Fad diets

What are fad diets? Basically, they are diets that promise followers to lose weight quickly. They are not your ideal diet thus they are not nutritious in nature. Following them strictly will oftentimes lead to health issues. Others, however, will argue with this definition of fad diet. They contend that fad diets do work; they just become very popular and suddenly out of the loop for the next fad diet. Oh well.

Here are some examples of these fad diets:

Atkins Diet. This diet is a low-carbohydrate diet that deliberately promotes ketosis, fasting state wherein the body metabolizes muscle tissue instead of fat for energy. With deliberate ketosis, there can be muscle breakdown, dehydration, irritability and kidney problems. Atkins also leads to swift weight variations that can impact the health of the heart.

3-Day Diet. This diet promises quick weight loss in just, you guess it, three days. Safely? I really do not know. The rules are: (1) drink four glasses of water or no sugar beverage a day and (2) use any of the following liberally, salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon and herbs. Day One provides about 500 calories and sets the mood for the next two days, starvation mode that is. Day Two provides about the same level of calories. Day Three provides minimal calories. This kind of diet would definitely result in health problems for dieters, on top of the yo-yo effect on their weight.

7-Day Diet. This diet is a very unbalance diet and provides very low calories. Each day focuses on a different food group: fruits, vegetables, combination of fruits and vegetables, bananas and milk, and meat with greens). It claims to detoxify the body resulting in weight loss. Since it is not nutritious, this diet could lead to general weakness and fatigue.