For people trying to lose weight, a seemingly endless list of diets and weight loss programs are available to try. Some of these diets are valid and healthy, but other diets are unhealthy. Fad diets fall into the unhealthy category, because they don't provide the nutrition you need, and they don't follow basic, healthy rules of eating.
Identification
A fad diet, which is sometimes referred to as a crash diet, is a diet that employs unhealthy eating strategies to help you lose weight quickly. Many of these diets require you to follow strict eating guidelines that may include eating only one type of food or eating only a small amount of at least one food group. Because of the strict dieting rules, it isn't likely that you are going to be able to follow the diet for the long term. Fad diets may claim that by eating "super foods," you can lose weight; however, according to the American Heart Association, "super foods" that can help you safely lose weight do not exist.
Quick Weight Loss
When you follow a fad diet, you are likely going to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time, which is what causes the diet to gain in popularity. This rapid weight loss, which can equal as much as 5 lbs. in three to four days, is usually the result of losing water weight instead of losing fat weight. In some cases, you may lose muscle mass; however, when you diet the correct way, you lose fat weight. This is accomplished by following a healthy diet.
Exercise Not Emphasized
Fad diets often encourage the use of supplements or proprietary products, but they don't encourage exercise. Weight loss supplements and products are only suitable for short-term use of a few weeks, so they won't help you to keep weight off for the long term. To lose weight safely and over the long term, you have to exercise on a regular basis for at least 60 minutes daily or at least five days per week.
Warning
Fad diets may lead to various health concerns including osteoporosis, heart disease, organ failure and nutritional deficiencies. These diets may also lead to depression when your weight increases after you stop following the diet. A cycle of dieting, losing weight and gaining weight when you go off the diet -- called yo-yo dieting -- is also possible. Getting into the yo-yo dieting cycle may negatively affect your metabolism, which makes it easier to gain weight and more difficult to lose it.
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