The Problem with Fad Diets

The problem with fad diets is that they do not work in the long term. Fad diets become popular for a short period of time for a reason. There is a buzz around certain diets because a few people manage to shed a lot of weight quickly and there are celebrity endorsements as well. However, the hype soon dies down once average men and women decide to follow a particular diet, losing weight successfully, but then discovering that they cannot keep the weight off.

Fad diets are too restrictive
One of the difficulties with sticking to a diet is the fact fad diets are so restrictive. If you decide to go on a diet that advocates you only eat apples or that you should stick to soup, you will soon find yourself obsessing about the foods you are not allowed. It is obviously going to be a challenge to stick to a diet that does not provide you with all the essential nutrients you need. You won’t have enough energy to do any exercise and your cravings for sugary food may be too great to resist, so that you could find yourself bingeing on calorific foods.


Fad diets promise unrealistic results
Most people are drawn to fad diets because they offer you the opportunity to lose large amounts of weight in a short space of time. It is generally recommended that you should aim to lose between one and two pounds a week. However, when you have over 20 pounds to lose, it is going to take awhile to reach your goal weight. You want to see results quickly, so that you can enjoy being slimmer and get back to your normal life. Fad diets can lead to rapid weight loss, but this is because they tend to be very-low calorie diets.

You lose quite a few pounds at the start, but much of this will be water weight and your body will soon adjust to being provided with fewer calories. When you go back to eating what you consider to be a normal diet, you will most likely regain the weight you lost, so that you end up right back at square one.


Too much planning is involved
Fad diets are not designed to be followed forever. They are there to kick-start your weight loss, but tend not to be healthy and balanced. Thus, if you continue following a fad diet for too long, you may become malnourished and find that you are constantly coming down with colds and that you don’t have any energy to do anything. Most people are unable to stick to a diet for long, anyway, because there is too much planning involved. You can’t go out to eat with friends or eat a normal meal with your family, because you have to eat your specially prepared food and so it just isn’t feasible to continue following such a restrictive diet plan.

A better alternative
The better alternative to fad diets is to make slight adjustments to your habits that are sustainable in the long run. This means eating less junk food, cutting down portion sizes and making an effort to get more exercise. Taking such steps should enable you to lose weight gradually, so that you actually have a chance of keeping the weight off.