like to I've joked around with Warrior Babes in the past around this and have an entire education model module on it. Basically, it's like when you first start Warrior Babe, I want you guys to think of it as I'm holding up the Men in Black zap that is going Men in Black. Yeah, Men in Black. Men in Black like laser zap thing that he holds when he's talking to all these people about

19:46the life that you've been living or the things that you saw on or X, Y, and Z. So think about it like this. I'm holding it up and I'm looking at you and you're telling me about all these old diets that you try. You're telling me how they've worked. You told me about what worked 10 years ago and how you achieved this said goal. But now you're here and you haven't maintained it, right? But you're telling me how it's all worked. And in order for me to like give you the keys to what I've seen has helped over 17,000 women, I need to zap that mind of yours, that brain, the words that you're saying about what's worked

20:1610 years ago and focus on the present moment moving forward for the new things that you're going to acquire, the skills that you're going to learn, the education you're going to understand. So I'm zapping you. Men in black, laser right now. Zap. Bam. Now you're going to move forward and you're going to understand how to eat for life, how to feel your body in a way that feels good, feel supported to your goals, is getting you the results that you want and doesn't require you starting over every single month.

20:47How good does that sound? Right? So that's what I want you guys to do. Moving forward, leaving this podcast today. I want you to choose sustainability and choose what's sustainable. If a diet only quote unquote worked while you were on it, it didn't actually work. What actually works is a lifestyle that you can maintain, something that allows you to enjoy life, to feel good in your body and still hit your goals and achieve the results that you want without feeling like you're constantly dieting.

21:20So instead of looking back at old diets and thinking like, I should try that again, or that used to work for me or whatever. Start asking yourself, what can I do differently this time to make my results last? Because that's where the true sustainability, the true understanding takes place. When you're no longer seeking the new diet, the new diet, the new diet, you've arrived at achieving results that may have taken longer than four to six weeks, but may have taken...

21:52I've been talking to... I've been talking to... You guys can go to warriorbabe.com and then hit success or listen to warriorbabe.com forward slash success, or maybe it's success stories, or just go to the main page. And I've been meeting with a bunch of warrior babes over the last couple of weeks and recording live interviews with them on their successes of the program and what they've learned and what they've achieved and where they were before and where they are now post-warrior babe. And maybe one of those stories, it's been crazy of all the different buckets that I've

22:25talked to. One's mindset, one's menopause, one's injuries, one's breakup. Like it's so many different arenas that I know if you guys go to the page and listen to it, maybe one of those stories will resonate with you. And if this podcast resonate with you, I just ask you guys share it with someone who needs to hear it. All right. Until next time. And if you guys are, you know, if you're ready and you want to stop the cycle of unsustainable dieting and you want to start learning how to fuel your body for life and you want to understand the how and the why and the education that goes into play when you're working to

23:00find something that is sustainable and a plan that you, a nutrition protocol that you can follow that doesn't require you to, you know, give up your favorite foods or feel like you're depriving yourself, check out warrior babe. We have 70 coaches that are incredibly certified. So many certifications, way more than me. They coach way better than me that are there to help you learn and understand and create this transformation, not just physically, but also mentally too as well.

23:30Okay. So check out warrior babe.com. In the meantime, guys, stay strong, stay smart. And remember that sustainability is the real key to success. And that's all I got for you guys. Happy Valentine's Day. Hope you guys have an amazing Valentine's Day weekend. Allow yourself to have the chocolate. Like I'm saying here in this podcast, then make it, make it to the point where you allow yourself to have it. But majority of everything else that you're eating in a day is still healthy and it's still in alignment with your macros. All right. Appreciate you guys.

24:01Love you guys. I'll see you guys in the next episode. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed, I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating and review, share the podcast with someone who might need it and help me keep spreading the word. Your feedback not only helps to show grow, but it might just be the nudge someone else needs to kickstart their transformation. Thank you so, so, so much for your support.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.