Fad Diets - Why They Dont Work !!

If you want to lose weight it is difficult to know where to start, especially with so many fad diets out there, there is always a new big thing that’s sweeping the news and has people hopping on it in no time.

Truth of the matter is weight loss and diets are massive business – it’s a business that will never ever go out of fashion as long as humans are on this planet, people will always want to lose weight and In the least amount of time, cue the next fad diet …. With their fancy advertising and outrageously hot models, promising you the same results.

The first thing that in my opinion that needs addressing, is the human thought process towards the word diet – to me diet means a temporary thing that you do until you achieve whatever your goal is. If you enter with this mentality you are gearing straight towards failure, what’s the point in doing all the hard work if you’re going to slip back into your old ways and eating habits as soon as you get to where you want to be? We should be looking for a lifestyle change, something that is still manageable long after you meet your goal.

Anyway back to the fad diets, whether its low carb, low calorie or low fat they all usually mean one thing. IT’S NOT SUSTAINABLE. I’ve had countless amounts of conversations with individuals that have lost so much weight on Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Lighterlife or some other fad diet they are spending money on – the one thing they had in common? They had put it all the weight back on if not more than what they started with. Everyone likes easy solutions, so if there is an easy solution the chances are people are more likely to jump on that, than turn to a professional in the fitness industry for help, unfortunately people put their trust and money in these diets for little or no long term results. If all these diets really worked then absolutely everyone would be on them and staying on them, there would be no business for all these companies as no one would be overweight.

Il try and explain how your body works, so this might start getting quite scientific now but please bear with me. Everyone’s body has  a daily (BMR) Basal Metabolic Rate (the bare minimum of calories the body needs to survive and function correctly) this varys from person to person depending on lifestyle, exercise etc and a RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) the number of calories you should be taking in to stay at the same weight.

So let’s say for convenience sake a woman's RDA says she should take in around 2000 Kcal to stay at the same weight, her BMR is probably around the 1500 mark. What happens when you go on a diet that restricts food sources or calories is that your body adapts to it and lowers its BMR. So let’s say after a week of a fad diet where your body is taking in 1200 Kcal your BMR will probably be around 800 Kcal. Yes you will be losing weight at an unhealthy rate, but most people don’t realise that the weight they are losing is more likely muscle than fat if they are going on one of these diets. Anyway fast forward a few weeks – you have managed to reach your goal and have got down to your ideal weight. Your happy with where you are in relation to your weight etc and start eating regular foods again (foods not permitted on said diets) chances are these will be the high calorie foods that contain a ridiculous amount of refined carbs, saturated fats and a lot of sugar as you’ve been depleted of these so much your body will crave them.

So you have started eating all these foods again, your body’s BMR is still at 800 Kcal (that’s all it needs to survive now) and you start putting 2-3000 Kcals back into your body as you feel the diet has done its job. Take 3000 Kcal for example, that’s an extra 2200 Kcals per day that your body no longer needs to survive – you can probably see where this is going, that extra energy gets stored as fat. Begin the yoyo cycle that nearly every serial dieter enters.

As I mentioned earlier these are big businesses and big businesses tend to earn a lot of money out of this. It’s a simple cycle – person goes on fad diet, loses weight. Person comes off diet – gains weight back. Person then reverts back to old fad diet as they know it has worked in the past for them.

To put things into perspective 3500 Kcal makes up one pound of fat, so based on the above ratio you will be putting on 1 and a quarter pounds every 2 days after coming off one of these diets.

Easy ways to spot a fad diet:

1.       You are drastically cutting calories – any more than 500 per day is too much and will throw your body into starvation mode (where it will burn muscle instead of fat)

2.       You are spending most of your life wishing the diet would be over so you can eat regular foods again.

3.       You are eliminating a food group: Carbs or fats - Don’t be afraid of fats, choose the correct ones and they help burn fat.

4.       You are spending large amounts of money – businesses like money and they won’t be afraid to put your health in jeopardy for it. Lighterlife costs something like £70 per week for some packets – that’s not food in my opinion.

5.       You are relying on one food source, Special K diet, Grapefruit, Maple syrup and so on.

There are more, but these are the most easily identifiable ones.

There you have it, don’t be fooled by flashing advertising and branding, it’s the same old con. If you want to lose weight and keep it off then create a small calorie deficit (no more than 500 Kcal Per day) have a well-balanced diet, take part in regular exercise and have everything in moderation. Aim to lose 1 – 2 lbs per week and it will be sustainable in the long run. Happy eating.