Fad Diets: Facts and Fallacies

Common Characteristics of Fad Diets:
-They promote quick weight loss (due to dehydration)
-They limit food selections and dictate specific food rituals
-They often come with expensive supplements
-They make no attempts to permanently change eating habits
-They are critical and skeptical of the scientific community
-They promote diets that are extremely low in calories
-They use liquid formulas instead of real food
-They attempt to make clients dependent on their special foods

Fad diets are not the best way to lose weight and keep it off. These eating plans often promise to help you lose a lot of weight quickly, or tell you to cut certain foods out of your diet to lose weight. Although you may lose weight at first, they can be unhealthy because they often keep you from getting all the nutrients that your body needs.

In order to lose one pound of body fat, a deficit of 3,500 calories must be created. A program that advertises 30 pounds in 30 days is either lying or promoting an extremely unhealthy practice. Think about it: a 30-pound weight loss is a deficit of 105,000 calories!!

Fact: It is the amount of calories consumed and calories burned that determines weight loss. Fad diets do produce an initial weight loss, but research has shown they most often do nothing in the long run. Create a healthy lifestyle, give it time, and you can expect to receive desired results.

Registered dietitians recommend adopting healthy eating habits permanently, rather than impatiently pursuing fad diets or detox diets in hopes of losing unwanted pounds in a few days. Seek your local registered dietitian for the truth about nutrition!

References:
http://www.eatright.org