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What is a fad diet?

A fad diet is a trendy weight-loss plan that promises dramatic results. Typically, these diets are not healthy and don’t result in long-term weight loss. In fact, some fad diets can be dangerous to your health.

Path to improved health

As a general rule, steer clear of diets or diet products that do any of the following:

• Claim to help you lose weight very quickly (more than 1 or 2 pounds (454 or 907 g) per week). It takes time to lose weight and allow your body to adjust.
• Promise that you can lose weight and keep it off without exercise. If a diet plan or product sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Limit your food choices or don’t offer balanced nutrition.
• Focus on food combinations. Research doesn’t prove that eating certain foods together speeds weight loss.
• Base claims on “before and after” photos.
• Offer testimonials from clients or “experts” in weight loss, science or nutrition. Remember that these people probably get paid to advertise.
• Require you to spend a lot of money, especially in advance. This includes pills, patches, drops, prepackaged meals, or seminars required for the plan to work.
• Draw simple conclusions from complex medical research.

Talk with your health care provider if you want to lose weight. They can help you develop a weight loss plan that is both safe and effective. Some tips that apply to any healthy weight loss plan include:

• Eat a variety of foods (including plenty of whole grains, vegetables and fruits) to ensure that you get all of your daily nutrients.
• Watch what types of fat you consume. Do not eat any trans fats. Trans fats come from partially hydrogenated oils and are found in many fried and baked goods. Read nutrition labels as you shop. Limit your daily intake of saturated fat and sodium. Try to eat healthy fats instead of opting for a strict low-fat diet. The latter typically is higher in carbs.
• Limit the amount of sugar in your diet. High-sugar foods are often high in calories and low in nutrients. They also can lead to inflammation in your body.
• Limit liquid calories by avoiding soda and alcohol. Choose whole fruits instead of juice. Drink plenty of water every day.
• Watch the size of your portions. Use the nutrition label to determine what a serving size is.
• Exercise on a regular basis. The best kind of exercise is exercise that you’ll keep doing, so choose an activity that you enjoy. Adults aged 18-64 years should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise per week in bouts of 10 minutes or more.
• Be more physically active in your daily life. Park farther away from the door and take the stairs when you can. Get a pedometer or step counter and gradually work up to taking 10,000 steps per day.

Things to consider

People are often willing to try anything that promises to help them lose weight. They may want to look or feel better, or because they are worried about certain health conditions. Companies that promote fad diets take advantage of this fact. They appeal to people by promising weight loss that’s very quick and easy. Many people prefer to try the quick fix of a fad diet instead of making the effort to lose weight through long-term changes in their eating and exercise habits.

Fad diets also become popular because many of them do work for a short amount of time. In many cases, this is because you eat fewer calories than normal. You are also paying more attention to what you are eating. However, it’s likely that much of the weight you lose is from water and muscle, not from body fat.  It also is hard to keep up with the demands of a strict diet.  Fad diets often limit your food choices or require you to eat the same foods over and over again. After a fad diet, you could end up gaining back the weight you first lost.