This has led to a rise in the “fad diet” weight-loss plans–eating trends that gain rapid popularity but are often not based on scientific evidence or sustainable principles. Some fad diets may lead to short-term weight loss, but they can be dangerous to your overall health and well-being. We’ve put together this article to help you navigate the world of diets and health routines, in a way that helps you work towards a healthier lifestyle, rather than quick, dangerous results.
Dangers of a Fad Diet
The first step in the fight against fads is to understand what makes them so dangerous. It’s easy to be tempted by the fast results and low commitment that most of them offer, but in those cases, it’s easy to miss the dangers of such dramatic changes or diet styles.
- Fatigue
- Dehydration
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Constipation
These symptoms are all things that are common in those who practice fad diets for extended amounts of time. The main cause is a poorly balanced diet leading to a lack of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, that the body needs to function properly. Because it doesn’t have a proper balance of nutrients to pull from, it’s forced to make do on its own, leading to all of these general symptoms. Fad diets are usually an extreme version of a well-balanced diet that forces your body into a sort of survival mode, that causes drastic change and in the end, brings more damage than healing.
How to Spot a Fad Diet
The next step in avoiding fads is to know how to identify what may be a fad, compared to a more realistic and beneficial diet. This can be tricky, as fad diets can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Here are a few things to look out for when looking at a potential diet:
- The Promise of a “Quick Fix”
- Oftentimes, fads will promise fast results. This is usually the hook for many diets, but it’s never backed up by significant studies or data. In your search for a healthy diet plan, keep in mind that keeping your body and lifestyle healthy is an extended endeavor. There is no “quick fix”, it takes consistency and dedication to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- “Miracle Foods” or Supplements
- Supplements like a mystery pill or powder for a protein shake are incredibly common. These tend to be promoted as a way to keep a healthy diet without really eating on a diet. Remember that no supplement will replace a healthy diet.
- Not Much Evidence
- Many fads will advertise the same study or personal testimony over and over. They’ll take a few people who have had success with their program and present them like they are the norm and not outliers. Every pull to their diet or plan will be based on these few examples they give. This is a tell-tale sign of a fad.
- Unbalanced Diet
- While it may be hard to see sometimes, a lopsided diet is not healthy. As mentioned earlier, our bodies need a balance of various types of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. Most fad diets will prioritize things like protein rather than promoting a balance.
- Excludes Entire Food Groups
- Similarly to promoting a food type, fads will often eliminate things like fats and sugars from your diet. While fats and sugars are harmful in large quantities, our bodies still need them to use in our daily life, so eliminating them entirely becomes harmful.
What Your Body Really Needs
Knowing what a fad diet looks like is great for avoiding them entirely. But then we need to also understand what a healthy diet might look like. Not all diets are just marketing schemes looking for a quick profit. There are many diets, and lifestyle plans that can have a great impact on your overall health and still provide the desired benefits falsely promised by fad diets.
Here are just a few things to look for in a diet plan, or simply to implement into your own plan:
- Balanced Diet
- We’ve said it already, and we’ll say it again! Balance! This is the key thing to look for in a diet, having a spread of different types of proteins, sugars and energies is exactly what your body needs to stay healthy. On top of those, balancing every other food group brings you to a balanced eating plan that can help keep your health consistent. A good mixture of fruits, vegetables, breads, lean meats, dairy and the occasional fats, is the tried and true diet plan that has stood the test of time for generations.
- More Water Than You Think
- Our bodies need a lot of water. Drinking more water will help our bodies digest, and process the foods and energies that we consume. It’s a safe estimate to drink half an ounce to one ounce of water for every pound you weigh. For example if, you weigh 200 pounds, drink between 100 to 200 ounces daily.
- Physical Activity
- Fad diets tend to hide the importance of maintaining consistent physical activity in your lifestyle. A healthy diet can only do so much on its own. So, including a consistent activity routine can help bring your body into shape or keep it in shape. You don’t have to take it so far as to spend two hours in the gym each night. Rather find something that gets you moving for at least half an hour every day, a brisk walk, bicycle ride, playing with the kids or just a quick little dance party!
The real key to helping your body is consistency. Maintaining a healthy diet with healthy activity alongside it in a consistent manner will yield results over time. No, it’s not the miracle cure that fad diets promise, and it’s not always easy. However, starting with small tweaks to your diet or lifestyle can help put you on a track to a happier, healthier you. Start by choosing a cup of water over a soda, or going on daily walks before or after work. These changes are small and only take a few minutes each day. Once these feel more like habits, add in another change. Take it step by step, and let yourself grow at your own pace.
Fad diets may promise quick results, but they often come with significant risks to your health and well-being. Don’t let yourself fall for the latest diet trend, instead, focus on adopting a balanced, sustainable and evidence-based approach to nutrition and weight management. Consult with a Franciscan healthcare professional to create a personalized and healthy eating plan that fits your individual needs and goals. Remember that a healthy lifestyle is not a short-term fix but a lifelong journey toward overall well-being.
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