We’ve all heard it: Americans are getting fatter. Everyone’s searching for a quick fix: some magic diet or combination of foods that will “melt” off weight. Most of the schemes promoted online, on television, and in countless books are fad diets. What is a fad diet? Any program designed for quick weight loss, that is not feasible to follow long term, can be called a fad diet. Some of the wacky ideas people have come up with are funny, but some can be dangerous. Though no one wants to hear it, eating moderate portions of nutritious foods and exercising most days of the week is the one true method to lose weight and maintain the loss. Let’s look at some of the crazy diets people have come up with, and the potential problems associated with them.
The cigarette diet. It’s true that nicotine does rev up a person’s metabolism a bit. It’s also accurate to say that when smokers try to quit, they miss the oral gratification of smoking, and often substitute eating. So yes, there may be a bit of a trade-off in poundage for non-smokers. But really, do we need to examine the problems with this plan?!? How about the potential for decreased blood circulation, lung cancer, sinus infections, bronchitis, oral cancer, decreased stamina, poisoning from all the chemicals added to cigarettes, becoming a social pariah, stinky clothes and hair, the ethical implications of smoking around children, and the smoker’s hack? Ten extra pounds is starting to look pretty good…
The grapefruit diet. The notion here is that grapefruit somehow “burns” fat. It doesn’t. If a person limits himself to grapefruit, he will probably drop a few pounds because he isn’t getting many calories. He also will feel lightheaded and crabby. If he keeps it up long term, his muscles will begin to wither and he will lose hair from lack of protein. Since grapefruit has no fat, his skin and eyes will become dry, and his internal organs will not function properly. His bones will become brittle from lack of calcium. He will become anemic from ingesting no iron. However, there’s not much chance that he can discipline himself to eat only grapefruit long enough for these problems to arise. Adding half a grapefruit to your daily diet is a healthy step. Existing only on grapefruit to “burn” fat is folly.
The celery diet. Adherents claim that people burn more calories chewing and digesting celery than they consume. If you plant the celery, weed and water the garden for a few months, pick and haul the celery, then clean, chop, and serve the celery, you’ve burned more calories than the celery contains. Otherwise, no. Why would Mother Nature provide us with food that has a negative calorie count? She wants us to consume calories to survive. Crunch away if you like celery, but don’t imagine that it’s taking care of your cupcake binge at the same time.
The Atkins diet. We can hear you out there– millions of people denying that this is a fad diet. But it is. Atkins instructs us to dine on meat, cheese, fat, and other animal-derived foods to our heart’s content. Ooops. There’s part of the problem. It turns out to be to our heart’s discontent. Forgoing complex carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables in favor of fatty, greasy, artery-obstructing fare is dangerous to our cardiovascular systems. As with other fad diets, initial weight loss is a result of calorie restriction, not some magic formula that miraculously negates calories. This one is worse than the grapefruit diet or any other single-ingredient diet, because not only doesn’t it provide all the fiber, vitamins, and other components of a balanced diet, it promotes the unhealthy animal fats that most people need less of, not more. You simply cannot follow this diet long-term and be healthy. Can’t.
This is just a smattering of the bizarre fads people have promoted for quick and easy weight loss. Ask yourself if a plan can be comfortably followed for the rest of your life. If the answer is no, it’s a fad diet, and you should pass.
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