Fad Diets

"Diets" full stop. It has to be a lifestyle change to be permanent.

Bit of a generalisation so my apologies. A specific example I would give is, "Atkins". I've seen people after they come off.

Every single day a person post "Does xxxx really work?"

Let's help these people out with a list of stuff that DO NOT work.

To start,

Weight loss shakes (want to drink a shake for 2 meals the rest of your life)

I think the appeal of fad diets is perhaps quick weight loss? Or they claim to be the healthiest way of eating?

I feel such a huge relief about finally abandoning the "certain foods are bad" mentality. In my case I was on a low carb kick, carbs are bad, must stick to a certain amount per day, can't eat certain grains. Now I'm not saying this way of eating is bad for everyone. Some people really do enjoy eating this way and thats great, but it wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy that way of eating at all and I couldn't stick to it. This resulted in plenty of binge then eat clean cycles. Not a healthy relationship to have with food.

Even though I'm still striving to eat healthy most of the time, I found I can eat whatever I want and still lose weight, as long as it fits into my calorie budget for the day. I guess this isn't a huge revelation, but for someone suckered into the whole fad diet, clean eating mentality it its. This is great! I can still have pizza, pasta, icecream, cookies from time to time and not feel guilty about it. And its interesting, because since these foods are no longer forbidden I find it easier to eat them in moderation. Like the whole don't think of a pink elephant thing. Well of course, because you're not supposed to think about a pink elephant, what are you thinking of? lol.

"Diets" full stop. It has to be a lifestyle change to be permanent.

Bit of a generalisation so my apologies. A specific example I would give is, "Atkins". I've seen people after they come off.

People get stoked about Atkins, then fail because they can not have starchy stuff. I advice is do not eliminate anything.

People get stoked about low calorie diets but fail because they cannot have the quantity of food they're used to.

You can make general statements about any program and why people fail at that program. In the end don't you have to give up something, whether it be the freedom to eat whatever, how much of, or whenever you want?

"Do not ELIMINATE, MODERATE!"

The fact is that most fad diets do work. Drinking shakes for 2 meals a day can get you to goal. Anything that lowers your calories to below what you burn is going to cause weight loss.

What you are talking about is maintenance after the loss, and that's what most fad diets don't talk about. After the thrill of losing. After everyone stops noticing and mentioning how great you look. After you have no weight loss goal to meet. The "I don't need to do that anymore" phase. That is the hard part. If you haven't learned how to maintain because you've been too busy "dieting", then it's very, very hard.

Everything that Dr. Oz promotes.

I cannot watch that show, it seriously freaks me out. Actually, HE seriously freaks me out.

As for on topic, that used to be me. I did atkins, I did meal replacement drinks, blah blah blah. People keep going back to them because they are a quick fix and you will see initial results. But they don't last because like someone else said, they don't change your lifestyle choices.

It took me a long time to realize that, but now that I have I am more focused and more invested in making better choices for myself. Do I still struggle? Absolutely. But I am much happier than I used to be

"Do not ELIMINATE, MODERATE!"

That advice doesn't work for everyone.
For some, it's much easier to eliminate problematic foods (whatever they may be for the individual) than to try and moderate them.

All of these "diets" are short term success. Unless you are willing to spend money on shakes, pills, etc forever they simply don't work. What does work is eating smaller portions, not cutting out "bad" food, and learning what will keep you full.

There are few (if any) diets where someone hasn't been able to successfully keep the weight off long term. And even if they do regain the weight because they stopped the diet, that doesn't mean the diet didn't work.

"Bad" food or smaller portions are not a requirement for weight control (loss or maintenance).