Why You Should Avoid Fad Diets for Weight Loss

We all prefer a quick fix. Whether your Wifi is not working or you are trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, everything needs to happen fast. Sure, a diet plan promising to vanish the extra weight on your body sounds great. But sit and think, is it really possible for something like that to happen without your body getting harmed? Weight loss plans like fad diets do not only harm your body, but can cause long-term illness too. 

So, What Are Fad Diets?

Fad diets are diet plans promoted as the fastest and easiest way to lose weight. Some of them include gluten-free diets, baby food diets, Palaeolithic diets, and so on. Several of these diets advocate for skipping meals that include the nutrients your body needs to be healthy. Some diets blame certain hormones for weight gain, arguing that diet can alter the body's chemistry. The research behind these diets is either incomplete or flawed.

Now the question is, how can you determine whether a diet is long-term beneficial or merely a fad?

How to Detect A FAD Diet?

Here are some tell-tale signs of fad diets that you should be alert to:

Be careful if a strategy claims weight loss of more than 2 pounds every week. 

Be wary of diets that declare whole food categories, like carbs, as unhealthy. You must eat a range of foods to provide your body with the nourishment it needs. 

Some fad diets call for pricey meal replacements like protein drinks or diet bars. Some could stress intake of mostly one type of food, like beef, grapefruit, or vegetable soup. 

Anytime you substantially reduce your calorie intake, you'll lose weight. However, this excessive course of action is unsustainable and harmful. Your body needs calories as fuel to function optimally. Calculate how many calories your body requires daily to maintain your current weight with a calorie calculator. This calorie intake could be adjusted to achieve weight loss. To figure out your optimal caloric intake, consult a dietician or someone on your healthcare team.

Why Can’t Fad Diets Get the Job Done?

1. Unrealistic Goals

Fad diets make grandiose, unrealistic promises that are impossible to keep in a limited period. A consistent reduction of 1 to 2 pounds each week is considered a healthy weight loss for the most efficient long-term weight control.

2. Fad diets are imbalanced

Some diets encourage you to entirely cut out a specific food group (mostly carbs or fats), making you eat only “weight loss foods”. Your body requires nutrition to operate, even if you are trying to reduce weight. Lack of any vitamin or mineral can be detrimental to your health.

3. Fad diet plans can leave you hungry 

The main goal of a diet is to reduce calorie intake by swapping out high-calorie foods for low-calorie ones to achieve a calorie deficit. If the diet is rigid and encourages you to eat less, you will always feel hungry and eventually end up indulging in unhealthy snacks, which will sabotage your efforts to lose weight

 4. Fad diets are unsustainable

Fad diets offer short-term results of losing a couple of pounds, but they are not sustainable options in the long term. 'Fad diets' are usually extreme, excessively restricting, nutritionally imbalanced, and impossible to adhere to over the long run.

According to research, these diets can be dangerous and may lead to severe complications like constipation, muscle cramps, kidney stones, and type-2 diabetes .

5. Lose Weight By Eating Healthy Instead

Losing weight need not be a tolling activity on the taste buds. Several delicious and healthy weight loss food alternatives available in the market will assist you in achieving your goals. We have created a list of such food items here:

Homemade granola:

Homemade granola typically contains a lot of fiber, which is suitable for assisting digestion. They are also high in zinc, iron, magnesium, and vitamin B. Oats and flax seeds, two ingredients in granola recipes, can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Tofu:

Mapo Tofu is a low-calorie, high-protein dish that is free of cholesterol and rich in calcium and manganese, all of which are good for your bones. Tofu will aid in weight loss by filling you up for longer with fewer calories than meat, and it could lower the risk of heart problems.

Seeded Omega and Millet Crackers:

They are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, a nutrient with tremendous health-boosting benefits. Regular consumption of this can help prevent various cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and osteoporosis. The high fiber content of the Seeded Omega and Millet Crackers will also help a healthy weight loss by keeping you full for a long time.

All fad diets have one idea in common. They provide a temporary solution to your weight issues. When you stop a fad diet, weight loss generally returns quickly. 

To be successful over the long term, weight reduction and maintenance must be made healthily. This is our primary focus here at Foodhak. We envision a world where people will lead healthier and longer lives through the accessibility and availability of good food. Get Started with Foodhak.

Also read:  Lose Weight Fast and Easy, 5 tips to loss weight, Foods for healthy weight loss