Fad Diets - Why They're Not Good for Your Body
 Fad diets are popular because their simplicity is appealing - and because they often promise to deliver results in a short period of time. While this may be true on some occasions, doctors and the medical community as a whole tend to discourage people from trying fad diets. They say these types of diets and weight loss methods, such as the Cabbage Soup Diet and the Lemonade Diet, can be detrimental to your health, cause physical discomfort, and almost never lead to sustained weight loss.
The following are a few reasons why fad diets don't work:
- Most of these diets don't encourage exercise. Without exercise you'd have to eat very few calories to lose weight and the results may be disappointing because your body would lack definition and muscle tone. Additionally, regular exercise can increase your energy and metabolism, making weight loss easier.
- These diets are usually followed for only a short amount of time because they encourage you to drastically change your eating patterns, which is an unsustainable practice for most people. Learning to change your eating patterns takes longer than a few weeks - the typical duration of most fad diets.
- Many of these diets are based on food folklore and aren't backed by any scientific study.
- They typically focus on one food or a type of food. This immediately spells disaster because the first principle of good nutrition is eating a balanced diet. Eating one type of food will not provide you with all the nutrients you need for a healthy body, leading to nutritional deficiencies. Also, sticking to fad diets is very difficult because eating one type of food can become boring and monotonous.
If you're considering fad diets for weight loss, talk to your physician. Your doctor will emphasize how important it is to eat foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients. He or she can help you create a successful weight loss program incorporating a balanced diet and routine physical activity. Although it may take longer for you to reach your weight loss goal this way than with any number of fad diets, you're more likely to keep the pounds off in the end.
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