The quick answer is: “NO”
What does “going on a diet” mean, anyway?
It means you are going to yank yourself out of a lifestyle (which, by the way, you did not achieve overnight), and stuff that round peg that is your life into that square hole that is your new “diet program”. You are not accustomed to this.
It means that by will power, and even a big dose of rah-rah enthusiasm you are going to eat right (meaning stopping everything you like, subsisting on stuff you loathe and denying yourself the God-given pleasure of good food on the tongue and in the stomach).
It means exercising your gut off (and sometimes “up”) to the point of exhaustion and frustration. It means taking time out of your “time” (that is, out of your working, taking-care-of-responsibilities time) to devote it to this torture. This means usually taking time from other things you may only discover too late that require more of you than you realized (like your spouse and family).
Eat right and exercise. That will do it. That’s what they say. Heck, that’s what I say!
But it’s not so easy. It’s like trying to create more covers by cutting off one end of the blanket and sewing it on to the other.
And will power can usually always get you through a few months of living in an alien land of kale greens and push-ups… but only if you are having the success of losing a few pounds. Otherwise I give you four weeks… six tops. When “life happens”, and it always does, that new diet and exercise program immediately goes by the wayside.
A diet is not something you “go on.” It’s how you live.
Little cumulative changes in schedule, priorities, relationships, money issues, goals, are all necessary for a successful change in “diet.”
Find food you like that you can live on… believe me, there are lots of healthy foods that are delicious. Find exercise that you enjoy that gives you a work out without your knowing it… (get a dog and walk it every day, for example). Partner up. A friend. Multiple friends. Spouse most preferable, kids optional.
If you’re having fun and sharing the experience, your new “diet” is less likely to go away when other stresses come barging in…. and they will.
So, next time you’re in the gym, or on the jogging trail, or eating that low-fat, high protein omelet, or whatever you are doing in your new lifestyle, ask yourself two questions: 1) Am I enjoying this?, and 2) Can I see myself doing this for the rest of my life?
If you can’t answer “yes” to both of those questions most of the time, better stuff your round peg into a different hole, you are about to “pop out.”