Fad diets limit certain foods or food groups in an effort to provide rapid weight loss that is regained once you stop following the diet program. Nutrition is based on sound scientific principles that look at the overall intake of calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats rather than excluding certain foods to promote a healthy weight or lifestyle. Fad diets usually offer an incredible amount of weight loss in a relatively short period that defies healthy weight loss. Any weight loss experienced is regained when the fad diet is stopped.
Starving to Loss Weight
Fad diets promote unrealistic food and calorie restriction to promote weight loss in a short time. According to Ask the Dietitian, realistic weight loss of actual fat can't be done more than one half pound per week. Current recommendations limit weight loss to 1 to 2 pounds per week, but this is an average of weight loss experienced versus a steady state of weight loss. Weight loss doesn't occur steadily, but rather you can have bouts of weight loss and no weight loss followed by another period weight loss. Fad diets promote continuous weight loss and reaching your overall weight goal in an unrealistic amount of time.
Long-Term Behaviors
Healthy long-term eating behaviors aren't taught with fad diets. The food guide pyramid developed by the United States Department of Agriculture shows recommended food intakes based upon providing essential nutrients while limiting unhealthy foods that increase the risk of developing chronic disease. Losing weight and maintaining your loss requires long-term behaviors that you can live with day in and day out. Fad diets recommend taking nutritional supplements to make up for lost nutrients and don't teach new behaviors to prevent yo-yo dieting syndrome, according to Eastern Illinois University.
Health Professionals
Health professionals study nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices to promote healthy body weight and achievement of permanent weight loss. Because these professionals don't promote rapid weight loss, but rather focus on sound nutrition principles and personal accountability, many fad diets lack scientific rigor to prove they work long-term and are healthy. Lifestyle modifications taught by health care professionals don't produce rapid results and in a society that seeks rapid change, thus many find a healthier means of losing weight as a turn off. Fad diets make the promises people want to hear and thus they buy into the hype and claims of fad diet programs, according to nutrition authors Linda DeBruyne, Kathryn Pinna and Elenor Whitney.
Spotting a Fad
Fad diets have similar characteristics to each other; they limit or restrict certain food groups or foods and promote those foods as being the cause of weight gain. Lifestyle behaviors are not addressed, but deprivation is created to promote rapid weight loss to boost the dieter's confidence and self-esteem. Eastern Illinois University states testimonial use is common with fad diet programs to illustrate its efficacy. Testimonials or before and after pictures don't prove a fad diet creates long-term weight loss. Fad diet programs don't post one year after pictures to show if their clients have sustained their weight loss. Caution should be exercised when considering making dietary changes to promote weight loss. It is a venture in lifestyle change; not a quick fix.
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