Busting out the fad diets

Diet Blog is one of my favourite, long-time weight loss-related blogs, and even if I don’t always comment (and sometimes don’t comment at all for a long time), I like its tone, and I never miss checking it. So, today, I’m going to do it justice, and link to one of its recent article regarding fad diets. Yes, you know, those crazy diets that demand people to eat only one kind of food for a whole week, and other dubious requirements that aren’t that useful in keeping the weight off for more than a few weeks, and sometimes even a few days only.

Here is the list of the seven signs to look for that will reveal a diet as dubious–along with my own comments (the Diet Blog has some as well):

1. Promises quick weight loss.
   And quick weight regain as well, from what I’ve noticed.
2. Advocates centering the diet on one particular food.
   Right, everybody loves eating only cabbage or grapefruit or eggs for two weeks. Because always eating the same things works for dogs doesn’t mean it’s fit for human beings as well.
   
3. Doesn’t insist on exercise.
   Perhaps because NOBODY wants to hear about having to exercise. I kid you not. As soon as I mention the E word in my offline life, people’s interest start to shrivel away. Of course a diet that advertises itself as demanding exercise as well won’t catch as must interest from the public…
4. Offers a simplistic explanation to the complex problem of obesity.
   And sometimes also a completely harebrained explanation.
   
5. Claims “proof” without properly conducted, peer reviewed research.
   Or lists results as being an ‘indication’ only?
6. Lists “forbidden” foods.
   ‘Forbidden’ being a word and concept that tend to make people fail more often than not. After all, don’t we yearn more for what we can’t have than for what we can? Besides, in the same way that guilt isn’t an appropriate motivator, forbidden means bad, and bad means an incoming binge in the near future. (But I agree that some elements in nowadays foods are really crappy–processed food aren’t too great for that kind of things. Perhaps ‘not advised foods’ would be a more appropriate term?)
7. Discourages eating certain foods in combination.
   Which isn’t very realistic. Sooner or later, one will have to face situations in which this just isn’t possible, and what will one do then, if not in possession of other tools than “thou shalt not eat that in combination!” to cope with the matter?

There may be other revealing factors involving, but I think that if you keep on the look-out for these seven ones, you’ll already have enough means in hand to make sure that one specific diet is a fad.

Although in the end, we probably also all know that eating less energy than we expand and practicing some kind of exercise at least is a sure way to go.