Diet and fitness FADS you’ve tried before...

RunsWithBees
RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When attempting to lose weight and get fit I’m sure a lot of us have tried many of the fads that are out there, most of them will eventually fail us because they are simply not sustainable. What fads have you tried before and how did it turn out?
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Replies

  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    Years ago before understanding CICO and counting calories I tried water fasting. I did it for 3 days straight (ugh!) and felt just awful afterwards. To break the fast I ate some pineapple and it gave me a very strange mouth/throat feel, like puckered but almost painful. I am not allergic to pineapple but it kinda felt like my body was rejecting it anyways?! It took awhile to feel back to normal about eating, needless to say I will never put myself through that willingly again! I also remember at some point buying “metabolism booster” herbal pills of some type or other and a “cleansing tea”... they were absolute rubbish of course!
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I've also tried Couch to 5K a few times - it seemed pretty popular in the early-mid 20-teens when I was doing it, so I'm comfortable calling it a fad. And when I finished the program (the one time I got past week 4 and kept at it), I did one of those gimmicky "color run" 5k races where you get pelted with colored cornstarch the whole time. It was a fun thing to do once, and I took the most colorful and satisfying shower of my life afterward.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I started with Dr. Stillman, which was all protein: eggs, meat and cottage cheese, nothing else. I got so I couldn't look at eggs or chicken breasts. Then I did all fruit and vegetables. That didn't last long. I tried very low calorie diets (900 cal. IIRC). Generally I would only last 3 or 4 days. I did a little fasting. That lasted even less time. I lost a lot of weight on Atkins, as I could sustain that longer, but had to have cheat days in order to continue, and once I lost the weight I always regained it because I wasn't willing to give up sugar and bread forever.

    I have the Kraus book as well.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited March 2021
    The first diet I tried I found in a workout book of my mom's. It was very restrictive on fat - I think maybe 15g of fat per day? I think that's how I picked up my Diet Coke habit, to combat the crazy fatigue and brain fog. I was probably also really low calorie to dangerous levels (calorie counting was trashed by the author.)

    I've also tried variations of low carb, South Beach, and intermittent fasting. To the extent that any of these helped, I think it was honestly just keeping track instead of doing whatever.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    goal06082021 wrote: »
    I've also tried Couch to 5K a few times - it seemed pretty popular in the early-mid 20-teens when I was doing it, so I'm comfortable calling it a fad. And when I finished the program (the one time I got past week 4 and kept at it), I did one of those gimmicky "color run" 5k races where you get pelted with colored cornstarch the whole time. It was a fun thing to do once, and I took the most colorful and satisfying shower of my life afterward.

    That sounds like fun!
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    I'm old enough to have tried the grapefruit diet

    That diet cycles around again every few years, I usually see it advertised on magazines :s
  • GeminiLady159
    GeminiLady159 Posts: 120 Member
    Juicing! Haha. But I did discover fresh juices are very good (along with actual food!)
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    edited March 2021
    Slimfast
    Keto
    Atkins
    Whole 30
    Does Zumba count? Seems like it was at its height of popularity back when I did it.

    Edited to add: wouldn't waste my time on any of the diets again, they just aren't sustainable for me. But would do Zumba again given the opportunity!
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    My first diet was the "crash diet" suggested in this book I got from the library at age 14: The Woman Dr.'s Diet for Teenage Girls. It was recommended to do it for only 2 weeks, but after 2 weeks I felt I could keep going. Lost a lot of weight, but became obsessive and eventually my calorie target was 500. This set me up for years and years of restrict/lose some/binge cycles. I also went to WW a few times (although I think now that's a reasonable "lifestyle change"), LA Weight Loss Center, a "medically supervised" weight loss clinic (where they basically gave me some prescription pills, had me fill out a food diary and meet with them once a week), and a number of OTC pills and supplements. I also read the "Buff Brides" book before I got married. Using that, I was able to dial in my workouts and lose some weight to get into a healthy BMI range without changing my diet too much. I've also done "The Body Reset Diet," but that was always meant to be a brief jumpstart to my more sustainable weight loss.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,307 Member
    Was it grade 9? Or 10?
    Ayds to the rescue....
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayds
    The weight loss lasted a summer...by December it was all back with friends
  • Arralethe
    Arralethe Posts: 222 Member
    Weightwatchers
    Atkins (gave me gastritis, so had to stop)
    Callanetics - anyone remember that?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    Before I actually researched everything, I did the "no fat" product eating which of course still had loads of calories and sugar. Also did the "ab cream" thing back in the 90's because of pseudoscience that I couldn't verify was true or not until internet became much more available.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Janatki
    Janatki Posts: 730 Member
    Tried:-
    BBC Diet
    Weight Watchers
    Cabbage Soup Diet
    Atkins
    Slimming World
    IF
    Fast 800

    Think Soup & Atkins only Fad ones ?

    All worked to a various degree, some more painful than others 🤣
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    I did the 'eating 6 meals a day thing', popularized in the book 'Body for Life'. It worked very well, I lost 40 lbs. At the time it fit my life well and the weight training program that came with the book has given me a love for the gym that I never had before.

    I have since moved on from the eating program because I understand that nothing magic happens by spacing your meals out, and at this stage of my life, eating less often just seems to be more sustainable for me.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I have always been wary of fad diets, since Grandma used to drink SlimFast with her meals.

    I did do South Beach when I lived in Miami, but frankly my current diet is very similar to the second stage.

    We did a Whole 30ish elimination diet about a year and a half ago, but we did an even slower reintroduction phase and did indeed find two food triggers for my husband's chronic pain (and snoring!).
  • LifeWithPie
    LifeWithPie Posts: 552 Member
    Richard Simmons Deal a Meal. Anyone remember that? Back in the 80s. I actually lost a lot of weight on that. LOL

    Also, Hydroxycut. Awful.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    concordancia wrote: »
    I have always been wary of fad diets, since Grandma used to drink SlimFast with her meals.

    I did do South Beach when I lived in Miami, but frankly my current diet is very similar to the second stage.

    We did a Whole 30ish elimination diet about a year and a half ago, but we did an even slower reintroduction phase and did indeed find two food triggers for my husband's chronic pain (and snoring!).

    Oh I had forgotten I tried slim fast shakes! They just tasted awful and never satisfied my hunger :|
  • sarah7591
    sarah7591 Posts: 415 Member
    I tried Keto.....I could not sleep or concentrate. It was not for me!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    LifeWithPie wrote: »
    Richard Simmons Deal a Meal. Anyone remember that? Back in the 80s. I actually lost a lot of weight on that. LOL

    Also, Hydroxycut. Awful.
    Well the ephedra based one wasn't for everyone. ECA (the actual stack of ephedra, caffiene and aspirin) is still considered one of the actual working OTC stacks that can assist with weight loss. Like any supplementation or medication, it's NOT for everyone.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Fortunately, none really. I really only had one go around with losing a significant amount of weight in my life. I tried many weird things to gain weight though as I was pretty much a beanpole until my mid 20s when I filled out a little bit (a good thing). I put on a good bit of weight in my 30s after I graduated college and started working a gazillion hours per week and traveling for work six months out of the year. It was very slow though...so much so that I really didn't notice it was going on.

    I did do South Beach once for a bit with my wife when we were dating...well, kinda...I would eat SB type meals with her, but when she wasn't around I was eating pretty much normal...but I was also not trying to lose weight, only be supportive. It actually helped me be a bit more mindful about getting in my fruit and veg and I think overall, it's a very good concept and program...but it was pretty huge at one point.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Adkins diet
    Scarsdale diet
    Carbo-Calorie diet
    a powdered drink meal replacement diet... don't remember the name but it was torture (and unsuccessful)
    and other extreme stuff in HS like fasting all day and eating 3or 4 steamed zucchini at night.

    You know, the issue was always adherence. So why didn't I intentionally pick something easier to adhere to? SMH
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,211 Member
    Ww when it was regular points, then WW when it was pro points. I call a fad because it never actually taught me how to eat well.

    In NZ and I think AUS there was a company call sureslim. Cost $1000 and was very very strict. They took a blood test and "taylored" your plan to your results. My friend did it, so I did too. It was brutal. Had to leave 5hrs between meals. The list of foods was incredibly small. I had to have set portion sizes, but no real control over what I ate. It was like pick one from this pox (protein) and 2 from this box (carb/veg) but never eat this box.

    I did it for 3 months lost 10kg, gave up cause way to hard and limiting.

    Just googled. They are still in business! That was about 15 years ago

    4 years ago I started MFP, lost 20kg in that year and kept it off. No limits, way easier.

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