If it’s too good to be true, it is, right? Yet, every day we are bombarded with crazy weight-loss and fitness promises through television, magazines, and social media. Don’t let exaggerated promises and radical health claims distract you from the goal of getting and staying healthy.
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What do fad diets look like? Here are a few of the strangest:
The Raw Food Diet—The raw food diet is premised on the idea of eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables. Those that use the raw food diet often spend hours juicing, blending and dehydrating fruits and vegetables as a means of meal prep. The only proven benefit of the diet is the increased fruits and vegetables; the downside, though is far more compelling. Eliminating entire sources of protein, carbohydrates, and favorite foods causes nutritional deficits and deprivation. Instead of joining the craze, enjoy your fresh produce in whatever way works for you. Save your sanity and enjoy a healthy, balanced diet in moderation.
Fasting, the werewolf diet, and extreme deprivation—If you’re not eating regularly or for long stretches of time, you may lose some initial weight, but it’s water weight and your weight will go right back up when you start eating again. The werewolf diet is even stranger, insisting that you should fast on only water and juice during a new moon. There is no scientific proof to support the werewolf diet, making it just as crazy as it sounds. Depriving yourself of food is unsafe, unhealthy, and detrimental to any weight loss or fitness goal you’re looking to achieve.
The Hollywood Cookie Diet—Hollywood types have tried a high-protein/high-fiber cookie diet that consists of nothing more than cookies. It may sound like a great idea for a day or two (or to a child), but it’s unhealthy and not an effective weight loss regimen or healthy diet. Eating only a particular type of food or avoiding any particular type of food only leads to deprivation and binging on unhealthy foods when you can’t sustain the eating plan. Enjoy a treat in moderation, and eat real food with real nutritional value.
Going completely “fat-free”—A healthy diet includes a moderate amount of calories from fat. A complete absence of fat in your diet sets you up for nutritional deficits that may cause fatigue, difficulty with your memory, and problems with your skin. Many fat-free foods also contain dangerous additives that really shouldn’t be a part of your normal daily diet. Don’t get stuck on the healthy sounding label and enjoy real food that contains a moderate amount of fat without the unnatural additives.
The moral of the story is there is no shortcut to sustained weight-loss. A healthy eating plan is one that is varied, sustainable, and feels good to you. If you feel deprived, hungry, or stressed it’s time to reevaluate and determine what your diet may be missing. Eat to fuel your body and your FitClub workouts and enjoy lasting weight-loss and fitness results. Fad diets come and go, but a healthy lifestyle is sustainable.
