The dangers of Fad Diets
icandoit
Posts: 4,163 Member
Quick-fix weight loss programs are everywhere these days. They claim to produce easy weight loss and immediate health benefits. While losing weight will better the health of an overweight individual, these diets often produce more health problems than they cure. Some are yo-yo diets where you put the weight back on as soon as you discontinue the diet, some severely restrict caloric intake and/or vital nutrients, and still others proclaim the superiority of one particular food item or group with little or no proof to back it up.
Permanent weight loss is a difficult goal to achieve. An estimated 95 percent of dieters regain the weight they have lost, some ending up even heavier than they were to begin with. The USDA discovered that the key to long-term weight loss and compliance is focusing on the psychological issues involved with eating habits and dieting in general. Changes in eating habits must be made gradually if an individual can be expected to stick with them when the diet is over.
Identifying fad diets is not as difficult as it seems. Watch for diets that severely restrict or advocate one food group, and always doubt any scientific claims that have no scientific evidence to support them. Claims of rapid weight loss are clear warning signs of a diet that will also rapidly return you to your pre-diet weight, and be suspicious of programs that appear to rely on "chemical reactions" to produce weight loss or boost the metabolism.
"Banning" certain foods has got to be one of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting. This will only lead to cravings, and subsequent binges, causing weight gain instead of loss. There are no "good" or “bad” foods, there are just "good" and "bad" eating habits. Dieting should be about altering those poor eating habits so that you not only lose weight, but keep it off permanently.
Dangers of Fad Diets:
Many fad diets are not nutritionally sound, and most of these diets have one major flaw. They tell us to only eat one type of food, depriving our bodies of important vitamins and minerals that are vital to our overall health. These diets can produce rapid weight loss, normally water weight, but the weight seldom stays off long-term.
One side effect of many of these diets is that the improper nutrition can result in a potential loss of muscle density. Fad diets can cause a 3-6% loss of muscle along with any fat lost. If the weight is regained, more fat and less muscle is replaced, resulting in less overall muscle protein. The less muscle you have, the fewer the calories you need to maintain it. This means that over time you will be able to eat less and less without gaining even more weight.
What about the high protein/low carb diets? These diets are supported by very little scientific evidence and actually result in greater water weight loss than fat loss. Experts warn that a diet high in animal protein is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat and puts people at an increased risk for heart disease. A diet too high in protein can also lead to enlarged kidneys and renal failure. High protein diets are also so low in carbohydrates that the body goes into ketosis (burning muscle for energy), which reduces hunger, but is neither safe nor healthy.
Many of the fad diets that cause a loss of water weight result in dehydration, which puts strain on the body's system in addition to making the dieter feel weak. Lack of carbohydrates means less energy, which in turn often means less activity. And since less activity leads to weight gain instead of loss...
For more information on the dangers of fad diets you might want to read this article: ‘Fad’ Diets May Do More Harm Than Good, Study Finds
Some Common Fad Diets:
There is no such thing as a "miracle diet." Fad diets are dangerous and rarely lead to permanent weight loss. Below is a list of some of the better-known fad diets:
Atkins Diet:
The Atkins Diet calls for the serious restriction of most types of carbohydrates while allowing for large amounts of fat and protein to be consumed. When the human body cannot get the energy it requires from carbohydrates, it breaks down fat and muscle, causing substances called ketones to form in the bloodstream. This diet leads to appetite suppression, but nausea, fatigue and fluid loss can all increase.
Many concerns amongst dietitians have been raised about the risk of heart disease increasing in people who follow the Atkins diet over long periods of time. This diet has also been criticized for lowering carbohydrate intake to 40 grams a day, which many doctors see as dangerously low. Weight loss may be due more to total calorie restrictions than low carbohydrates.
Zone:
The Zone is another low carbohydrate/high fat diet that relies on the presumption that we should eat 40% of our calories from a certain type of carbohydrates, 30% of our calories from protein, and 30% of our calories from fat. This diet claims that the body will burn fat at the highest rate possible if these percentages are followed because it is genetically programmed to be fed this way. To help individuals deal with the annoyance of attempting to plan their meals around these restrictions, there is an entire line of "zone-perfect" foods that can be purchased. Low levels of carbohydrates, fiber and certain vitamins and minerals can occur when following the Zone.
Cabbage Soup:
This is a weight-reducing program designed for short-term use. This diet calls for strange combinations of food to be eaten each day, but the dieter is also allowed as much cabbage soup as desired. This diet claims to produce ten to fifteen pounds of weight loss in one week, but is essentially a starvation diet, and most of the weight loss is from water. The soup recipe used cannot provide the body with all the nutrients it requires, and many people report feeling weak and lightheaded after a few days.
The Grapefruit Diet:
This fad diet is based on the assumption that grapefruit contains fat-burning enzymes. You eat half a grapefruit before every meal, and calorie intake is usually restricted to around 800 calories a day. This is a dangerously low amount, especially when combined with the program's suggestion that you drink large amounts of caffeine-based drinks. Since no fat-burning enzymes have ever been found in grapefruit, and the 800 calories is used up almost entirely on caffeinated beverages, it should be obvious why this diet cannot be expected to result in permanent weight loss or health benefits.
The 3 Day Diet:
This program offers a restricted calorie intake (about 1,000 calories) for a three-day period. Foods allowed are restricted, and the body tends to lose water rather than fat. The 3 Day Diet is not meant to be used for longer than three days, and the lost weight quickly returns.
Permanent weight loss is a difficult goal to achieve. An estimated 95 percent of dieters regain the weight they have lost, some ending up even heavier than they were to begin with. The USDA discovered that the key to long-term weight loss and compliance is focusing on the psychological issues involved with eating habits and dieting in general. Changes in eating habits must be made gradually if an individual can be expected to stick with them when the diet is over.
Identifying fad diets is not as difficult as it seems. Watch for diets that severely restrict or advocate one food group, and always doubt any scientific claims that have no scientific evidence to support them. Claims of rapid weight loss are clear warning signs of a diet that will also rapidly return you to your pre-diet weight, and be suspicious of programs that appear to rely on "chemical reactions" to produce weight loss or boost the metabolism.
"Banning" certain foods has got to be one of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting. This will only lead to cravings, and subsequent binges, causing weight gain instead of loss. There are no "good" or “bad” foods, there are just "good" and "bad" eating habits. Dieting should be about altering those poor eating habits so that you not only lose weight, but keep it off permanently.
Dangers of Fad Diets:
Many fad diets are not nutritionally sound, and most of these diets have one major flaw. They tell us to only eat one type of food, depriving our bodies of important vitamins and minerals that are vital to our overall health. These diets can produce rapid weight loss, normally water weight, but the weight seldom stays off long-term.
One side effect of many of these diets is that the improper nutrition can result in a potential loss of muscle density. Fad diets can cause a 3-6% loss of muscle along with any fat lost. If the weight is regained, more fat and less muscle is replaced, resulting in less overall muscle protein. The less muscle you have, the fewer the calories you need to maintain it. This means that over time you will be able to eat less and less without gaining even more weight.
What about the high protein/low carb diets? These diets are supported by very little scientific evidence and actually result in greater water weight loss than fat loss. Experts warn that a diet high in animal protein is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat and puts people at an increased risk for heart disease. A diet too high in protein can also lead to enlarged kidneys and renal failure. High protein diets are also so low in carbohydrates that the body goes into ketosis (burning muscle for energy), which reduces hunger, but is neither safe nor healthy.
Many of the fad diets that cause a loss of water weight result in dehydration, which puts strain on the body's system in addition to making the dieter feel weak. Lack of carbohydrates means less energy, which in turn often means less activity. And since less activity leads to weight gain instead of loss...
For more information on the dangers of fad diets you might want to read this article: ‘Fad’ Diets May Do More Harm Than Good, Study Finds
Some Common Fad Diets:
There is no such thing as a "miracle diet." Fad diets are dangerous and rarely lead to permanent weight loss. Below is a list of some of the better-known fad diets:
Atkins Diet:
The Atkins Diet calls for the serious restriction of most types of carbohydrates while allowing for large amounts of fat and protein to be consumed. When the human body cannot get the energy it requires from carbohydrates, it breaks down fat and muscle, causing substances called ketones to form in the bloodstream. This diet leads to appetite suppression, but nausea, fatigue and fluid loss can all increase.
Many concerns amongst dietitians have been raised about the risk of heart disease increasing in people who follow the Atkins diet over long periods of time. This diet has also been criticized for lowering carbohydrate intake to 40 grams a day, which many doctors see as dangerously low. Weight loss may be due more to total calorie restrictions than low carbohydrates.
Zone:
The Zone is another low carbohydrate/high fat diet that relies on the presumption that we should eat 40% of our calories from a certain type of carbohydrates, 30% of our calories from protein, and 30% of our calories from fat. This diet claims that the body will burn fat at the highest rate possible if these percentages are followed because it is genetically programmed to be fed this way. To help individuals deal with the annoyance of attempting to plan their meals around these restrictions, there is an entire line of "zone-perfect" foods that can be purchased. Low levels of carbohydrates, fiber and certain vitamins and minerals can occur when following the Zone.
Cabbage Soup:
This is a weight-reducing program designed for short-term use. This diet calls for strange combinations of food to be eaten each day, but the dieter is also allowed as much cabbage soup as desired. This diet claims to produce ten to fifteen pounds of weight loss in one week, but is essentially a starvation diet, and most of the weight loss is from water. The soup recipe used cannot provide the body with all the nutrients it requires, and many people report feeling weak and lightheaded after a few days.
The Grapefruit Diet:
This fad diet is based on the assumption that grapefruit contains fat-burning enzymes. You eat half a grapefruit before every meal, and calorie intake is usually restricted to around 800 calories a day. This is a dangerously low amount, especially when combined with the program's suggestion that you drink large amounts of caffeine-based drinks. Since no fat-burning enzymes have ever been found in grapefruit, and the 800 calories is used up almost entirely on caffeinated beverages, it should be obvious why this diet cannot be expected to result in permanent weight loss or health benefits.
The 3 Day Diet:
This program offers a restricted calorie intake (about 1,000 calories) for a three-day period. Foods allowed are restricted, and the body tends to lose water rather than fat. The 3 Day Diet is not meant to be used for longer than three days, and the lost weight quickly returns.
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Replies
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Quick-fix weight loss programs are everywhere these days. They claim to produce easy weight loss and immediate health benefits. While losing weight will better the health of an overweight individual, these diets often produce more health problems than they cure. Some are yo-yo diets where you put the weight back on as soon as you discontinue the diet, some severely restrict caloric intake and/or vital nutrients, and still others proclaim the superiority of one particular food item or group with little or no proof to back it up.
Permanent weight loss is a difficult goal to achieve. An estimated 95 percent of dieters regain the weight they have lost, some ending up even heavier than they were to begin with. The USDA discovered that the key to long-term weight loss and compliance is focusing on the psychological issues involved with eating habits and dieting in general. Changes in eating habits must be made gradually if an individual can be expected to stick with them when the diet is over.
Identifying fad diets is not as difficult as it seems. Watch for diets that severely restrict or advocate one food group, and always doubt any scientific claims that have no scientific evidence to support them. Claims of rapid weight loss are clear warning signs of a diet that will also rapidly return you to your pre-diet weight, and be suspicious of programs that appear to rely on "chemical reactions" to produce weight loss or boost the metabolism.
"Banning" certain foods has got to be one of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting. This will only lead to cravings, and subsequent binges, causing weight gain instead of loss. There are no "good" or “bad” foods, there are just "good" and "bad" eating habits. Dieting should be about altering those poor eating habits so that you not only lose weight, but keep it off permanently.
Dangers of Fad Diets:
Many fad diets are not nutritionally sound, and most of these diets have one major flaw. They tell us to only eat one type of food, depriving our bodies of important vitamins and minerals that are vital to our overall health. These diets can produce rapid weight loss, normally water weight, but the weight seldom stays off long-term.
One side effect of many of these diets is that the improper nutrition can result in a potential loss of muscle density. Fad diets can cause a 3-6% loss of muscle along with any fat lost. If the weight is regained, more fat and less muscle is replaced, resulting in less overall muscle protein. The less muscle you have, the fewer the calories you need to maintain it. This means that over time you will be able to eat less and less without gaining even more weight.
What about the high protein/low carb diets? These diets are supported by very little scientific evidence and actually result in greater water weight loss than fat loss. Experts warn that a diet high in animal protein is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat and puts people at an increased risk for heart disease. A diet too high in protein can also lead to enlarged kidneys and renal failure. High protein diets are also so low in carbohydrates that the body goes into ketosis (burning muscle for energy), which reduces hunger, but is neither safe nor healthy.
Many of the fad diets that cause a loss of water weight result in dehydration, which puts strain on the body's system in addition to making the dieter feel weak. Lack of carbohydrates means less energy, which in turn often means less activity. And since less activity leads to weight gain instead of loss...
For more information on the dangers of fad diets you might want to read this article: ‘Fad’ Diets May Do More Harm Than Good, Study Finds
Some Common Fad Diets:
There is no such thing as a "miracle diet." Fad diets are dangerous and rarely lead to permanent weight loss. Below is a list of some of the better-known fad diets:
Atkins Diet:
The Atkins Diet calls for the serious restriction of most types of carbohydrates while allowing for large amounts of fat and protein to be consumed. When the human body cannot get the energy it requires from carbohydrates, it breaks down fat and muscle, causing substances called ketones to form in the bloodstream. This diet leads to appetite suppression, but nausea, fatigue and fluid loss can all increase.
Many concerns amongst dietitians have been raised about the risk of heart disease increasing in people who follow the Atkins diet over long periods of time. This diet has also been criticized for lowering carbohydrate intake to 40 grams a day, which many doctors see as dangerously low. Weight loss may be due more to total calorie restrictions than low carbohydrates.
Zone:
The Zone is another low carbohydrate/high fat diet that relies on the presumption that we should eat 40% of our calories from a certain type of carbohydrates, 30% of our calories from protein, and 30% of our calories from fat. This diet claims that the body will burn fat at the highest rate possible if these percentages are followed because it is genetically programmed to be fed this way. To help individuals deal with the annoyance of attempting to plan their meals around these restrictions, there is an entire line of "zone-perfect" foods that can be purchased. Low levels of carbohydrates, fiber and certain vitamins and minerals can occur when following the Zone.
Cabbage Soup:
This is a weight-reducing program designed for short-term use. This diet calls for strange combinations of food to be eaten each day, but the dieter is also allowed as much cabbage soup as desired. This diet claims to produce ten to fifteen pounds of weight loss in one week, but is essentially a starvation diet, and most of the weight loss is from water. The soup recipe used cannot provide the body with all the nutrients it requires, and many people report feeling weak and lightheaded after a few days.
The Grapefruit Diet:
This fad diet is based on the assumption that grapefruit contains fat-burning enzymes. You eat half a grapefruit before every meal, and calorie intake is usually restricted to around 800 calories a day. This is a dangerously low amount, especially when combined with the program's suggestion that you drink large amounts of caffeine-based drinks. Since no fat-burning enzymes have ever been found in grapefruit, and the 800 calories is used up almost entirely on caffeinated beverages, it should be obvious why this diet cannot be expected to result in permanent weight loss or health benefits.
The 3 Day Diet:
This program offers a restricted calorie intake (about 1,000 calories) for a three-day period. Foods allowed are restricted, and the body tends to lose water rather than fat. The 3 Day Diet is not meant to be used for longer than three days, and the lost weight quickly returns.0 -
grt advise, you are wasting your time because when the weight comes back (and it will) you have to start all over agian. Each time you restart a diet program it gets harder and harder.0
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I must admit that I didn't read the entire article, but the part about the Atkins diet (or carbohydrate diets in general) is not completely true. If you are ingesting proteins/fats from foods your body is not going to ignore them and break down your muscle. Your body is smart and knows when it needs to store and when it needs to break down. However, if you cut your calories too much - you can go into this "tearing down" phase which is why we are on this website to cut calories and lose weight slowly.
I won't delve anymore. If anyone has questions, they can ask.
I guess I should mention that your article is definitely worth reading. Fad diets do not always work. It's about cutting calories and exercising. Thanks for the post! I'm not trying to be rude, just clarifying
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Philip0 -
The thing with Adkins is that people's cholesterol went up do to the diet they were eating. All the bacon, half and half, eggs with yokes. Multiple times a week in not good.
I managed and espresso bar and when the Adkins craze was going strong, people would replace milk with half and half. 8oz of half and half is worse for you than 16 oz of nf milk. Half and half is based on 2 tbls. not 8 oz. Cutting some carbs isn't bad, but your body does need it for energy. Fuel for the body along with veggies and fruits. Adkins cut out alot of fruit. You were very limited,
I still stand strong with the fact that it is a fad and it is not good for you. You are to stay on it for a certain amount of time and then get off. You cannot eat the way it wanted you to and be healthy.
The detox that I did and continue to do is not a fad, it teaches you how to eat with out preservatives and how to read your body to see if you are allergic to certain foods. It has taught me how to cook and eat without chemicals and also portion control as well as eating foods I would have never have dreamed of.
NS, SF, Adkins, SB you cannot live on forever.
Healthy foods that you make and exercise is the only real fad diet that works. Educating yourself on the foods that are good and the foods that are bad will help you with the new lifestyle change you are making. It will become a habit of cooking right if you make yourself cook and control your portions. It will make it easier when you go and eat out. You will be able see the key words that tell you crap or healthy. NS, or Mr Adkins, or Jenny are not going to be there to show you. You are the one who can teach yourself. You learn the portion sizes by hands on.
If you live out of grabbing a box of food, heating it up, and eating it...what have you learned??? How to heat and eat. If you take the time and prepare your meal...what have you learned?? How to prepare a healthy meal, you know what went into it, you can measure your own portions and learn by eye what is enough and what is too much, you are experiencing new foods, and the money you saved.
Sorry to babble.0 -
:happy:0
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Hm, I don't really see anything wrong with the Zone diet. 40% carbohydrates may be low by RDA standards, but unless you're running marathons, you simply don't need 60% of your calories to come from carbohydrates. 30% fat falls within the normal 20-30% range, and eating a diet of 30% protein aids in muscle recovery and is beneficial for a population that's active (especially with resistance training). In fact, my macros are 40% carbs, 35% protein, and 25% fat, and I workout for two hours a day without a hitch. I eat 25-40 g of fiber a day and take a multivitamin.
Atkins can be followed intelligently and produce great results. Not all fats are saturated obviously, and controlling blood sugar is essential for fat loss. A diet high in healthy fats and protein won't automatically cause atherosclerosis, especially in an active individual. Other factors need to be present to cause problems. A very low carb diet has to be used with care in diabetics since they can experience dangerously high levels of ketones, but that doesn't occur in non-diabetics.
As far as the other diets, they are indeed fads since they limit essential fatty acids and amino acids, and promote extreme caloric deprivation.
Just my .02. 0 -
The main problems I see with these, or any, diets is that they are diets. Neither are they meant to be, nor can they realistically be, expected to be maintained by the majority over the long term (I.E. a percentage will be able to, but most people won't). Will weight come off quicker? Most likely. Is this important for people that are morbidly obese? Yes, the short term benefits for people with a BMI over 35 most assuredly out weigh the long term issues.
The real question becomes what to do after your weight comes down into a more managable zone. Without help, many (even most) will return to former eating habits, and because of the extreme shift in body chemistry because of these diet restrictions, the possibility of gaining even more weight is high. It's clinically proven by many studies that even when rationed with vitamins and constant monitoring, people on very low calorie diets have a high probability of becomming atherogenetic (having more cholesterol build up in the arteries), whether this diet is based on higher fat and protein levels or not. (I didn't just pull this out of my nether regions, I looked it up in the New England Journal of Medicine, I have the studies if people want more info. on them, but they are really long and copywrighted and without a subscription to NEJOM.org I think it might be illegal to post them.).
So my take is, unless a doctor proscribes a diet for you, and is monitoring and helping you throughout it, AND you have a plan to return gradually to a more healthy eating habit (one that is sustainable over the long term), then just try to make alterations in your food consumption that can effectively return your body to a healthy state. You do this by eating a balanced, healthy diet, one that you can prepare with a modest amount of effort, can, to a degree, enjoy, and can reasonably sustain for the rest of your life.
Side note: I agree with songbyrd that the zone looks to be the best of those diets, although that looks to be more of a tweaking of normal diet for a weight training regimen then a straight "diet". It's actually rather close to what I do now (I'm at 50 25 25 because running is a bigger part for me and you need less protein and more carbs for running).0 -
I'm so confused now. I am way over weight (obese) and one thing for sure is I dont want to lose weight to fast because I dont want the extra hanging skin. Your body has to have time to shrink . So keep that in mind when losing weight to fast.0
This discussion has been closed.
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