According to Marc Kiviniemi a public health researcher at the University at Buffalo “People are planning to diet and trying to diet, but that’s not translating into a successful weight loss effort.
A majority of American adults say they’ve tried to lose weight at some point in their lives, and at any given time, about 1/3 of the adult population say they are currently trying to lose weight. Yet 60% of American adults are clinically overweight or obese and more than 16% of the deaths nationwide are related to diet and physical activity.
“There is a clear disconnect if we have a majority of the population that has tried to lose weight and the majority of the population that is overweight … People are planning meal plans and trying to diet, but that’s not translating into a successful weight loss effort” says Kiviniemi.
How people manage their own behavior is a big piece of that puzzle. Losing weight is a process that involves a PLAN to change EATING and behaving according to that PLAN.
But the factors that guide planning differ from those that guide actual behavior, according to the results of Kiviniemi’s new study with Carolyn Brown-Kramer of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln published this month in the Journal of Health Psycology. “The crux of the disconnect is the divide between thoughts and feelings. 
Planning is important, but feelings matter, and focusing on feelings and understanding their role can be a great benefit,” says Kiviniemi. -University at Buffalo, May 5th 2015 (edited for Length)