If fad diets do not work, why are there so many people willing to keep trying them?
Several years ago, we were inundated with articles and programs that made the pronouncement that “diet” was a bad word and that we should stop using it. We were told that no one should ever go on a weight loss diet and, instead, we should simply change the way we think about food.
Honestly, that was really good advice. Practically, however, it has not seemed all that successful. A Google search of the word “diet” returned 1,680,000,000 results in just over half a second. An awful lot of people are still highly concerned about the concept of diet. Even more concerning is the amount of ink and airtime devoted to the dangers of fad diets that seem to have done little to discourage people from trying the countless new iterations appearing all the time.
Whether you start a new year off by committing to the latest and greatest new diet of the moment or read about one that your favorite celebrity claims to use to stay looking camera-ready, fad diets inevitably have the same things in common. They may cause weight loss, initially, but it will be temporary and almost always at the expense of sound nutrition. In addition, most of us know by now that these are programs that cannot be maintained for any length of time, and, when abandoned, any pounds that were lost quickly return and often bring several friends with them.
Fad Diets to Especially Avoid
Prevention magazine published a list of fad diets that nutritionists recommend staying away from in 2020. Many of them are the more popular ones being actively promoted today, such as Keto, Paleo, Zero Sugar, Lectin-Free, Atkins, etc. Some of the more interesting and less well-known diets on the list include:
- The Werewolf Diet – This really is the name of this diet, and it advises you to eat as werewolves do by doing a juice fast for 24 hours when there is a full moon and other restrictions based on the various other phases of the moon.
- The Five Bite Diet – The first step is to skip breakfast altogether and then only eat five bites of whatever you have for lunch and for dinner. Chances are you will lose weight eating only ten bites of food every day but what are the odds of staying on this long term? Or of consuming enough of the nutrients your body requires?
- The Baby Food Diet – This one has you replacing two meals a day with baby food, up to 10 or 15 jars per meal. Whether it works are not, it hardly needs saying that this would not be sustainable or healthy for an adult.
The reason that all of these diets continue to attract followers is that we want a quick fix to what is usually a lifelong problem. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with that if there was one that actually worked for the long term and also managed to promote good health. Unfortunately, if one that does that exists, no one has found it yet.
What is true is that it really is important to reach and remain at a body weight that is healthy. Instead of throwing money away and sacrificing nutrition, consider finding a healthcare professional who can guide you through the process with a program that is designed for you specifically. There will never be a better time to find a permanent solution and take control of your health and well-being, once and for all.
The Southern California Center for Anti-Aging focuses on the practice of advanced, preventive and regenerative medicine. We strongly believe correcting imbalances and deficiencies in nutrition, along with improving fitness and balancing and restoring hormones with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, can help with creating the foundation for a healthier and happier life. To learn more about our holistic approach or if you have questions about any of our services, take advantage of our Free Consultation by clicking here to use our convenient online form.
