Low carb diet, 5:2 diet, detox diet, cabbage soup diet… there is no end to the different diets that promise to help you lose weight fast.
The big question for any such diet is one: does it work? Most people aim for rapid – sometimes dramatic – weight loss, only to regain the lost weight at the end of the diet.
What’s more worrying is that many fad diets are based on extreme scientific data or simply… no scientific data at all, predicting eating practices that are unhealthy and can make you sick.
The British Dietetic Association states that “there is no miracle diet that you can follow without some associated health risk”.
A “fad” diet is usually a low-calorie diet without a variety of foods, or an unusual combination of foods.
Those who follow them may lose weight very quickly at first, but they soon get bored and go back to their old eating habits and end up gaining the weight back.
Diet: 5 Reasons to Avoid Fad Diets
1. Some diets can make you sick
Many diets, especially crash diets, aim to dramatically reduce the number of calories you consume.
“These diets make you feel very sick and you can’t function properly,” says nutritionist Ursula Arens. “Because they are nutritionally unbalanced, they can lead to long-term adverse health effects,” he adds.
2. Blocking out food groups is dangerous
Some diets recommend cutting out certain food families, such as meat, fish, wheat or dairy.
This might prevent you from getting the nutrients and vitamins your body needs to function properly. It is possible to lose weight without cutting foods out of your diet.
3. Low-carb diets can be high in fat
Some diets are very low in carbohydrates (such as pasta, bread and rice), which are an important source of energy.
Although you may lose weight on these types of diets, they are often high in protein and fat, which can make you sick. Low-carb diets can also cause side effects such as bad breath, headaches and constipation.
Many low-carb diets allow you to eat foods high in saturated fat, such as butter, cheese and meat.
Too much saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
4. Detox diets don’t work
These diets are based on the idea that toxins build up in the body and can be removed by eating or avoiding certain foods. But there is no evidence that toxins accumulate in our bodies. If they did, we would feel very sick.
Detox diets can lead to weight loss because they involve restricting calories, cutting out certain foods altogether, such as wheat or dairy, and eating a very limited range of foods.
“Detox diets don’t work,” says Arens. “It’s actually a form of modified fasting.”
5. The Cabbage Soup Diet, Blood Type Diet, 5:2 Diet, and other “fad” diets are based on extreme science
Some diets are based on eating a single food or meal, such as cabbage soup, chocolate or eggs.
Other diets recommend eating foods only in certain combinations based on genetic type, or blood type.
There is often little or no scientific evidence to support these diets, and they can be difficult to maintain long-term.
“If followed for long periods of time, these diets can be bad for your health,” says Arens. “You may lose weight in the short term, but it’s much better to lose weight gradually and be healthy.”
Diet: How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way – The Basics
We gain weight when the amount of calories we consume exceeds the amount of calories we burn through daily activities and exercise. Most adults need to eat less and become more active.
The only way to lose weight healthily and not gain it back is to make permanent changes to the way you eat and exercise.
A few small changes, such as eating less food in general and choosing drinks lower in fat, sugar and alcohol, can help you lose weight.
There are also many ways to make physical activity a part of your life.
If you are overweight, aim to lose regarding 5 to 10% of your starting weight by losing 0.5 to 1 kg per week.
You should be able to lose this weight if you eat regarding 500 to 600 fewer calories than usual each day.
An average man needs regarding 2,500 calories a day and an average woman needs regarding 2,000 calories to stay at the same weight.
Diet: Simple Principles to Make Any Diet Succeed
To reduce the amount of fat you eat, you can remove fat from meat, drink skim milk instead of whole, and choose reduced-fat products.
Choose whole grain foods such as bread, brown rice and pasta. They digest more slowly than the white varieties, so they’ll help you feel fuller for longer.
Don’t skip breakfast. A healthy breakfast will give you the energy you need to start your day and there is some evidence that people who eat breakfast regularly are less likely to be overweight.
Aim to eat at least 5 servings of various fruits and vegetables a day.
If you feel the need to snack, try drinking a glass of water or a cup of tea first. We often think we are hungry, when in fact we are thirsty.
Swap high-calorie drinks for lower-calorie ones. This means drinks with lower fat, sugar and alcohol content. Swap a sugary fizzy drink for a sparkling water with a lemon wedge. Don’t forget that alcohol has a lot of calories, so cutting down on alcohol can help you control your weight.
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