What are fad diets? Do they work?

A new year begun and many other diets! The British Dietetic Association published recently the 5 fad diets to avoid in 2020. Check out the link https://www.bda.uk.com/news/view?id=267&x[0]=/news/list
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Many people come to my clinic feeling frustrated for trying so many diets and none of them worked at long term. They report that they started one of this diets that they saw on the internet, they lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, but then all the weight comes back on and sometimes they end up weighting even more.

Fad diets are diets that promises a quick fix, a miracle solution for your overweight problem. The true is, these type of diets actually work. They are so restrictive in terms of calories so naturally you will lose weight very quickly. And that’s why these type of diets are very tempting! However, 80% of the people who follow a fad diet and lost at least 10% of their weight, put the weight back on (1).

What’s the problem with the fad diets?

Photo by Jamie Matociños on Unsplash

The main problem with the fad diets is that they don’t help you keeping a healthy weight at long term. These type of diets are followed for a short period of time because they are so restrictive. So when you follow the diet, you lose weight. And then when you go back to your old habits, all the weight comes back on. The fad diets don’t teach you how to have a healthy and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle and how to keep a healthy weight at long term.

Don’t waste your time and money with fad diets! I will tell you how to spot them so you can run away from them! 
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Fad diets are diets that:

1. Promise a quick weight loss, more than 1kg/week;
2. Promote a certain product or miracle ingredient for weight loss without you having to change your lifestyle (e.g. drinking apple cider vinegar)
3. Exclude certain groups of foods without medical reasons, example total exclusion of carbohydrates (for example the keto diet), and exclusion of dairy products;
4. Prescribe just one type of food on the diet, for example soup diet, coffee diet, chocolate diet, sirtfood diet;
5. Prescribe food based on your blood type;
6. Replace food for other more expensive products, drinks, bars or powders (for example Herbalife)
7. Suggest that being overweight is caused by a food allergy and exclude certain foods without being necessary;
8. Recommend the use of detox products;
9. Don’t have any scientific evidence behind and are promoted by celebrity;
10. Are based in just one scientific study;
11. Same diet for everyone, without taking into consideration your individual nutritional needs;
12. Based in a secret that no one knows yet, not even the doctors!

 
Don’t forget... if it is something that sounds too good to be true, then probably is!
 
I believe that these type of diets are very tempting because they offer a quick fix, a quick solution for a long term problem. However they can be damaging for your body and mental health. In doubt, always talk to a health professional.

What is the best solution for weight loss?

Workshop about healthy eating using the Eat Well Plate.

The best solution for the weight loss is always the same and is very well know!  The solution is to follow a healthy and balanced diet with adequate portion sizes to your nutritional needs and be physically active.
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My honest advice for you is to not waste your time and money with diets that wouldn’t fix your problem! Seek always help from a registered dietitian.

I would like to hear from you, did you ever tried any of these diets? How was your experience?
 
Joana Jardim, Registed Dietititian,
Founder of Your Diet Advice
MSc Clinical Nutrition

References
(1) https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20161014/how-your-appetite-can-sabotage-weight-loss#1
(2) https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/faddiets.pdf