Fad diets or fast weight loss diets don’t work. These usually come with dramatic promises of weight loss in a set amount of time. The weight you lose at first is mostly water, not fat. This does not result in long-term weight loss. In fact, some of these diets are really bad for your health. If you’re evaluating diets now, keep these sales pitches in mind and stay clear:
1. It guarantees that you lose a certain amount of pounds per week, especially more than two pounds.
2. Recommend supplements to compensate for the loss of vitamins and nutrients.
3. Skip an entire food group, like no-carb diets. Remember that fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates.
4. Rationalize your diet to be healthy based on a new or complicated theory.
5. Suggest a daily caloric intake of less than 1200 calories unless under the supervision of a physician.
Everyone wants to lose weight as quickly as possible with the least possible effort, that’s human nature. But everyone who has lost weight just to get it back knows how frustrating and complicated it can be. You certainly don’t want to risk malnutrition or short-term weight loss that quickly returns from the diet. You certainly no longer want to set yourself up for failure.
When I was teaching eating psychology at the weight loss clinic, weight loss was introduced as a healthy lifestyle change, not a quick fix. This involved evaluating their entire lives to see where unhealthy behaviors occur. Some people had food-loving family or friends who needed to adapt to healthier ways. So, they got involved in the support portion of the program, even if they don’t diet themselves. Our diet program fostered a positive adaptability mindset to a new diet, exercise routine, and social support from friends and family. The team approach proved to be much more successful than going it alone.
My two favorite diets are Mediterranean and Okinawan due to longevity qualities, a particular interest to me. But, today’s diets are designed for your individual physiological needs. Nutritionists create diets to address cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even things like anemia. So the best diet for you is not the one that is all the rage today.
Your diet should be based on your ancestry from transmitted medical diseases, your current physiological needs (ie, high blood pressure, etc.), and your individual health goals for the future. Some people just want to lose weight, while others may want to control diabetes or cholesterol. If you really want to diet in the healthiest way, make an appointment with a dietitian or nutritionist and let him or her recommend a plan based on your personal needs. L. Johnson
