There are endless examples of fad diets but what is the actual meaning of ‘fad diet’? They can be tricky to define and sometimes hard to spot. A fad diet can come about in different ways. In some cases it is through a product. A company may create a magic pill promising weight to fall off you. In other cases it is through media pressuring men and women to look a certain way. With this pressure different wild weight loss ideas spread.
If you’re considering a diet, reconsider.
Hallmarks of A Fad Diet
There’s a few different aspects of a diet that can help you distinguish it as a fad.
First off, if it restricts you from a whole food group…RUN. The keto diet doesn’t completely remove carbohydrates from your life but it’s pretty dang close.
Another simple way to see through the endless claims are if before-and-after photos of someones body are used for marketing. Just showing two photos and justifying the change on one specific aspect is blatantly wrong. There are so many factors that go into it. Maybe the person had an illness, maybe they didn’t even do that specific diet, or the picture is photoshopped!
Being too good to be true. A diet where all you eat is cookies? It may sound awesome at first but think about it a bit more. Do you only want to eat cookies for the rest of your life?
A product must be purchased. As of 2021 there is no single product that you can purchase that will directly lead to healthy weight loss. You don’t need a powder, pill, or shake to lose weight. All you need is a balanced diet and a slight caloric deficit.
This last one may be hard for the average person to research, but if the diet doesn’t have enough scientific evidence to back it up, don’t trust it. It takes MUCH research, MANY critiques, and TONS of data in order for studies to be published. One trusted source of health information is PubMed. If you’ve never read scientific journals before it may be tough to go through but it’s possible!
Fad Diets Through The Ages
Early On
Before the 90’s many weight loss methods involved eating just one specific food. A popular one was the Cabbage Soup diet where you can only have cabbage soup but you can have as much as you’d like. Another was the Grapefruit Diet. For some reason it was believed that grapefruit had the ability to burn fat.
The 90’s
The popular fad diet of the 90’s was low-fat.
The Early 2000’s
Atkins created the popular diet of low-carb in the early 2000’s and trademarked it as the Atkin’s diet.
2010 On
This is the time fad diets ran rampant. People were trying out intermittent fasting, cutting out gluten and/or dairy, the keto diet, Whole30, and Noom.
Why Fad Diets Are Ineffective
People boast about a 10lb weight loss in 10 days with their new diet so how could it be ineffective?! The issue with fad diets are that they reteach you how to eat. You are born with the ability to listen to your hunger and cravings. These diets teach you certain foods are ‘bad’ and that you’ve been eating wrong your whole life.
When you first start a fad diet it is actually very likely you’ll lose a few pounds. This is simply because you are more focused on what you’re consuming and likely just water weight. That means once you’re less strict the weight will come back.
Weight Loss Without A Diet
If you are attempting to lose those stubborn pounds and the keto diet is getting a bit too tempting, listen up. The best general advise is to eat a balanced diet. Heard that before but just don’t get it? Eating a balanced diet means you are having protein, carbs, and fat. Not only that but having them in adequate amounts. Another way to look at eating balanced is to have both foods that are labeled ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’. Its great to have salad but cutting gout your favorite pizza isn’t doing you any good. The best bet is to have your pizza but maybe not the whole pizza.
If you need support ask a family member or close friend to help you in researching and implementing your new lifestyle. Need more of a professional guiding hand? Reach out to a Registered Dietitian (RD). They are the only health professionals qualified to give you nutrition advice.
If you’re stuck on what to have for breakfast check out my post, 4 Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas, to get you out of your repetitive rut!
Leave a comment below if you have any questions about any diets or if you’re questioning any products! I’d love to help!
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