The lengths people are willing to go to and try and lose some weight are unimaginable. For that matter, diet programs are the latest frontier that millions of people are resorting to try and lose extra pounds or stay fit. While most diet programs are marketed as quick fixes for weight loss, most are not backed by any scientific evidence and lead to a waste of resources and time. A fad diet is one of those plans that is becoming increasingly popular amid the need to lose weight quickly.
What is a Fad diet
A Fad diet is a diet plan that is mostly marketed as the best and fastest way to lose weight. While the plan comes with the type of food one should consume, it also comes with a tight set of rules about when to eat.
In addition, some fad diets eliminate foods that contain the necessary nutrients needed to maintain good health. Some plans don’t have any scientific evidence to focus on one type of food or eliminate another. In some instances, the plans don’t have any physical activity guidelines, which is crucial to burning excess fat from the body.
A lack of scientific evidence or support claims has always called most Fad diets to question.
Fad Diet Examples
Paleo Diet
It is a fad diet that calls on people to live on the diet that hunters and gatherers lived on thousands of years ago. It is a restrictive plan that restricts the eating of dairy products, legumes, and processed foods that came after the evolution of man. Therefore, it is a low-carbohydrate diet.
Instead, it calls for eating lean meats, fruits, and non-starchy vegetables. In addition, it has no restrictions on the amounts of portions or sizes that one should take
While the Paleo fad diet eliminates processed food and encourages eating a variety of plant and animal foods, it may help shed some weight and become healthy. Nevertheless, cutting out some food groups, such as carbohydrates, can lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Vegan Diet
The Vegan Diet is becoming increasingly popular as a fad diet for losing weight as it contains no animal products or byproducts. Instead, it calls on eating plant-based products that are not processed. Depending on the type of foods that one eats, it can be healthy or unhealthy.
Vegan foods based on whole foods can help in weight loss and reduce the risk of heart disease as they don’t contain too many harmful fats. Nevertheless, living purely on a vegan diet exposes one to lacking crucial nutrients. For instance, plant-based diets don’t have sufficient iron and don’t contain vitamin B12
Atkins Diet
Created in 1970 by cardiologist Robert Atkins, the Atkins diet is a famous low-carb weight loss diet. The diet calls on people to limit their carb intake to only 5% of their caloric intake. In addition, people are instructed to eat as much protein and fat as they want and drink plenty of fluids.
The fad diet is based on the assumption that proteins take longer to digest. Therefore, one is left feeling full most of the time, significantly reducing the amount of food they carry, which can lead to weight gain.
Nevertheless, a high protein, low carb diet is not good for the heart and gut health.
Intermittent fasting
Unlike most fad diets that restrict the type of foods one can eat, intermittent fasting sets guidelines on when one can eat. It entails avoiding any food over a certain period. During fasting, one can only take water or any other food or drink with zero calories.
In intermittent fasting, some people go for 12 hours without eating, and others stay 24 hours without eating. People sometimes eat less than 25% of their total caloric needs for two days, with normal eating in the other five days.
Bottom Line
Fad diets are not all that bad. Some have proved to be effective in helping people shed some weight. Nevertheless, they are not quick fixes to weight problems. Therefore, it is important to consider the long-term outlook and side effects before engaging in one fad plan.
