Trendy Diets: Do They Really Work?

What’s with all the trendy fad diets out there? I’m sure you have heard of them; the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit diet, Atkins diet and so many others.

These are all called Fad diets. Ha? What’s a Fad diet?

Fad diets are eating styles usually based on a single food group (ex. high-protein diets) or based on eliminating another (ex. Low-carb diets). These popular diets focus on promoting fast short-term weight loss. But the question is: do they promote long-term weight maintenance? Will the kilograms lost stay off? Are they safe? Are they easy to follow for a long period of time?

The answer is: NO, NO, NO and definitely NO

Your body needs a healthy diet that includes all food groups; carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fruits and vegetables, in their proper amounts. Thus, providing your body with all its caloric needs and essential nutrients including vitamins and minerals. That’s why fad diets could have dangerous effects on your health, as it excludes some essential food groups and thus deprives your body from its needs and puts you at risk of developing dietary deficiencies.

Moreover, going on a Fad diet that is based on eating more of a certain food group could put extra pressure on your body organs that metabolize these specific elements and hence puts you at risk of many drastic health consequences.

Besides, studies have shown that such diets do not achieve permanent weight loss. Once you go back to your usual eating pattern, you will regain all the lost weight back and sometimes even more.

So what does really work? The answer is simple: eat fewer calories than your body burns, include all food groups in moderation, and exercise daily.