For many years, fad diets such as the cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet and others like the maple syrup diet have been lurking their way into mainstream media. There are many ways for you to spot a fad diet instantaneously and numerous problems that can arise from undertaking these diets.
Step 1
Determine if the diet meets provides a variety of foods from which to choose. The American Heart Association emphasizes that quick weight loss diets or fad diets usually overemphasis one particular type of food. Many times, the food or foods they permit do not meet healthy guidelines that are set forth by the American Dietetic Association or USDA. By excluding a variety of foods in your diet, you are at risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. In addition, there is a risk that your diet lacks phytochemcicals (also known as antioxidants, which protect from diseases such as cancer), fiber and carbohydrates. My Pyramid is provided by the USDA and can be utilized to provide a well balanced diet.
Step 2
Write key phrases and guarantees promised by this diet. When finding a diet plan that is right for you, there are some key words or phrases companies may use within advertising materials that trigger alarms. These can include fast, lose 10 lbs in 10 days, eat all you want, and never eat carbohydrate (protein, fat) again. There is no such thing as a super food that will make you lose weight. It is a variety of healthy "super foods" that provide your body with the calories, minerals and vitamins to function properly. Fad diets provide false claims that are unachievable, promote unhealthy eating patterns, or just gimmicks. Without these essential micronutrients, you can be at risk for diseases and deficiencies. Eating a variety of foods helps assure that you will have a well balanced intake of vitamins and minerals.
Step 3
Write down any foods omitted or permitted from this diet. Any diet that portrays carbohydrates or starches as the enemy is a fad diet. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases proclaimed that the long term effects of a high-protein, low carbohydrate diets are unknown; however, eating too much fat and cholesterol can cause an increase in the risk of heart disease. In addition, carbohydrates are the only fuel that your brain can utilize. There is also a risk of gout and kidney stones with high protein diets. Carbohydrates do not make a person overweight, eating too many calories does! Eating a variety of whole grains, fruits and vegetables will provide the needed energy for your brain to function properly.
Step 4
Make a list of foods long-term you can live without. Many times, these diets provide an unsafe, quick weight loss. However, this weight is normally regained once the diet is stopped. The University of Colorado provides the following tip to live by: ask yourself whether you can see yourself eating this way for the rest of your life and if the answer is an unequivocal yes...then consider it a fad diet! Next time your neighbor, friend, or TV commercial informs you of a great new "diet" they are trying, think to yourself: can you eat just one food for three meals a day for the next 60 years. Instead, find think of this as a lifestyle change and make this a part of your daily routine.
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