10 Reasons To Give Fad Diets The Flick
31st December, 2023
By Carin Clegg -Accredited Practising Dietitian
Today more than ever fad 'diets' are a popular thing to do, whether it is for 'detoxing' or weight loss.
The word 'diet' comes from the Greek word, 'Diata,' which means way of life. We all have eating habits and live different lifestyles so we all have an individual 'diata,' 'diet' or 'way of life' Unfortunately, the media and people selling weight loss and detox strategies has twisted the word around to mean 'restrictive eating.' It would be great to change our thinking back to the original meaning of diet: eating habits or way of life.
Here are 10 reasons why diet pills, shakes and fad diets are not the way to go and instead choose to see an Accredited Practising Dietitian for long term success and optimal health outcomes.
1. There is no such thing as a magic quick fix.
As a Dietitian, who has assessed and worked with many people with their eating, I can tell you that there is not only 1 reason for unwanted excess weight gain that has occurred over months to years. There are a multitude of factors that require addressing, including many different dietary factors. Diet pills, including those like Ozempic, diet shakes, and fad diets, like keto diet, are sold as quick fix solution to weight loss, now even prescribed by many GPs. To be effective they need to be continued long term, which is quite expensive for the user.
Most fad diets are created to make money, It is a multi-billion dollar industry. So be wary of celebrity advertising and testimonials, buying books, pills, shakes including big pharmaceutical companies and the promised magic quick fix or the new claim 'pills will help you start those healthy eating habits'.
More recent research indicates that weight is not the be all and end all to good health and optimal health outcomes, such as reducing the risk of chronic diseases and their progression. Healthy eating and physical activity habits impact health and risk for chronic disease far more so than just the number on the scales.
Seeing a dietitian is much more cost effective long term as we practise medical nutriton therapy, using food as medicine to manage and reduce the prgression of disease, aiming to reduce the need for medication, supplements, extra blood tests, GP and specialist visits over the long term. Not to mention healthy eating reduces general colds and flus and their duration meaning less time off work and lost income and likely more time for doing what you love!
2. Fad diets do not help you learn to make healthy food choices
Fad diets do not help you learn how to make healthy food choices as part of a normal lifestyle (ie not being on a 'diet') in order to enjoy all food in moderation and achieve long term good physical and mental health. Many side effects of weight loss drugs, such as nausea and diarhoea, negatively impact healthy eating habits.
Awareness of your eating habits including what, how much, when and why you eat is what a lot of people uncover when they work with a Dietitian or keep a food diary. Portion control, balanced meals, knowing what foods are everyday and sometimes foods, and learning what your body needs at each age and stage of life or for your medical condition is not what pills or fad diets will give you. Working with a Dietitian over months to years will help you eat the best way to look after your body.
2. Fad diets do not help you learn healthy eating skills
Healthy eating is not easy these days and does not come naturally. Healthy eating is something we all need to learn and work towards achieving. Skills required for healthy eating include shopping, label reading, meal planning, food preparation, getting in tune with your natural hunger regulation and managing situations when you are in less control of the food offered. Building your healthy eating skills is not something you can achieve overnight, it takes time.
3. Fad Diets do not role model good eating habits.
If you have kids and do various diets, pills or shakes you will not be role modelling good eating habits and a healthy relationship with food so they can learn these important life skills. Body dissattisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders are increasing with a rate of eating disorders at 4% or 9% over a lifetime and children younger than 10 years old can develo eating disorders. For kids to learn to eat well, eating a range of fresh, nutritious home cooked foods regularly over the day, together as a family works best.
4. Fad Diets do not give you a healthy relationship with food.
When people go on 'diets' they do not develop a healthy relationship with food or address psychological factors such as cravings and emotional eating. In fact, when 'dieting,' many people think of food more often which increased cravings and predisposes you to become a yo-yo dieter. This is where you restrict your eating to try to be 'good', then give up and feel guilty when the 'diet' is broken as it is too hard to stick to long term, then eventually the cycle starts again.
Labelling foods 'good' and 'bad', having limiting beliefs, getting back in tune and trusting your natural hunger signals and trouble shooting all the barriers getting in the way of healthy eating mindset and healthy eating habits is something your dietitian can help you with, to achieve long term physical and mental health and not just weight loss.
6. Fad diets, pills and shakes are not scientifically tested for their long term effects
The long term effects, such as over decades, have not been studied in these approaches and it is questionable whether they do work for achieving other positive physical and mental health outcomes long term.
Many diet books are not written by a qualified professional such as a dietitian and are based on sound scientific evidence. Even though the books use scientific words, the science behind it is very muddled and it takes a diet expert to distinguish fact from fiction.
7. Fad diets do not just cause fat loss
The science says that for the majority of people, any significant reduction of energy intake will result in weight loss so it does not matter what approach people use.
Often weight loss is usually due to fluid, muscle and carbohydrate stores lost, not so much fat. Using muscle burns fat so if you lose muscle it will be even harder to reduce fat stores over time. The trick is that restricted diets are difficult to sustain, so when the diet, pill or shake is stopped the same unhealthy eating habits come back and the weight increases. The majority of people who do loose weight and loose large amounts of weight end up putting on more weight than what they started out. This is because our bodies are designed to go through feast and famine situations. When we starve our body conserves it's energy usage (reduces it's metabolism). Then when food is plentiful, our bodies will also hold onto it's fat stores ready for the next time of famine. So yo-yo dieters are very good at holding on to and increasing fat stores over time.
8. 'Diets' do not detox
Your liver detoxes for you and more often than not, those liver cleansing diets are putting more natural chemicals in your body than what you already had, so the liver is actually processing more. If you feel you have over done it over the festive season, just getting back to sensibvle healthy eating and giving it some time is all you need to feel well again.
9. 'Diets do not help you manage food intolerances
If you feel food plays a role in symptoms, such as gut symptoms, skin rashes, headaches, moods, concentration, fad diets or just any type of elimination diet will not help you understand the role of food and help you identify all your triggers. They may increase the likelihood of having nutrition deficiencies if cutting out whole food groups. WOrking with your dietitian to get an assessement of your situation, take a good history and guide dietary investigation will help you get back in control a lot faster.
10. Fad diets do not pin point the your main eating concerns
As a Dietitian, I see many people turn their whole diet upside down, skipping breakfast or eating within a few hours, cutting out fats, sugars or carbs, and consequently not eating the nutrients they need. After a nutriton assessment often a few changes to their eating and physical activity habits only and making changes in a sustainable way with support is needed . These changes may include eating breakfast or not skipping meals, eating when their body will use their fuel most effectively, leraning portion control, balancing meals, and the big one that people struggle with: reducing 'sometimes' foods and drinks.
So if you were considering or even currently doing a particular wieght loss or detox strategy, or know someone who does, also consider seeing your trusted DIetitian for support and guidance in all your food related concerns.