Weight loss is a constant hot topic. From reality television shows to expensive programs and fancy products, there’s a lot of desire to watch, learn about, and participate in weight loss activities.
Another way some people attempt to lose weight is through fad diets.
"Fad diets are weight loss programs that promise major results — often in a short amount of time. They’re trendy and not often based on healthy eating," says Maureen Boccella, Patient Education Manager, Diabetes Educational at Chester County Hospital in West Chester, PA. "As a result, you may not only end up gaining weight back, but you may also be putting your health at risk."
Losing weight can be a crucial part of getting healthy if you are considered overweight (you can determine this using your
body mass index, or BMI). Even losing just 5% of your body weight can lead to improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. But diets that promise quick results are often not the safest approach.
Here's the truth about fad diets, including how to identify them and how they can be harmful to your health.
How to Spot a Fad Diet
While healthy eating is a crucial part of taking care of yourself, dieting — which implies majorly restricting calories or types of foods — isn't necessarily a good approach. This is especially true when it comes to fad diets.
Fad diets are weight loss programs that:
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Promise quick and significant results (more than 1 to 2 pounds a week)
- Focus on the number of pounds lost
- Ensure you’ll keep the weight off
- Don’t focus on physical activity
- Limit your food choices significantly, sometimes even eliminating entire food groups
- Require you to only eat special foods or products
- Do not use evidence-based guidelines on health and disease
- Suggest that food combinations speed up weight loss
- Emphasize before and after photos
- Require significant payment to take part in them
There are many kinds of fad diets. Some control food groups (Examples: Atkins, Keto and The Zone). Others tell you when to eat (like intermittent fasting). And others direct you to replace meals entirely (SlimFast, the grapefruit diet).
"In general, fad diets sound too good to be true — and that's because they are. The key to spotting a fad diet is evaluating its approach to eating, including what it's asking you to do and how quickly it promises results," states Maureen.
How Can Fad Diets Be Harmful to Your Health?
Changing your diet isn't a bad thing. In fact, limiting sweets and sodium, eating more fruits and veggies, and keeping your calories in the range that your body needs are all great ways to stay healthy.
But drastic changes are not always healthy.
To begin, losing weight too quickly, which can happen with these diets, can be harmful. In general, you should aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. This helps ensure that you’re able to keep it off in the long run.
Restricting parts of your diet can also be detrimental to your health. For instance, severely restricting your carbohydrate intake can lead to constipation (in the short term) and a lack of important nutrients (in the long term).
Instead, your diet should be balanced and include:
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Fruits
- Veggies
- Whole grains, such as whole wheat flour and brown rice
- Protein, such as seafood, lean meats, eggs and beans
- Fat-free or low-fat milk/milk products
Finally, while fad diets may work at first, they often lead to gaining the weight back when you stop following the diet. This can leave you feeling frustrated and unmotivated with your weight loss journey.
How to Lose Weight in a Healthy Way
Fad diets may not be where it's at — but changing how you eat can still help you lose weight and improve your health.
Ways to lose weight through a healthy diet include:
- Increasing your fiber intake, which can help you feel fuller for longer
- Limiting added sugars, which are unnecessary calories
- Aiming for smaller portions of foods
- Replacing saturated fats, such as using low-fat or fat-free versions of milk and cheese
- Being mindful of what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat to track unhealthy habits, like stress eating
It's also important to be physically active. Exercise burns calories, which can lead to weight loss. It also has other benefits, like reducing blood pressure, boosting your mood, and lowering your risk of heart attack, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
Fad diets are promoted as quick fixes. Unfortunately, they may not be as effective as they claim to be — and they can actually be harmful to your well-being. While it may be tempting to resort to fad diets, the healthier and more effective approach to weight loss is about balance, commitment, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Do you have questions about how to lose weight in a healthy way? Talk to your Chester County Hospital Primary Care Provider to learn about healthy eating, staying active, and achieving a healthy weight. You can also work with a Chester County Hospital Registered Dietician, who can help you use evidence-based practice to support your healthy eating.