Fad diets come and go, but a few seem to reappear every few years or months as people looking for quick and easy weight loss tell seek out something that doesn't involve a slow and steady method like cutting calories and getting more exercise. Fad diets are recognizable because they promise extreme weight loss in a short period of time using methods that may not be sustainable over the long term and may be dangerous to your health.
Cabbage Soup Diet
While both cabbage and soup have been linked to better weight control, the cabbage soup diet is simply a fad diet that promises more than it can achieve. The promise of 10 lbs of weight loss in seven days draws dieters to try this diet, which involves consuming cabbage soup made with a specific recipe at every meal and snack for a week. Certain meals during the week-long diet also have other specified foods that should be added to the diet. Some of the many recipe variations of the cabbage soup used in this diet are high in sodium.
Grapefruit Diet
The grapefruit diet is another diet that involves severe calorie restriction hidden in a list of specified foods to be eaten at specific meals over the course of the diet. The theory behind this diet is that grapefruit supposedly contains special fat-burning properties. Dieters following this diet consume grapefruit, along with three small meals throughout the day. The grapefruit diet lasts 10 to 14 days, depending on the specific variation. Like most fad diets, the grapefruit diet can be difficult to follow because of the severe food restrictions.
3-Day Diet
The 3-day diet follows a specific regimen of meals for three consecutive days, followed by five days of eating normally. The premise is that certain foods eaten together cause a metabolic reaction that results in fast weight loss, but severe calorie restriction is more likely to be the cause of any weight lost on this diet. Dieters on this plan claim to have achieved 10 lbs. of weight loss in three days, far more than the recommended healthy weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week.
Negative Calorie Diet
The premise behind the negative calorie diet is that some foods use up more calories being digested than they contain and boost overall metabolism when consumed. Many variations of this diet exist, including a version published on the internet with a specific list of foods for the dieter to eat. Most of the foods listed are fruits and vegetables, which are highly nutritious, but the lack of starches, protein and dairy may put dieters at risk for nutrient deficiencies. No scientific studies have been performed on the negative calorie diet, but weight loss achieved on this diet is more likely to be the result of it being very low in calories, and not from any special property of the foods listed. The negative calorie diet promises dieters a weight loss of 14 lbs. in seven days, an unhealthy rate that may result in loss of water and muscle tissue.
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