Over the next couple of weeks, we’re reviewing a series of popular fad diets. Many diet fads come and go at lightning speed … and disappear never to be heard from again. The ones we’ll review have been around for quite a long time. The fad weight loss diets we’ll review are:
Why Fad Dieting Is So Popular: #1
First of all, why are these popular fad diets so … well … popular? The first reason is their gigantic claims! They all practically promise that there will be large numbers of pounds lost in a very short time. What’s the usual fat loss prescription?
==> Don’t eat very much and exercise a lot and you’ll lose a pound or two each week. <==
Not very exciting to most of us. It might have taken a year to gain the excess weight – but we’d like to lose it in 10 minutes. Isn’t that right?
The truth is that few of us want to change our lifestyle – we have want to lose the darned weight and resume our current eating habits.
QUESTION: will you lose large numbers of pounds in a short time?
ANSWER: Maybe. But the bottom line is that the weight will come back about as fast as it disappeared.
You know it.
I know it.
Everybody knows it – we just don’t want to admit it’s true!
Why Fad Dieting Is So Popular: #2
Psychology plays a big part in the popularity of fad diets. Eating in an unusual (and SHORT TERM) way has a strange appeal. Eating snails and parsley six times a day (kidding!) sounds a bit intriguing – especially when you will lose 15 pounds in thirty minutes doing it. It’s not so hard to get excited about such a diet. Novelty is always interesting – short term.
However, that might not be as much fun as you think. I remember one of my memorable fad diets which consisted of three eggs, four times a day, for the first day. (Can you imagine being so silly?) At the end of the first day my digestive system was so distressed that I barely ate for the next couple of days. At the end of those three days I had lost exactly zero pounds!
Why Fad Dieting Is So Popular: #3
What to eat becomes easy. Part of the mystique of the fad diet is that if you follow the diet to the letter, without any deviation, magic will occur. It’s sometimes nice to simplify our lives in this way.
Following a monotoous diet is awful for me and for lots of others.
Plus, there is a natural inclination to resist being-told-what-to-do.
So this aspect of a fad diet is comforting to some people and a source of anxiety and resistance to others.
Problems With Diet Fads
Most fad diets are focused on very few foods and malnutrition might be a consideration – if they lasted very long. But they rarely do.
And yes, you might very well lose a lot of pounds in a short time, just as promised. Then again, you might not. But you know what I’m going to say because I’ve already said it: even if you do lose a lot of weight it will all come back in a short time.
Fad diets are rarely sustainable long term – which is often a very good thing, depending on the diet.
The Bottom Line …
To transition from a fat person to a thin person depends on making a life style change. This means changing your eating habits and exercise habits for the rest of your life. I f you’re not seriously committed, really ready for that, then don’t even try to change right now. Wait until a future time in your life when you might truly be ready to change. Popular fad diets are rarely the answer to anyone’s weight problems. If they were, about 2/3 of America wouldn’t be overweight.
Ron says
This post is right on. I was talking to my Dr a few days ago about my spare tire and he said basically the same thing you are. You HAVE to commit longterm or you are just spinning your wheels.
Nice post – looking forward to the rest of the series.