Everyone wants to stand out from the crowd -- especially purveyors of diet books, supplements and other products. To this end, authors and marketers create a hook that will help sell their diet or product. The end result is a diet gimmick that has little to do with weight loss and everything to do with increasing profits for its creator.
Focusing on a Specific Food
Some of the most popular diets promote one food over all others, claiming that eating it will enable you to lose weight at a faster rate than you would otherwise. The Morning Banana diet took Japan by storm, creating a banana shortage. The cabbage soup diet is another eating plan that relies heavily on one item. What these diets have in common is a promise of easy weight loss if you eat the recommended food. Unfortunately for the people who try these diets, the foods they promote do not have particularly special properties that specifically foster weight loss. If anything, some people may lose weight simply because they grow tired of eating the same foods day after day -- an approach to weight loss that is certain not to last.
Supplements and Meal Replacements
The supplement industry sells over 20 billion dollars worth of products each year. Look at almost any commercial diet website, and you'll find supplements or meal replacements for sale. Hoodia, acai berry and green tea extract are just a few of the purported weight-loss that are for sale. A 2004 article in "American Family Physician" points out that "no weight-loss supplements meet criteria for recommended use." Some supplements may cause side effects or interact with medication you are taking. They are almost always ineffective.
Meal replacements are gimmicky as well, as they fail to teach dieters how to make healthy food choices after the diet is over. Moreover, they often contain excessive amounts of refined sugar, an inflammatory substance that can inhibit weight loss.
Eliminating Food Groups
One hallmark of a gimmicky diet is that entire food groups are often eliminated. Sometimes, a diet eliminates more than one food group, permitting only raw fruits, vegetables and seeds, for example. Low-carb diets are popular, and there are some proponents of a "no carb" diet. People need all three macronutrients -- carbohydrates, protein and fat -- to be healthy and function at an optimal level. This is especially important when you are eating fewer calories while attempting to lose weight. Beware of diets that encourage you to limit healthy foods.
Other Gimmicks
The diet gimmicks that unscrupulous people in the industry hawk to dieters is practically endless. Infomercials and websites promote acupressure devices, weight loss patches, spot-reducing exercise devices and other products that have not be proven to be effective. While marketers of these products may mention scientific studies that prove their effectiveness, oftentimes, the studies are misinterpreted or insufficient information is provided to the consumer. The bottom line is that if a product really created the weight loss claimed by its promoters, obesity would be cured. Since this is not the case, keep a tight grip on your wallet.
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