Why do people go on 'fad' diets? Has it ever worked for you?

Question

When I say 'fad' diets, I'm talking Slim Fast, Maple Syrup diet, Cabbage Soup diet, Atkins diet, etc. The kind of diet that means you have to cut out entire food groups.

It makes me angry that these diets are available, because people buy into them as a 'quick fix'. Personally, I don't think it's healthy to cut things (i.e. carbs) from your diet as a long-term thing.

I can see the benefit of not eating carbs for a week to shift a couple of pounds, but I don't think it helps anyone to do this for months on end.

What do you guys think?

Answer 1

I will give my stock answer, however it is interesting to see how close this is ( I have been using it for over 2 months), to a recent paper from University of California. They did a meta-analysis of all the work on weight loss over the past few years. ( summary) It showed that 2/3 of people who diet yo-yo to a higher weight, none of the faddy diets of diet pills work and that rapid weight loss doubles heart attack risk!

They seemed to suggest the only hope was modest calorie reduction + EXERCISE.

This is a news report of the article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/...

I have to admit I have a 'stock' answer for this question, since if you look it appears 20-30 times every day!!!

Type 'guaranteed weight loss' into google, you will find 1 1/2 million sites!

Look around you if ANY of these things worked would we be getting so overweight?

We are what we eat, but we are at least as much what we don't do. Calorie intakes in 1900 and 1950 were higher than they are now, we just don't use them up!

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and veg.

Take a healthy amount of exercise 30-40 minutes of vigorous exercise per day 4-5 days a week. I hate to think what percentage of the UK population does that 2%? 5%?

I have seen hundreds of questions with this same pattern :- I am fat, tell me where on line I can get this super diet or herbal/dangerous/illegal drug that I hear will fix it for me in 10 minutes without the need for me to get off the couch!

No fixes pal , less in more out, its the only way.

Answer 2

Some diets that cut out entire food groups do work. The most effective 'fad' diet I have been on allows only meat, fish, eggs and citrus fruit to be consumed. In fact, for the diet to work meat or fish must be consumed at three daily meals plus a small quantity of meat or fish before going to sleep. The principle is that the meat/fish speds up the metabolism. The other permitted foods are 'neutral'. You can fry but only using vegitable oil/fat.

Strictly speaking, you should avoid milk. But most people can get away with some milk in tea/coffee. And you are supposed to restrict fluid intake to two pints a day. But I ignored this last rule - and still lost weight.

Weight loss is rapid. The faster the weight loss the more you stick to the diet and the more fish/meat you eat. And weight will stay off after you return to a normal diet - as long as you restrict the high carb, high fat foods.

Answer 3

People go on fad diets because everyone is looking for some miracle way to lose weight extra fast. It's exciting to think that you can lose 12 pounds a week simply by cutting complex carbs from your meals, even though it's unhealthy to consistently lose more than 2 pounds a week. Most people who adopt these types of diets are worried about short term goals, like losing weight for a high school reunion next month or a beach vacation, and not so much about their health in the long run.

Usually people adopt these kind of diets until they've reached their goal weight and then drop them. After they regain the weight, they'll go back on them because they know it's worked before. There are very few people who have the self-control to keep these diets up continuously for a long period of time.

I'd say that about 90% of the people who go on these extreme sort of diets subconsciously know that the only way to achieve healthy, sustainable weight is through exercise and a healthy balanced diet. But for a lot of people, the thought of changing the way they eat for their entire life is too much to deal with. It's much easier to think "I'll only have to deny myself the foods I love for a month. Then I can go back to the way I was."

It isn't their fault. In a society that puts so much emphasis on losing weight for aesthetic reasons, it's hard to think of fat loss as anything but purely cosmetic.

Answer 4

I'm not a fan of the fad diets either. I tried the Atkins diet for about a month a few years ago. It was okay for the month, but no way was I going to stick with it. Proper diet and exercise has been the best way for me to lose the weight and to keep it off.

BTW, there are healthy carbs out there that one needs on a daily basis. Carbs aren't only bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.

Answer 5

If you're familiar with hypnosis, then you've no doubt heard of Master Hypnotist Steve G. Jones. His book, "Ultimate Conversational Hypnosis" has been voted as the best hypnosis course ever made. The book is also available in electronic format at: http://www.hypnosistocontrol.net

If you want to get an edge in everyday communication and lead other people towards your goals this is a must read.

Answer 6

you have identified a big problem. many people do not understand the concept of the word "diet". a diet is nothing more than a regular way of eating. a person can have a healthy diet a bad diet and anything inbetween.

diets like Adkins, South Beach, etc. are short term weight loss solutions and are scientifically proven to reduce body fat and improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance. they are not to be followed for the duration of the lifetime. now diets like the Lemonade Diet, Cabbage Soup, etc. they are the true fad diets. they are not nutritious, low calorie and low fat. they result in nothing but the lose of muscle mass and water weight, which get people caught up in the yo-yo dieting cycle and several years down the road they are fatter than they were previously.

Answer 7

Yes, the Adkins diet worked very well for me. I used it to get down to a weight where I could switch to the south beach diet which is an offshoot of the fit for life diet.
I've gone from 305 to 200 pounds in two years.

The Adkins diet is a VERY effective temporary diet, but it's not meant to be a diet for life. The south beach diet, like the fit for life diet, teaches you to balance your carbs and proteins sensibly.

As always, consult your doctor before starting any diet.

Answer 8

If you intend to learn hypnosis then make use of this plan https://tr.im/Mxmla , Black Ops Hypnosis to better understands the secrets of hypnosis.
 
Black Ops Hypnosis is which may be: the very best and the most powerful collection of hypnosis and mind get a grip on practices to be invented.
With Black Ops Hypnosis, you'll learn just the thing you need to do to apply hypnosis, you'll learn the secret “EMPIRE MAN” technique to give you more ROCK SOLID, unshakeable core assurance and a whole lot more since the only thing that you need to master the hypnosis is this book.

Answer 9

2 and 1 2 hours bowling

Answer 10

i think the reason ppl go for those diets is because they r appealing u know "lose weight fast", but the thing is with diets is they get really boring esp if u dont lose weight. ive tried the detix dietm u know fruit and vegg thing, didnt work too good, so now am totally againest fad diets