HEALTH & WELLNESS

Fad Diets: How Do They Lose Weight, Pros And Con

Popular diets have pros and cons that can help determine if they’re right for you.

Reviewed by clinical dietitian Dr. Pallavi Srivastava
By Tanya, B.Desgn, ISSA Certified Fitness and Nutrition Specialist
Fact-checking by Himanshi Mahajan, Bachelor of Science (Life Sciences), certified Health and Nutrition Life Coach.

Celebrities and dieters were quick to jump on the fad diet bandwagon. While the pressure to stay healthy and beautiful is always there, a fad diet is an easy way to lose some extra weight. Since the diet requires a reduction in the intake of essential foods over a period of time, it may also have some negative effects, pose health risks to your body, and may be ineffective and unsustainable in the long run. This trend, also known as yo-yo dieting, involves a pattern of losing weight quickly through restrictive dieting, but gaining it back after dieting, repeatedly. In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of fad dieting and how it affects our health in the long run. Before you choose the diet of your choice, scroll down to read them and join the fad diet bandwagon.


What Is a Fad Diet?

Fad diets are popular weight loss programs that quickly catch on, often promising quick and dramatic results through specific food restrictions or extreme eating patterns. It often lacks scientific support and can eliminate entire food categories, highlighting certain foods or supplements as magic solutions for weight loss.

Fad diets often neglect balanced nutrition and sustainable lifestyle changes, focusing instead on short-term results. Some examples include juice cleanses, extreme calorie restriction, or diets based on a single food. While some popular diets may lead to temporary weight loss, they are often unsustainable and can be harmful, potentially depriving the body of essential nutrients and leading to health problems in the long run.

Do Fad Diets Work? RDN Theresa Saltsgaver Said:

Theresa Saltsgaver (MSC, RDN, LDN) said: “In my private practice, most of the patients I see have tried fad diets. They lose weight, gain weight, and sometimes even gain weight. When I counsel patients who want to lose weight, I recommend a slow weight loss of one to two pounds per week. In addition, increasing physical activity and implementing a healthy diet are important parts of addressing this problem. The key to success is long-term, viable lifestyle changes.”

Read on to learn more about the different types of fad diets.

Fashion Diet – List:

  • Sacred Heart diet
  • Sleeping beauty diet
  • South Beach diet
  • Tapeworm diet
  • Regional diet
  • Cabbage soup diet
  • Master of purification
  • Grapefruit diet
  • 3-day diet
  • Five-bite diet
  • 17-day diet
  • Acai diet
  • Air diet
  • Apple cider vinegar diet
  • The Atkins diet for me
  • Baby food diet
  • The Beverly Hills diet
  • Blood group diet
  • Cotton ball diet
  • Detox diet
  • HCG diet
  • Hollywood diet
  • Liquid diet
  • Low carb diet
  • Low-fat diet
  • Negative-calorie diet
  • Ancient diet

Most diets can help you lose weight quickly. However, they can have adverse effects. They cannot be considered a solution for weight loss because the long-term success rate is extremely low. They simply provide quick fixes and temporary solutions, the consequences of which can be unhealthy.

Author and blogger Tehseen Shaikh talks about her weight loss journey and the different eating habits she tried before making a radical lifestyle change. “i’m not using these as my solutions because my intention is to be able to last forever (i),” she wrote. She continued, “So I’ve always believed that it’s a good idea to think about lifestyle changes rather than just losing weight.”

Let’s take a closer look at three of the most popular meal plans. They all have disadvantages and advantages. They can help you lose weight, but they are not a solution for long-term health. The best way to stay healthy is to eat a balanced diet, live a healthy lifestyle and exercise.

1.Cabbage Soup Diet

The cabbage soup diet usually consists of eating only cabbage soup for a week, in addition to fruits and other vegetables. On the first day you can eat cabbage soup and a tomato; The next day, you’ll eat cabbage soup and a radish; On the third day you will eat cabbage soup, tomatoes and radishes.

Advantages

  • You can enjoy unlimited cabbage soup and selected foods (fruits and vegetables).
  • The unlimited policy of cabbage soup ensures that you don’t feel too hungry and lose weight quickly. In some cases, the weight loss is very immediate, as much as 5 kilograms in a week.
  • Renovations are inexpensive and easy to prepare.

Shortcoming:

  • A cabbage soup diet can make you tired and make you feel weaker than usual.
    In most cases, the weight loss was found to be temporary.
  • Cabbage soup can cause stomach cramps.
  • Cabbage soup is not very tasty and may become dull after a few days.
    Related: 11 health benefits, Nutrients, and side effects of cabbage

2. The Master Cleanse

Beyonce Knowles’ master cleanse was an instant hit. The diet replaces regular foods with chili peppers, maple syrup and lemon-flavored water. This is a particularly laborious job, and sometimes the purification can last up to 40 days.

Advantages

  • When you cut out junk food, tobacco, and alcohol from your diet, it makes you feel better.
    This mixture is delicious and economical to make.
  • While the duration of the Master Cleanse can be long, it is one of the shorter diets compared to other therapies, with an average duration of 10 days.

Disadvantage

  • Since eating is not allowed, it may be difficult to follow.
  • It requires both physical and mental perseverance.
  • It causes a rapid loss of muscle mass, which affects your body composition, and affects your energy balance, lowering energy levels.
  • After completing the Master Cleanse, it will take some time for your body to adjust to normal food.

3. The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit Diet is often referred to as the Hollywood Diet and can last up to 12-18 days on average. Normally, you’ll eat ½ grapefruit; Alternatively, you can drink about 250 ml of grapefruit juice along with a specific meal. Meals usually include 5-7 cups of water and protein.

Advantages

  • The grapefruit diet plan is easy to follow.
  • It is a healthy food, low in calories, near zero fat, and high in vitamin C.
  • It helps reduce the risk of diabetes and improves insulin resistance
  • It can also improve high blood pressure.

Disadvantages

  • Cut your calorie intake to 800. This limit is well below the daily nutritional requirements and can lead to fatigue.
  • A strict routine may cause stomach aches, dizziness, or headaches due to insufficient food.
  • Excess protein can lead to complications such as kidney stones (4).

Matters Needing Attention

Here are some considerations you must be aware of when using the fad diet. You should ignore any weight loss products or diet plans that have the following characteristics:

  • Claims to help lose more than 2 pounds per week. Keep in mind that weight loss and weight gain are gradual processes, and gaining or losing 2 pounds in a week seems unlikely.
  • Making unrealistic promises. You don’t have to cut fat and calories from your diet to lose weight.
  • The healthier plan recommends that you reduce your intake of certain foods. Removing a certain nutrient from your diet can lead to other complications.
  • Include “before” and “after” photos. Stay away from scammers who use this technique. These products often pay people to get rave reviews and use the names of unheard of nutrition experts.
  • Limit your diet to fruits and vegetables and encourage you to avoid a balanced diet.
  • Make sure to keep your water intake balanced to avoid dehydration, especially during the summer months.

Our Verdict

The cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet and detox master help with weight loss. All of this, however, provides only temporary results. To really stay healthy, you need to eat a balanced diet, exercise, and pay close attention to what you put in your mouth.

According to the 2015-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 17.1 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 20 adopt a special diet on any given day. Nineteen percent of women had a special diet, compared with 15.1 percent of men. The percentage of adults aged 20-39 in the survey (13.3%) was lower than that of adults aged 40-59 (19.2%) and those aged 60 and over (19.3%).

There are many kinds of fad diets, from the cabbage soup diet to the Hollywood diet. Unfortunately, people rush to lose weight quickly without weighing the pros and cons of fad diets. In fact, they do help you lose weight faster, but the effects won’t last as long once you stop these diets. Therefore, they are not effective for sustainable weight loss. In addition, evidence-based practice shows that these diets greatly reduce calorie intake, leading to malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies. Following them for a long time can cause muscle loss, fatigue, bulimia, and headaches. Many fad diets are rooted in pseudoscience because they advocate limiting dietary intake or eliminating certain groups as a solution. Therefore, it is important to note that these diets have many mild and severe side effects. Therefore, the best way to lose weight is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all the fad diets successful?

Popular diets are mostly unsuccessful. Sure, you lose weight when you stick to a diet, but you gain weight again when you start eating regularly. Fad diets can lead to mood swings, digestive problems, eating disorders, and muscle loss. You should look for healthier eating options. Talk to your dietitian who will determine your body type and develop an appropriate and sustainable diet plan for you to help you lose weight.

Is the ketogenic diet a fad?

Yes, the ketogenic diet falls into the fad diet category because it promises rapid weight loss. However, once you start eating regular foods, you may notice weight gain. In addition, because of its high fat content, cardiologists do not recommend consuming it. Therefore, please consult your dietitian before starting any diet.

Is the fad diet sustainable?

No, fad diets are not sustainable.

How do fad diets affect metabolism?

Fad diets try to minimize what you eat and how much you eat. They slow down your metabolism and cause metabolic damage, which is why you tend to gain weight once you stop dieting.

What’s the difference between healthy eating and fad eating?

Popular diets will minimize what you eat and how much you eat so you can lose weight quickly. This means that you eat very little food and cannot provide your body with enough nutrients to function properly. A healthy diet contains balanced nutrients from fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, healthy fats and carbohydrates. They also cut down on processed foods and trans fats. Follow a healthy balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity to sustain your weight loss journey.

Key Takeaways

  • Fad diets are quick weight loss programs that help achieve the desired weight by reducing essential nutrients.
  • Some popular fad diets are the cabbage soup diet, the paleo diet, and the liquid diet.
  • Fad diets can detoxify the body and reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.
  • Fad diets can cause headaches and stomach cramps.