Diet starts today... and ends on Friday: How we quickly slip back into bad eating habits within a few days

Four out of 10 regular dieters start their healthy eating regimes on Monday

Few make it through to the weekend, reverting to their old eating habits

One in 10 dieters have ditched their diet by Tuesday

Dietician Kate Arthur recommends eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and having the occasional treat



Fad diets started at the beginning of the working week are most likely to be ditched by Friday, new research shows.

While more than four out of 10 regular dieters see Mondays as a logical starting point to ditch junk food and get healthy, by the weekend most have succumbed to the temptation of eating out and drinking with friends.

Just a stoic few will see it through to Saturday, and sometimes even Sunday, before packing it in and reverting to their old eating habits.

Temptation too much: Most fad dieters who start their healthy regime on Monday have ditched it by Friday for junk food and drinking according to new research



The snapshot of the nation’s dieting habits has been revealed in a survey of more than 2,000 Britons by Alpro, a company advocating plant-based eating.

The results help explain why high-profile fad diets including Atkins, Dukan, The Fast Diet, The Alkaline Diet, The Baby Food Diet, The Blood-Type Diet, The French Woman Diet, The Paleo Diet and the new 5:2 regime, almost always turn out to be passing fancies.

Of the half of us who regularly diet, Alpro found that two out of five dieters quit within the first seven days. One out of five last a month, and the same number make it to the three-month mark, while the remainder stay dedicated for at least six months. However, only one in 20 is likely to still be following their new healthy eating regime after one year.

Of those who quit in the first week, one in 10 will have already ditched their new regime by Tuesday. By Thursday, a further three out of 10 will have followed suit. By Friday, four out 10 say they are so proud of their achievement in lasting five days that they deserve a reward, or that the lure of Friday night cocktails or the chance to escape from family pressures or work by enjoying some drinks and eating out is too great to turn down.



Only one out of 10 first-week quitters makes it through to Saturday before falling back into bad habits, and the same number makes it to Sunday.

Maker of plant-based food and drink, Alpro, commissioned the study to highlight how strict eating and diet regimes, while looking great on paper and followed by millions - even if only fleetingly - are not the best way to sustain a healthy lifestyle when the realities of real life also kick in.



Quick quitters: Of dieters who quit in their first week, one in 10 will have reverted to their old eating habits by Tuesday

In particular, it said that more and more people were realising the benefits of broader eating plans, such as its successful ‘plant-based eating’ campaign, which encourages people to ‘reshape their plate’ by adding more plant-based foods into a balanced diet - such as whole grains, beans and pulses, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Alpro dietician Kate Arthur explains: ‘More and more dieters are realising that the fad diet promises of shedding huge amounts of weight in just a few weeks are either hollow, or that the diets are impossible to follow.



Hollow weight loss: Kate Arthur, a dietician for Alpro says most fad diets are almost impossible to follow

‘The reality is that the majority of these diets are so impractical and indeed so little fun that we often give up within just a few days.

‘There has never been any secret to sustaining a healthy diet.



'It always has been, and always will be, about eating the right foods as part of a balanced diet, and exercising, while allowing yourself a treat now and again.

‘Effectively, we are advocating a return to a more natural omnivore-based diet that embraces all food groups which is nothing more than the plant-based diet that we, as a race, are supposed to follow to maintain good all round health.’

The Alpro survey also highlighted how considerations about health, the environment and where our food comes from already appear to be prompting a move towards more sustainable food choices and a more varied diet.

Of all those surveyed, four out of 10 said they were now trying to eat less meat because of concerns over health and the negative impact that they believe the production of meat has on the environment.

Ms Arthur said: ‘It is particularly pleasing that we are now really beginning to see a step change in how people are thinking about food, from the eating regimes they want to follow, to the foods they want to eat both more and less of because of concerns over health and considerations for the environment.’

No secrets to success: Ms Arthur says that to be healthy you need to eat plant-based foods as part of a balanced diet, exercise regularly and occasionally treat yourself