A video made by Realistic Fitness Coach Kolsan Instagram user who offers fitness tips and share tips for weight lossis currently garnering attention because it claims “YOU DON’T HAVE TO STOP EATING YOUR FAVORITE FOOD TO SEE RESULTS (sic).” In the trending video, Kols claims, “You’ll never be successful in your weight loss journey if you keep telling yourself you can’t eat the foods you love.”

She said, “If you’re a normal person like me, okay, and you just want to start a weight loss journey, keto is not for you, okay? Carnivore is not for you. Vegan is not the solution for you. Why? Because these are diets that tell you you can’t eat the foods you love. If bacon is your favorite food and you love eating bacon and you say, “I’m going vegan for weight loss,” baby, you’re going to miss bacon and think about it all the time and then eventually give up being a vegan.”

The Instagram influencer revealed how she loves an old fashioned donut but decided to go on a carnivore diet and as a result couldn’t have that old fashioned donut. She recalled losing her mind and ending up eating 12 old fashioned donuts when all she really had to do was eat in a calorie deficit.

Kols said, “I did it. I lost 65 pounds eating a donut every Saturday morning, because you don’t have to give up the foods you love to be successful on your journey.”

What is caloric deficit?

For the uninitiated, a caloric deficit occurs when we consume fewer calories than our body needs to maintain its current weight. To create a calorie deficit, we can either eat fewer calories – by choosing foods that are low in calories or by reducing portion sizes, or by increasing our activity level – to burn more calories through exercise or daily movement.

It is a fundamental principle for weight loss, because in order to lose weight, the body must burn more calories than it consumes. For example, if our body needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain its weight, but we only consume 1,800 calories, we would create a 200 calorie deficit.

Over time this deficit can lead to weight loss as our body begins to use stored fat for energy, however sustainable weight loss usually involves a moderate calorie deficit ensuring we are still getting nutrients and energy appropriate. A calorie deficit is vital to weight loss, but many people forget that weight loss is effective when we burn more calories than we consume.

So tracking our nutrient intake for the day can lead to fat loss, but going into extreme caloric deficit can further worsen health and completely break the body’s metabolism. Instead, we should focus on nutritious foods.

Nutrition is not about counting calories; it’s about micros and macros. For example, vitamin deficiencies and metabolic or hormonal disorders like PCOD and thyroid cannot be managed if we blindly follow the concept of calorie counting.

Weight loss is determined by energy balance, calories in vs calories out, and if we tend to eat more than we burn, this will lead to weight gain over time. Balancing energy expenditure and energy intake is the most critical factor for sustainable weight loss, but there are various techniques to burn calories without dieting.

Health studies about not giving up your favorite food:

1. An early study – Cognitive Restraint, Disinhibition, and Hunger: An Examination of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire in a Sample of Young Adult Women – published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders in 1991, highlighted how strict cognitive restraint (a form of self-imposed restriction) often leads to disinhibition or the eventual breakdown of eating control due to the frustration caused by deprivation.
2. A study called “Dietary constraint and negative affect as predictors of food consumption in obese and non-obese individuals‘, published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 2001, examined the psychological effects of restrictive diets and demonstrated that food restriction often causes negative emotions that contribute to increased food intake and decreased adherence to the diet over time.
3. A study – Flexible Dieting Strategies vs. rigid: relationship to eating and binge eating behaviors in nonobese women – published in Appetite in 2002, found that rigid dieting, including strict avoidance of favorite foods, was associated with higher rates of binge eating and frustration, while flexible dieting that allowed occasional snacking was more durable. Additionally, other studies published in the journal Appetite indicate that when people restrict themselves to foods they like, they may end up craving those foods, sometimes referred to as the “forbidden food effect.” This can increase appetite, making it more difficult to resist eating over time and lead to eventual binge eating when self-control declines.
4. According to a 2006 study – Retained food and food cravings – published in Appetite, restrained eaters experience increased cravings, and dietary restrictions amplify cravings for “forbidden foods,” leading to frustration and potential diet failure. Other researchers have identified that strict dieting can promote an all-or-nothing mentality, leading people to feel like they’ve failed their diet if they indulge in even a small treat. This mindset, as shown in studies in The Journal of Behavioral Medicine, can push people to give up completely after a minor slip-up, often leading to a complete return to previous eating patterns.
5. A 2014 study – Effects of diet and non-diet interventions: a review of behavioral mechanisms and psychological effects – published in the Journal of Obesity, covered the negative effects of restrictive diets, including frustration and subsequent yo-yo dieting patterns, and suggested more balanced approaches to long-term adherence. Other studies in the journal Obesity Reviews found that a flexible diet that includes occasional indulgences in favorite foods can lead to better psychological well-being, fewer episodes of overeating, and improved weight management. The reason is that this approach encourages balance, allowing food satisfaction without feeling deprived, which can prevent frustration that leads to diet abandonment.
6. A study – Self-compassion promotes healthy eating – published in Health Psychology in 2015, investigated the role of self-compassion in dieting and found that those who allowed themselves occasional indulgences (rather than strict restrictions) reported reduced frustration and improved diet adherence. According to another study in Health Psychology, self-compassion—allowing yourself occasional indulgences—can promote better long-term adherence to healthy eating, reducing the guilt and frustration that often accompany restrictive dieting. This is because when people are more flexible about eating and allow occasional snacking, they are more likely to stick to balanced and sustainable diets.

Regarding dieting and emotional eating, research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition highlights how diets that restrict favorite foods can increase stress and negative emotions, leading to emotional eating. This behavior often leads to a withdrawal effect where individuals abandon the diet and return to previous eating habits to satisfy emotional needs.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always ask your doctor for advice with any questions about a medical condition.