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Successful long term weight loss is exceptional, even with the best dietary and psychological interventions. Nomothetic accounts ofdiet failure incorporate cognitive processes and emotional regulation. However, phenomenological research suggests that successful dieters draw on wider discourses in explaining their success; this study extends this literature to address diet failure. Individual interviews with 10 self-selected UK dieters are analysed using IPA. Understandings ofdiet failure are explored and situated within wider cultural discourses. Five superordinate themes are identified: 'Dieting mode'; 'Multi-me'; Not me'; 'Modem life'; and 'Challenges ofemotional and social eating'. Implications for weight loss interventions are explored.