Fad Dieting

What is a Fad Diet?

A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight loss and is usually popular for only a short time. Fad diets are marketed to seem attractive to the person who wants to lose weight quickly. Most fad diets claim that an individual can lose weight without having to exercise, simply by following the diet’s plan of eating. However, most fad diets are considered unhealthy by physicians and deemed a gimmick.

Fad diets usually do not offer the consumer a healthy, long-term weight control formula. Fad diets are often very restrictive. Fad diets are not a healthy form of dieting that can be incorporated into a dieter’s lifestyle long term.

Many fad diets contribute to “yo-yo dieting". Yo-yo dieting is the successive gain and loss of weight due to excessive dieting. Yo-yo dieting makes weight loss slow when it is finally approached from a healthy perspective.

Complications of Fad Diets

Individuals who go on fad diets are putting their body at risk for disease and illness. Most fad diets restrict the individual from eating foods that are packed with the nutrients the human body needs to protect itself from fatigue and sickness.

For example, a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates can cause the body to become low in electrolytes. This type of diet can also cause low blood pressure, decreased energy and fatigue. Also, a diet that is high in protein, but low in carbohydrates, can increase the individual’s chances of having kidney stones and gout. Also, a diet that is high in protein can cause your body to be at risk for calcium loss, which leads to osteoporosis.

What You Can Do

If you want to lose weight, it is best to stay away from fad diets. There is no magic pill or diet that will take your weight off. Talk to your physician about a healthy weight loss plan that is right for your individual needs. Exercise goes hand in hand with weight loss. Simply walking two to three times each week will boost your metabolism and help the weight to come off.

How to Recognize a Fad Diet

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