That diet your friend swears by isn’t magic – this is why it works

In short: the diet you follow is less important than how closely you follow it - (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Chances are, a friend of yours has sung the praises of a specific diet or exercise plan, then insisted you give it a go. They likely cited incredible personal results: “I lost 5kg in a few weeks… I’ve never felt better… I don’t recognise myself in the mirror.”

There’s only one problem: as experienced coach Dan John once told me, “everything works for a while”.