HOW TO SPOT A FAD DIET

It seems like new diets are cropping up everyday faster than you can say ‘she sells sea shells at the sea shore’. So with all these new diets and with millions of us pursuing our weight-loss goals it would be a daunting task to choose the right diet that fits our goals. Also people look for new diets for various reasons. Some do it for health reasons, say, to reduce ones cholesterol level or to control ones blood sugar while others do it for vanity. Whatever the reason might be there are diets that will get you the desired results and there are diets that won’t (at least in the long run). For example if you are trying to reduce your blood cholesterol level you wouldn’t benefit by going on the Atkins diet which consists primarily of a high protein diet from animal sources. On the other hand if your primary reason is just weight loss for the sole purpose of looking good, then Atkins will get you there. There is even a junk food diet that will get you there. So here are a few tips that will help you spot a fad diet. 

1)   Diets that denounce a particular food group: fat, carbs or proteins. All three food groups are essential to healthy living and avoiding one in favor of the others is not a balanced way to eat.

2)   Diets that don’t require you to change eating habits. Diets that claim you can eat whatever you want.

3)   Diets that claim no exercise is required. Any good weight loss plan should include some exercise: at least 3 days a week.

4)   Diets that require buying prepackaged supplements and food are just there to make money. They might work but don’t waste your money on them. There are easier more effective ways of losing weight than to drink meal in a shake.

5)    Diets that claim ridiculous amounts of weight loss in record time. Any weight loss over one lb per week is temporary and is bound to come back faster than it’s lost.

6)    Diets that aren’t tailored for the individual and that don’t consider your personal tastes and preferences.

7)    Lastly, any diet that gains popularity over a short period of time is more than likely a fad diet because of all the above reasons. It catches too many people’s attention in a short duration because of the ridiculous claims and too many people looking for short cuts fall victim to its claims.

Any healthy weight loss diet should consist of a balance of many nutritious and wholesome foods consumed in small portions over the whole day. Along with a healthy diet plan one should target exercising for at least 3-4 days a week. A combination of cardio (for endurance and cardiovascular conditioning) and resistance training (for strength and fat loss) would work best.