Fad diets : Fibs & fabrications

culled from:tescohealthandwellbeing.com

Step no.1 of good nutrition & dieting: eat a healthy, varied and balanced diet

Step no.2 of good nutrition & dieting: to enjoy the foods you are eating

Fad diets : Unhealthy & unsustainable

Fad diets that involve strict regimines or strange eating patterns are impossible to follow long term, and break both the above steps of good nutrition and dieting. They can over-emphasise on one food group or type of food, leaving your diet unbalanced and unsustainable, boring and unenjoyable. Fad diets normally promise a large weight loss in minimal time, but once you return to regular eating it’s likely you will regain what you have lost, and some. A healthy, calorie controlled diet will help you to lose the recommended 1-2lbs per week, allowing you to reach your desired weight loss goals and maintain these for life.

may undermine your health, cause physical discomfort (abdominal discomfort and flatulence) and lead to disappointment when you regain weight soon after you lose it American Heart Association warns the public against fad diets.

Excluding food groups, which some diets promote (think of the paleo diet - removes dairy), may lead to nutritional deficiencies. Other fad diets (think of the cabbage soup diet or breatharian diet) can be extremely low in calories. Your body will look for other ways to get energy, which may lead to digestion of muscle. This is not only detrimental to your health, but also your weight loss as it is your muscles which help you to burn calories at rest.

Fad diets	Recommended balanced diet
nutritional deficiencies	provides all the nutrients your body needs
nausea	boosted immune system
unhealthy & unsustainable	healthy & sustainable for life
fatigue	improved energy levels
body may begin to digest your muscles	healthy eating & exercise lead to increased muscle mass

Fact: all diets work, fad or not.

Any diet, no matter how bizarre, which makes you consume less calories than needed, will result in weight loss. Yes, losing weight quickly might be appealing to some, but it is just a quick fix. Fad diets do not teach how to make healthy lifestyle choices that will enable long term weight loss and maintenance, but a healthy and balanced diet will give you these skills.
A lot of fad diets promise rapid weight loss, with no physical activity needed. Now, that may sound like a fantastic proposition (imagine making money without working, or cooking without buying any ingredients) but it does not work unfortunately. Being physically active helps you increase or maintain weight loss, and physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, among others. If a Victoria's Secret angel has to eat healthily and exercise to keep her body in shape, I think we all can too!

I live in LA, where every fad diet starts and all the training techniques begin, but I have always kept my approach to health and fitness really simple. My approach is to eat a lot of vegetables, smoothies and fish ... I don't believe in fads. I believe in eating clean and balanced.Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on fad diets

Sounds too good to be true? It probably is!

Fact: No 'superfoods' will alter your genetic code. No foods will miraculously melt fat while you watch TV, sit at work or sleep. Eating healthily & exercising regularly will enable you to reach your desired weight and stay there, for life!

Limiting your food intake, excluding food groups or following rigid meal plans is a daunting and overwhelming task. With any new diet you should ask yourself, “Can I follow this for the rest of my life?”. If the answer is no, you shouldn’t follow it at all.

What really works

If you want to maintain a healthy weight, build muscle and lose fat, the best path is a lifelong combination of eating healthily & being physically active. Register now for free and get a personalized plan, tailored to your lifestyle and food preferences. Fad dieting is one pressure you don't need in your life. Make small changes for the better now, and you will achieve your desired weight and have the tools to maintain this for life.

Recap...

Have a look at the differences between a ‘fad’ diet and healthy diet. Those with a we love!

Fad	Healthy
lose up to ½ a stone in a week	lose 1-2 lbs per week (recommended)
rapid losses usually lead to weight gain when normal eating resumes	foster regular, long term weight loss & reach desired weight for life
only 1 type of food eg. cabbage soup	varied diet including all foods
exclude food groups eg. carbohydrates	varied diet including all food groups
only eat 500/600 calories per day	lower current calorific intake by 500/600 per day