|  | Diet Nutrition | Weight Loss

Charactistics of Fad Diets

Some people who are sick of being overweight choose a fad diet. They choose fad diets for a number of reasons like a special occasion or beach vacation coming up, or a quick fix to post-childbirth weight. Whatever the reason, there any many diets you can choose from. Before resorting to a fad diet, however, learn about them so you know what to expect.

  1. Quick Fix

    • You can identify a fad diet because it offers a seemingly effortless solution to your excess weight problem. Fad diets promise quick weight loss of more than 2 lbs. per week if you follow all the guidelines. The diets are often sensationalized in the media as quick fixes and sometimes celebrities are used to promote them. Fad diets don't require you to exercise to lose weight. As long as you stay away from the "bad foods" and consume the "good foods," they promise results.

    High Restrictions

    • Fad diets don't give you a lot of choice when it comes to foods. They may be low-carbohydrate, high-protein, low-fat or low-caloric in nature. Sometimes fad diets require you to limit entire food groups, which may result in nutritional deficiencies. The Atkins Diet, for instance, is high in fat and protein and very limited in carbohydrates. It claims that fat and protein make you feel full, but don't mention that the lack of vegetables, fruits and fiber increases your risk of stroke, heart disease and certain cancers, as stated by the Iowa State University website.

    Short Term

    • Fad diets are very restricted and therefore only suitable for short-term use. Don't expect to get life-long health benefits from them. Eating the same foods over and over again gets boring and may lead to feelings of deprivation. Yo-yo dieting may be triggered because once you start eating normal again, you gain all the weight back and may be tempted to try another fad.

    Expensive

    • You may think fad diets are cheap because you're only allowed to eat limited foods. This is not true. Often fad diets encourage you to purchase supplemental dietary aids such as weight loss bars, shakes, powders, pills and meals. They would have you believe these aids will promote your weight loss even more and that they are essential to get results. Slim Fast, Atkins and The South Beach Diet all offer such dietary aids.

Weight Loss - Related Articles