Run Away from Fad Diets as Fast as You Can
Saturday, April 11th, 2009It’s hard to believe fad diets are bad when so many people say they have positive results. The internet does not help in the matter either. Countless websites claim that fad diets show significant weight loss in just a couple of days.
Fad diets, yes, will help us lose weight. However, it’s 90% water. The water you’ve lost needs to be replenished or you’ll face serious health issues. One of them is irreversible, death.
Other fad diets are not so obviously crash diets but they’re over hyped diet plans that tend to be fashionable for a while and usually make a lot of money for the inventor in associated product sales.
At best, these are good nutrition plans which will help you lose weight, but which you could probably have gotten for free from your doctor. At worst, they prove too difficult to follow that you will give up after a week.
The bad of fad diets
1. If a diet program promises you quick and easy weight loss, it’s often based on eating certain types of food. However, consuming only some kinds of food will prevent you from getting a balanced diet.
These programs usually recommend supplements. The problem here is most of the times, the supplements they offer can’t be absorbed into the body unless you eat foods that are not allowed by the programs themselves. If you’re faithful enough to stick to your diet for several weeks, you may notice some changes, feel tired and weak due to nutritional deficiency.
2. Many fad diets are boring or ultra-strict. Fad diets that you can’t enjoy will put you back to your old habits. For example, you diet for 2 days, can’t stand what you have to eat, crave something else and, wallah, you have fallen off the train to weight loss. Then lots of people blame themselves for not losing weight.
3. Fad diets do not meet the requirements of the American Heart Association. “These diets are short term”, promoters might argue. But what happens if you do not reach your goals? Now make your choice: continue what’s bad for your health or stop and you’ll most likely gain all your weight back.
4. Many fad diets do not help you to incorporate enough servings of fruits and vegetables in your weight loss program, or give you the variety of foods that your body needs.
5. Fad diets are nothing but a temporary solution which does not produce permanent results. Permanent results need a permanent solution.
Yo-yo fad diets only make your weight fluctuate. And in some cases, you may end up gaining more weight than you’ve lost. The up-and-down weight issue hurts not only your health but also your self-esteem.
Whatever the publicity materials may say, these diets will not help you in the long term. The best way to sustain weight loss is to eat a varied and healthy diet, do not overeat, exercise regularly and avoid fad diets.