Are Fad Diets the Best Way to Reach Your Health Goals?

We have all heard the term “fad diet”. You are constantly seeing new diets floating around the internet or tv advertisements. Once one goes out another comes in its place. So, what are fad diets? What makes them special? Should you go on one? Follow along to learn all things fad diets, why our Registered Dietitians don’t recommend following them, and how a healthy, sustainable approach to diet is key.

What Are Fad Diets?

A fad diet is a diet or approach to the diet that promotes results, usually regarding weight loss, without specific support or evidence to support claims. Fad diets typically share similar characteristics such as these:

Rapid Weight Loss

• Fad diets typically promote extreme and rapid weight loss, such as losing 2-3 pounds per week, or over 50 pounds in 2 months. The amount or time frame of weight loss from these diets is extreme, and typically unrealistic. 

Eliminating Foods or Entire Food Groups

• Fad diets often promote eliminating certain foods, food groups, or entire macronutrients. Things that we often see eliminated are carbohydrates, fat, dairy, meat, and sugar. 

Rigid Rules or Restrictions

• Accompanying these diets, there are typically rules or restrictions, as well as requiring a certain product or subscription such as a drink, supplement, or meal replacements. 

Extreme Calorie Restriction

• Fad diets typically severely restrict calories, such as a 1200-calorie diet, or 24-hour fasting, etc. 

Food-Specific Claims

• Fad diets often claim that certain food or food groups are the direct cause of weight gain, or the reason for lack of weight loss. An example is the carnivore diet claiming that fruits and vegetables or carbohydrates cause weight gain.

Lack of Education Regarding Healthy Eating habits or Approach to Diet

• Fad diets rarely involve learning about healthy eating approaches or long term approaches to the diet. 

Typically Use Time Frame as a Marketing Factor

• Fad diets often use time to their advantage, such as “lose 50 pounds in a month with this diet”. 

Fad diets are desirable to the population because they have rules that can be followed which can make eating feel easier. With their restrictive rules regarding foods and calories, these diets typically do produce weight loss. This weight loss is the direct result of severely restricting calories as a whole, causing you to eat less. This extreme form of calorie cutting typically produces weight loss for the short term. Fad diets seem “too good to be true” because they are! They provide results for the short term, but do not provide sustainable habits for the long term. 

Examples of Fad Diets

• Ketogenic Diet
• Paleo
• Whole30
• Carnivore
• Low fat diet
• Low carb diet
• Weight Watchers
• Cabbage diet

How to Spot a Fad Diet

The best way to spot a fad diet is to stop and ask questions. Is the diet promising results? Is significant weight loss in a short amount of time being promoted? Are you being asked to purchase a product or supplement? Is the diet eliminating entire food groups or certain foods? Does the diet demonize another food or food group? Ask questions! 

Why Our Registered Dietitians Don’t Recommend Fad Diets

Fad diets can be harmful to your mental, emotional, and physical health. Extremely cutting calories, cutting out entire food or food groups, feeling extremely restricted, and having to follow strict rules can often be mentally damaging. This can lead to burnout and cause mental and emotional health to decline. Furthermore, extreme restriction is not realistic, and can lead to feelings of shame or guilt if something comes up or for some reason you eat something that is “off limits”. This can often lead to a dangerous all or nothing mindset surrounding food.

Physically, these diets can cut out entire foods or food groups, leading to a lack of nutrients. There are certain nutrients, vitamins and minerals that come from a varied diet. So, when entire food groups or foods are cut out, this can lead to certain nutrient deficiencies. Extreme or rapid weight loss can also cause the body to adapt to lower caloric intake to survive, therefore down regulating the metabolism. This can have negative implications to the body and metabolism. 

What Diet DO Our Registered Dietitians Recommend?

There is no “diet” that is best. Following a varied diet consisting of whole foods, protein rich foods, whole grains, a variety of fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, fiber rich foods, as well as “fun foods”, or other less nutrient dense foods, can often help you reach your health goals sustainably, however. The diet that “works” is the diet you can stick to. Simply put, a diet is the food you consume. It does not have to be called anything, have to restrict anything, or make you feel restricted. Our Registered Dietitians recommend following a diet that includes all foods in moderation, limiting ultra processed foods, and enjoying the food you consume. A healthy diet is a balanced diet, and that is the diet that you will be able to sustain for life. Eating healthy is a marathon, not a sprint! Focusing on healthy habits surrounding food rather than extreme strict diets will set you up for long term success. 

The Bottom Line on Fad Diets

Fad diets are just that- a fad! They come and go. Avoiding these rigid and strict diets with rules and restrictions and trading them in for a neutral, balanced, and varied healthful diet is key to sustaining long term health, success, and results. If you struggle with what a healthy diet looks like for you, where to start, or any questions regarding what a healthy lifestyle looks like for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We are here to help YOU. 

References

https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/fad-diets.html#:~:text=A%20fad%20diet%20is%20a,certain%20foods%20at%20certain%20times.