Do Popular Fad Diets Work?

By: Ken Snowie

It seems like so many celebrities today market their own diet,
exercise, or weight loss programs, celebrities like Suzanne
Somers or Kathy Ireland. The appeal of these programs is
obvious, because celebrities are always so trim and
healthy-looking. And since celebrities are often amiable and
trustworthy, it's easy to trust that their products will work
for you.

Most celebrities, however, do not have any professional training
in the fields of exercise, health, or nutrition. Often, they are
merely offering a good sales offer to the public.

Experts on health and nutrition Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann
Heslin, who wrote the book Get Skinny the Smart Way, say that
consumers should be apprehensive of celebrity-inspired diet and
exercise plans. They point out these kinds of books are usually
based on nutritional fiction and that, while the diets outlined
in these books may result in short-term weight loss, they are
not always very healthy for the long term. It might be wise to
instead consider a plan written by health and nutrition experts.

Celebrities aren't the only pitchers of fad diets. There have
been many ridiculous fad diets through the years, and many
people have tried them, including the grapefruit diet, which
suggests eating a grapefruit before each meal. Then there is the
cabbage soup diet, which involves eating all the cabbage soup
you can. There have been fads that require eating nothing but
eggs, eating only raw foods, even fasting every other day. These
diets not healthy.

No major health group ever supported the cabbage soup diet. The
American Heart Association condemns it, noting that it can cause
you long-term harm. Advocates of the diet say that you can lose
as much as 15 pounds a week on it. However, this is just water,
and when you begin eating other foods again, you will gain back
all of the weight immediately. There are a few possible side
effects of doing the cabbage soup diet, which include weakness,
stomach cramps, and diarrhea.

Another dubious diet plan is known as food combining. Proponents
of this type of dieting preach that you are overweight because
you eat the wrong types of foods together. The requirements of
this diet seem pretty random. For example, the diet might state
that you can eat a banana only at breakfast. This makes no
sense, as your stomach can digest different foods at any time of
day. The goal of this plan is to consume fewer calories, but
there are more efficient and healthy ways of doing this.

There are even claims that you can lose weight while you sleep.
By using their product before you go to bed at night, you will
lose weight in your dreams. This is an impossibility. There are
even diet plans that state that you can lose weight by eating
their special milkshakes or candy bars. These products are
nothing more than milk and candy with added vitamins and
minerals. You rarely feel sated or full after using these
products, which can lead you to binge eat, and eat more calories
than you would have otherwise. In addition, plans such as this
make it very difficult to maintain any weight loss in the long
term.

There is a lot of money to be made in the diet industry.
Marketing companies will continue to feed off the ill health and
insecurities of overweight people. When looking for an effective
diet plan, it is your job to know the fad diets from the
legitimate ones. In the long run, there are no true short cuts
to weight loss. A successful weight loss program takes time and
determination, along with exercise, healthful eating, and
portion control.

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