I know that I am not the only one who finds it hard to get rid of those extra pounds. It’s a huge struggle for most people to maintain a healthy weight, especially when you are always on the go.

It’s no secret that many people turn to fad diets as a quick and easy way to lose weight. If you ever find yourself on a diet that seems too good to be true, the odds are high that you started one because you saw your favorite celebrity promoting it on Instagram.

At that moment, you are convinced that it is the answer to all of your weight issues. But the problem with these diets is that they’re usually not sustainable. By week two, you’ve either already fallen off track or given up altogether.

We, at Beltline Health, support our patients through their journey with state-of-the-art surgical and non-surgical weight loss solutions to help them regain their healthy lives with confidence.

In this post, we will look at what fad diets are, why they don’t work, and some ways to help you achieve your weight goals without risking your health.

What are fad diets?

Often endorsed by celebrities and online influencers, fad diets are dietary plans promoted as the best and fastest way to lose weight.

However, most fad diets are basically deprivation diets that only offer short-term solutions because they tend to eliminate “bad foods” that contain essential nutrients like dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

There are also some fad diets based on what’s called calorie restriction or what most people refer to as crash dieting. We don’t think it’s a good idea to follow a weight loss plan with something like “crash” on its name.

The media always come up with new and strange fad food trend diets that dominate our social media feeds for a few months. This can be anything from the kale shake craze to what some are calling the new Paleo diet.

Some diets are also based on time-restricted eating, where you can eat any type of food within a specific period of time. A famous example is intermittent fasting or IF where a person fasts for 16 hours a day, or 24 hours twice a week.

How to spot a fad diet?

Most fad diets don’t work because they focus on the wrong idea: short-term weight loss. Once you stop counting calories or eating foods that are considered bad, you will be on your way to major weight gain, leading to other health problems.

Fads come and go, but there’s no need to fall victim by following them blindly. To help you easily spot fad diets, here are some common characteristics they share:

• Promises a quick fix (i.e. lose 7 pounds in 7 days)
• Promotes certain ‘magic’ foods or a combination of those
• Eliminates or severely restricts calories or one of the major food groups or nutrients, such as carbohydrates and protein
• Excludes regular exercise in the diet plan
• Bases claims purely from non-peer-reviewed studies, testimonials, and before-after photos
• Follows rigid menus that focus on extreme weight loss
• Endorsed by celebrities, influencers, or “experts” in weight loss or nutrition
• Requires you to spend tons of money on seminars, fat burners, any weight loss aids

Now, if you see one or more of these red flags, you know what to do. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Why fad diets don’t work

It lacks proper nutrition

Most, if not all, fad diets see certain foods as the bad guy in losing weight, sometimes even actual solid foods in the case of liquid diets and using dietary supplements as a meal replacement.

But the problem is that your body needs the right amounts of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and several essential vitamins and minerals. If you choose to cut out certain food groups or limit your caloric intake, chances are you’re not putting enough good stuff into your body, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

It slows down your metabolism

Most people often blame slow metabolism as a cause of their failed attempt to lose weight. But in most cases, some people just don’t burn enough calories to cause calorie deficit, which directly affects weight loss.

In calorie-restricted diets, your body is forced to break down muscles for energy use to compensate for the fuel you’re supposed to get from food. As you start to lose lean muscle mass, so does your metabolism, which means that your body won’t be able to burn food for energy as quickly as it used to.

Without regular exercise, slower metabolism can ease fat into your body faster, making it harder for you to lose weight and easier to gain weight, especially once you go back to your normal eating habits again.

It offers the wrong kind of weight loss

Fad diets are meant to provide temporary and fast weight loss. So if you lose five to ten pounds in a week or two, you may think that you are actually burning fat. But unfortunately, it’s most likely due to the loss of fiber, muscle mass, or even water.

The restrictions imposed by fad diets can certainly make you lose a decent amount of weight initially, but it is unhealthy and unrealistic to maintain. Once you stop following the fad diet, you will immediately experience weight gain, and you will be back at square one. It’s not easy to start a diet all over again, and I’m talking from experience.

It puts your health at risk

Since your diet lacks the critical nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals, you are missing out on the critical health benefits you’re supposed to get to strengthen your immune system from eating a balanced diet.

The lack of proper nutrition can lead to dehydration, extreme fatigue, weakness, headaches, and constipation, aside from the fact that you are losing fiber, muscle mass, and water. With these consequences, fad diets may increase your risk for various diseases.

What to do instead

A better approach to having a healthy weight is to combine better food choices and more regular physical activities throughout the week. Here are some nutrition tips to help you accomplish this:

• Instead of following a diet, create a nutrition plan with small, achievable, and realistic changes to your eating habits.
• Eat plenty of nutrient-dense and healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean protein, seafood, eggs, and nuts.
• Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink. Always hydrate, even outside of meal hours.
• Consume small amounts of sugars, particularly from food and drinks with added sugars.
• Instead of fasting eight to twelve hours a day, eat small portions enough to fuel your day (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner).
• Allot at least 20 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all, days.

Please don’t get discouraged when you don’t immediately see results. Having a healthy diet is not an overnight process but instead a slow and steady progress. It takes time to form and stick to new habits. But once you get in the rhythm, it becomes second nature.

Remember that being healthy means that you feel good about yourself too. So forget every fad diet out there because we are here to help you make healthy lifestyle choices and discover sustainable weight loss solutions that will work for you.

Our main goal at Beltline Health is to offer safe and widely accepted treatment options for surgical and non-surgical weight loss to millions of people who suffer from obesity. We provide you with all the information you need to decide which procedure suits your needs to help you regain control over your health and life.

If you’re ready to know more about losing weight for good, schedule an appointment with a qualified healthcare professional at Beltline Health. Visit our website or call our office at (470) 419-4380.

In the meantime, register for our free weight loss online seminar to take the first step to a new you.