Fad diets are popular but do they offer long-lasting results?
Sometimes it feels like a medal of honor to be on the most restrictive diet possible. Cutting out full food groups, eliminating entire ingredients, and losing weight as quickly as possible.
One of the things I often hear when I first meet with clients is, “This diet worked really well for me.” And I always ask, “And then what happened?”
Maybe you know the cycle too: a diet works “really well.” You see the weight loss and results quickly. Then you go back to your normal way of eating, and all the weight comes back, or your results are lost. Then you do the diet again, and the weight comes off again, though maybe not as much as the first time. And the cycle goes on and on.
This is the definition of yo-yo dieting.
And this is also something I do not recommend for my clients. A truly successful diet is one you can sustain long-term, keep the results, and don’t have to cut out your favorite foods. Sounds like a dream, right?
The cycle above is not a successful diet because you are not keeping the weight off or keeping the results you worked hard for when you go back to your normal routine.
I’m about to make a bold statement:
These yo-yo diets and fad diets are killing your progress (and potentially your health). They are the reason why you struggle to lose weight.
3 Ways to Spot a Fad Diet
Here are three ways to spot fad diets and three things you can do instead of trying another one to fill its place!
1. Promises a quick fix.
Any diet that guarantees you lose x amount of weight in y number of days should be a red flag. Results are not guaranteed. Your body is not the same as your neighbor’s body – you both will lose weight at a different rate because you are two different people, with two different genetics, and two different histories of dieting.
2. Excludes foods groups or talks about magic food combinations.
When we are taking out full food groups, we are missing out on nutrients that our body needs to function optimally. For example, taking carbs out of your diet? Carbs are your brain food, your energy, your recovery, they help you sleep, keep you regular, and assist your metabolism, among other things. So why would we take those out and throw our entire system? Then add them back in and lose the results that we worked hard for because it’s not sustainable to keep them out? Or you end up so restricted that it leads to binge eating and feeling shame around food. That’s a no for me!
3. Makes claims with only testimonials.
Like I mentioned above with the quick fixes, how you see results will look different than your neighbor or your mom. Though testimonials are important, they are often skewed with only the positive results. I firmly believe there should be science backing it (and not the kind of “science” that claims certain diets will change your body chemistry – because that’s not a thing!). Before doing a diet, make sure you are properly researching, not focusing on testimonials only.
How to say goodbye to fad diets for good
If you’ve done fad diets and yo-yo diets and are ready to break up with them for sustainable results, here are three tips for where you can start:
1. Build awareness.
If someone came to me and said, “I want to lose weight”, I couldn’t just put them on a diet and hope they lost weight. Instead, I’d do some investigating – where are they today, what does their history of dieting look like, how many calories are they consuming vs. should be consuming, are there underlying issues that we need to address for them to lose weight, etc. Once we have the awareness of what we are doing, we can start planning to achieve your goals.
2. Find a way of eating you can do long term.
We are not meant to be going in and out of diets our entire life. This is why it’s important to fuel your body and be consistent with the style of eating that works best for you. This does not mean cutting out food groups, but figuring out how those food groups play a role in your progress, adjusting portions where needed, and listening to our body’s needs.
3. Forget the trends, the supplements, and the sexy diets.
I know it’s very tempting to start a new diet or supplement regimen when you hear someone had great results on it. But the boring, un-sexy stuff is where the magic happens! The way of eating that you can consistently do long term without sacrificing your health is the key to seeing results and supporting your body. As for supplements, I recommend we make sure you need the supplements you are taking and stop throwing your money down the drain, but that’s just me!
So, when you are tempted to try another trendy diet you saw on Instagram, I want you to think to yourself how sustainable it is – no matter what the results are that the other person saw.
And if you still need some help and want your diet fully customized to you, schedule your FREE discovery call with me, and let’s see how I can help you optimize your results through your nutrition!
