Why I’ve Struggled to Stick to a “Diet”
Why every diet failed me — until I stopped trying to control my body and started listening to it.
I know I’m not the only one who has gone onto Instagram to find promising diets that guarantee results — just to find myself quitting after a week, a month, maybe even a day. I always feel so confident in the beginning, but quickly notice myself losing motivation or falling off the plan for one meal and then telling myself the whole thing is ruined. So I might as well just quit.
What’s interesting is that the word “diet” comes from the Greek word diaita (δίαιτα), which actually meant “way of life” or “way of living.” It wasn’t about restriction, weight loss, or rules. It referred to a whole lifestyle — how you eat, move, rest, and live in balance with nature.
It wasn’t until around the 13th–14th century that the word “diet” became associated with control, limitation, and denying the body.
This explains why there’s such a difference in someone saying, “I have a vegetarian diet” versus “I’m on a vegetarian diet.” One sounds like a way of life. The other sounds like a rule.
The Diet Cycle I Couldn’t Escape
From keto to only eating fruit, I’ve tried every “diet” in the book. But when I really began to understand and heal my relationship to food, I realized that what I was doing was never going to last. Choosing to cut out or reject entire types of foods not only left me feeling more out of control — it made me fear them.
I started treating my body like a child in all the worst ways possible.
It sounded something like this:
“If you don’t do what I want or behave the way I need you to behave, then I’m going to take something away from you.”
I was trying to control my body the way some parents try to control their children: through restriction, loss, and punishment. And like any child — or any human being, really — that’s trying to be controlled, my body retaliated.
That retaliation showed up in different ways:
Fatigue
Binge cycles
Moodiness
Irregular hormones
Or what felt like the most defeating of all: gaining all the weight back, and then some
I felt stuck in a never-ending cycle and wondered if this was just going to be my life. “Will I ever be able to enjoy food?” I often asked myself.
How I Broke the Cycle
I’ve lived a vegetarian lifestyle for over a decade now. But what makes this different than all the other “diets” I took up was the why.
Since a young age, I’ve loved and felt deeply connected to animals. I feel their warmth, their joy, and their pain. I was 15 when I saw the documentary Earthlings for the first time, and it moved me so deeply that I still use it as a source of inspiration to this day.
You see, the foundation of that change wasn’t punishment — it was inspiration.
I remember watching the film with chills running through my body the entire time. That was my signal — my body was, and still is, resonating. My cells were dancing. My soul lit up.
Many people refer to this as being in alignment.
There was no fear, no shame, no sense of loss in the decision to become vegetarian. It felt like a return — not a restriction.
To this day, it’s the only “diet” I’ve taken up that I’ve never once gone back on. It became my way of life.
Choosing a New “Why”
When people ask how I’ve been able to stick with this way of eating — and other lifestyle choices I’ve made — with such ease, I always come back to this:
You have to understand your why. And if your why is “because I hate how my body looks,” — be careful. I say this with compassion, not judgment. I’ve been there. I get it.
But what if, instead, your why sounded more like:
“Because I believe I can feel better in my body.”
“Because I want to feel lighter, stronger, more at peace.”
“Because I deserve to feel good.”
Despite what many people believe, I’m here to say that there is nothing wrong with wanting to change the appearance of your body. Convincing yourself that it’s shallow to be unhappy with your appearance can actually be a way of denying your truth. And let’s be honest — we can all relate to that feeling. It’s just part of being human.
Your body is capable of incredible things. And with patience and time, it will respond. It may not grow six feet taller or suddenly sprout higher cheekbones — but it will shift and reshape as you care for it, consistently and lovingly.
Questions That Changed Everything for Me:
If you’re stuck in the same diet cycle I was in, here are a few questions that helped me get unstuck:
What do I really want to feel in my body — physically and emotionally?
What is my actual goal? Is it weight loss, muscle growth or is it just confidence? Energy? Peace?
What way of eating feels most aligned with the life I want to live?
What eating habits could I actually see myself sustaining for the rest of my life? -> (This is a great question to ask if you want to know what aligns with you)
These questions helped me realize that no diet would ever stick until it stopped being a diet — and started becoming a lifestyle I actually respected, enjoyed, and believed in.
If your “diet” feels like punishment, it’s not a lifestyle — it’s a leash.
But when it’s rooted in purpose, values, and connection, it becomes a rhythm you can actually live inside of.
And that’s when everything starts to shift — for good.