If you are trying to lose weight, especially in the aftermath of the holiday season, you might be interested to know that when diet regimens are complicated, they could very well work against you in terms of achieving your goals. In other words, keeping things simple may be the best way to ensure adherence to a program. So while willpower, determination and discipline are important, the key might actually rest upon which diet you choose.

Dieting is popular in this country, so much so that it has virtually attained a level of obsession. According to some sources, 35% of occasional dieters elevate their dieting to pathological levels. Dieting is so prevalent that one in three women and one in four men is on some sort of diet, fueling an industry, in the form of books, foods, seminars, that generates over $40 billion each year.

Unfortunately, the level of attention that dieting gets is not commensurate with the success of these programs, as evident by the obesity problem in this country. In fact, two thirds of the people on diets eventually gain the weight that they lost back within one year, and almost all of them regain it within five years.

With such a discouraging rate of failure, what’s a person to do? Well, new research seems to indicate that the key is to keep things simple. Cognitive scientists have found that when people perceived their diet plans as being too complex, people were more likely to quit the program. Complexity applied to certain aspects of dieting, which included keeping rigorous track of food quantities, as well as constantly monitoring the types of foods being eaten. Interestingly, complex diets predispose you to failure even if you truly believe you can succeed.

The researchers arrived at their conclusions after studying the success rates of two popular dieting plans. In the simpler one, the foods are pre-determined and shopping lists are provided, so that the all a dieter has to do is follow the recommended meal plan. In the more complex diet, point values were assigned to specific foods, thus requiring calculations for every meal.

Experts recommend that when choosing a diet plan, take a look at several of them and consider the number of rules and requirements and whether or not you feel up for a high level of diligent monitoring.

Dieting seems like a fairly straightforward process of reducing one’s caloric intake. Experience, however, has revealed that it is not that simple. Furthermore, while the initial loss of weight may seem attainable, the real difficulties lie in keeping that weight off, and the longer that people have to stay on a diet, the greater the challenge. Along these lines, the authors note that the more complicated a diet regimen is, the less likely it will be for a person to maintain it over the long term.

Before embarking on any sort of diet, consult with your doctor or a dietary or nutrition expert.