What Are Fad Diets and Why Are They Not Sustainable?

Have you ever tried a fad diet?

Maybe you ate nothing but cabbage for five days, chewed everything 100 times before swallowing, or subsisted entirely on grapefruit.

It’s okay. Most of us have been there.

Whether you need to shed a few pounds fast for a vacation or reunion, or you’re just tired of having to squeeze into your pre-pregnancy jeans, there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose some weight – and it’s only human to want to reach our goals as quickly as possible!

But for as much as we want to believe these diets work for fast weight loss, it really is true that there are no shortcuts to good health. Although I can say that eating the right whole foods can help you reach your weight goals faster than eating junk food, the key to sustainable weight loss is making smart choices on a regular basis (with the occasional treat ­– banning entire categories of food isn’t healthy, either!).

I know a lot of people – in fact, I was one of those people back in the day – who get results when they stick to a super-restrictive diet for a short period.

Take, for example, my friend who did the Egg Diet. It was a raging success at first, but after a while, she couldn’t even look at eggs without gagging.

However, those quick initial results are how these diets suck people in. Unfortunately, it tends to be water weight that most people lose, and it comes right back when they get tired of the diet and resume their normal way of eating – or worse, start binging.

Fad diets are very alluring, but they’re not sustainable. They can leave you feeling like an utter failure when you find you can’t stick with it ­– which is ironic when you realize that giving up these diets is actually the right thing for your body and your health!

What are fad diets?

A fad diet is any type of trendy diet promising you’ll lose weight quickly and easily. They’re pretty easy to spot. Here are some of the signs:

·         You have to eliminate certain groups of food completely.

·         The primary goal is weight loss, no matter the consequences.

·         They promise you’ll lose weight fast without exercising.

·         The focus is on just one or a few supposedly magical foods.

·         They claim your foods have to be combined a certain way for digestion.

·         You need to buy things, like special supplements or “metabolism boosters”, to succeed.

Fad diets give us guidance – but it’s the wrong guidance

I think the biggest draw of these diets is that they give people direction. When you want to see fast weight loss, it can be incredibly useful to have a meal plan to follow. A fad diet makes it easy by giving you simple rules – “no carbs”, “eat everything raw” – and so on.

It isn’t good advice, but it gives people without a strong scientific background an easy way to believe they know what they should be eating.

In fact, the same is true when you’re changing to a healthier way of eating that does not involve any type of fad diet. I know when I first started eating a whole food, plant-based diet, I needed some guidelines to follow because I was completely lost.

I actually thought that eating store-bought alternative “meats” and packaged vegan food was the right way to go and would give me all the nutrients I needed. Now that I’m a holistic nutritionist, I know that I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

Lots of people seek meal plans but I can’t emphasize enough that meal plans should be considered as guidance and not a strict set of rules, especially ones that haven’t been custom-made specifically for you.

People are busy. We don’t have time to earn a PhD in nutrition. We want to change when the mood strikes, and we want an easy plan to stick to. But a fad diet will only put you on the road to poor health and disordered eating.

Weight loss does not equal good health

Another reason people like these unhealthy diets is because some really do lose weight on them. It’s all calories in versus calories out, so you’re going to lose weight if you’re subbing jars of baby food for your usual McDonald’s or Taco Bell’s. There’s no question about it.

But does that mean you’re living a healthier lifestyle? Of course not!

Anyone who has ever dropped a lot of weight without trying while going through a major life change or depression can tell you that weight loss is not always an effect of healthy habits.

Plus, that weight loss is almost always short-lived. Fad diets might almost feel like fun at first, but they are not sustainable – and neither is any weight loss they might provide.

Popular fad diets

Here is a look at some fad diets that have been popular in recent years:

·         Atkins: The Atkins diet is a low-carb diet that claims you can eat as much fat and protein as you want so long as you stay away from carbs. Bacon and eggs for breakfast every day is fine, the diet says, as long as you’re not pairing it with bread. This became so popular at one time that people still believe carbohydrates are somehow the enemy.

·         Keto: The ketogenic diet takes the sentiment behind Atkins even further, telling people to eat almost no carbs and a lot more fat. It’s dramatic enough to put your body in a whole other metabolic state known as ketosis. Although it can help people with seizures, it hasn’t been proven to help with obesity and is a dramatic all-or-nothing diet that is very unsustainable – and all that bacon, butter and grease do no favors for your heart.

·         The five-bite diet: Yes, it’s just what the name implies. You can eat anything you want, but only five bites of it. You skip breakfast, and then you get five bites at lunch and five at dinner. Needless to say, you’re not getting nearly enough nutrients or calories if you follow this diet.

·         The baby food diet: Instead of eating real food, you eat 14 jars of baby food across breakfast and lunch and then a low-calorie dinner. Besides the impracticality of going through so many jars of baby food, this diet does not give your body the calories it needs to run efficiently. After all, baby food is for babies, not for adults.

Some people claim that vegan and vegetarian diets are fad diets, but that isn’t really true. They’re actually very balanced ways of eating, and they’re proven to be healthy. Here at Wholistic Bella, we promote a whole food, plant-based diet where nothing is completely restricted.

In my article Whole Food Plant-Based Diet for Beginners (which was the first article I published on my site!), you’ll find a list of foods I suggest you keep to a minimum. Not “eliminate completely” or “cut out”. That’s the key.

Of course, you won’t find recipes featuring beef or chicken in my recipes section. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat meat once in a while! It’s okay if some animal products make up around a tenth of your daily or weekly calorie consumption, as long as you don’t have a health condition like heart disease.

The true path to a healthy weight and nutritious eating

When it comes to losing weight and being healthy, there really is no magic involved. “Eat less and move more” is reasonable advice you’ve probably heard before, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Here are my best tips for healthy weight loss:

·         Make HEALTH your main priority, not weight loss.

·         Focus on eating a balanced diet to get all the nutrients you need.

·         Minimize processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners.

·         Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet.

·         Substitute whole grains for processed white bread and cereal.

·         Choose whole fruits instead of juices and other caloric drinks.

·         Work movement into each day, but choose something fun that you’ll stick with.

·         When you make an unhealthy choice, don’t dwell on it. Forgive yourself and move on! DON’T restrict yourself the following day.

The bottom line is that your primary goal should always be good health.

It doesn’t matter how much you weigh if you have clogged arteries from all the greasy and fatty foods you consume. Eating healthier, plant-based meals is the way to good health, and one of the many reasons this is so good for you is how easy it makes it to maintain a healthy weight.

Plant foods are naturally filling, nutritious and surprisingly tasty – although it took me a lot of years to realize that last part!

Join in!

I’m currently working on a faith-based online course for Christian moms who want to serve their family well-balanced, plant-based meals and say buh-bye to energy crashes after mealtimes. This is going to be a step-by-step approach to transitioning to a healthy plant-based, Christ-centered lifestyle. Join my waitlist to be notified when the doors open!