Americans spend about $40 billion a year on dieting and weight-loss products, according to Businessweek. The Food and Drug Administration reports that oftentimes these companies "taunt consumers looking for a quick and easy way to shed pounds." When looking for a diet that will help you lose weight and get healthy, the FDA suggests avoiding plans that promise a quick fix for very little effort, those that use words like "scientific breakthrough" and diets that claim to be an alternative to or better than an FDA-approved drug.
Choosing the Right Diet
The best kind of diet, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, is the one that you will stick with. When you are choosing a diet, regardless of how well a plan does in a laboratory setting, you need to choose one that appeals to your likes and dislikes. Even though a study reports that a group of overweight women lost on average over 12 lbs. on a very low-carb diet, if your favorite food group is carbs, choosing a plan with such rigid dietary restrictions lowers your chances of succeeding.
Complicated Diets
A good diet boils down to a few important details: limit calorie intake, reduce fat consumption and exercise. Diets that rely on a complicated formula, such as 40 percent carbs, 30 percent fats, 30 percent proteins, can be confusing and, for some, too difficult to follow. Peter Todd, a brain sciences professor at Indiana University, explains that some fad diets require that you keep track of food quantities and even ingredients you've eaten throughout the day. When a diet even sounds difficult to follow and has several components, the impression that the diet is difficult can cause some people to give up. Before choosing a diet, review a variety that appeal to you and notice the number of rules necessary for following the plan. If you think the calculations and monitoring your consumption will get in the way of your success, the likelihood that you will prematurely quit is high.
Fat-Free Diets
When you're trying to lose weight, the idea of a fat-free anything sounds appealing. The truth is, not all fat is bad. In fact, your body needs some fat to process and absorb certain vitamins and nutrients. The fats you want to avoid are those in processed foods, fast food and, to a lesser extent, animal-based fats. However, you can enjoy even these fats in moderation. Another problem with diets that boast a fat-free way of life is that many fat-free foods are packed with sugar, sodium or empty calories. Instead of going on a fat-free eating spree, the Mayo Clinic suggests limiting your total fat intake to 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories and getting your dietary fat from plant- and animal-based foods like avocados, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil.
Detox Diets
Detox diets consist of drinking some type of concoction, which, according to the product's manufacturer, will clean out your insides and purge toxins. However, these kinds of diets are often, at best, unfounded, and at worst, downright lies. According to Elizabeth Somer, a registered dietician, there is little scientific evidence that our bodies need cleansing, especially since we already have a perfectly fine system for breaking down and eliminating harmful substances. Some of these detox diets can cause even more problems. Fasting, a component of many detox diets, leads to the production of uric acid, which stresses the kidneys. Detox diets also interfere with glucose production, which the brain needs to function properly. The weight you'll initially lose during a detox diet is from water and muscle, not fat. Those pounds will come back once you provide your body with nourishment again.
References
- Businessweek: The Diet Industry: A Big, Fat Lie; Rebecca Reisner
- Food and Drug Administration: Beware of Fraudulent Weight-Loss Dietary Supplements; March 2011
- Harvard School of Public Health: The Best Diet is the One You'll Follow
- Indiana University: Sticking to Diets is About More than Willpower
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fats: Know Which Types to Choose; February 2011
- Shape: Weight Loss Tips: Detox Diet
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