THE ARTICLE
Fad (făd) noun A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.
A very ambiguous term is "diet". What does it mean to you? For many of us, "diet" can be attributed to two major definitions:
1. What one would typically consume. For example, "My diet consists of fruits, vegetables, meats, dessert and the occasional snack".
2. A regulated selection of foods in order to lose body fat. For example, "I am on a low-carb diet".
If you perceive diet to take on the second meaning, this article is for you. This is what many of us refer to as the "fad diet". The fad diet is what has led way to the term "yo-yo dieter". My goal in writing this article is to change your meaning of "diet" to definition number 1.
Here's a simple assignment. Consider the previous 24 hours of your life. How many different diets have you encountered? Whether it be television, internet, radio, newspapers, word of mouth...or whatever, I could almost guarantee that you have been exposed to at least one...and probably another few after that. Fad diets are everywhere you look!
Now let's consider the various types of fad diets out there. There are low carb, low fat, high protein, vegetable, fruit, water, meal replacement, liquid, single-food, soup, point system and pre-prepared diets...not to mention the squillions of other variations out there for losing weight. No wonder the diet industry is so confusing - which diet do you choose?
There is no doubt about it - there are many fad diets out there. How many of these have you tried? How many of these have required an excruciating amount of willpower? Better yet, how many of these have actually worked for you? Think about that last question very carefully.
I have had a lot of experience with family, friends and clients undertaking fad diets. Very few of these people have managed to adhere to the diet longer than a few days. To those that persevered, I have posed the question "Did it work?". Typically I receive the same response - something to the tune of "The diet was good because I lost a lot of weight. However, as soon as I came off the diet I gained all of the weight back." So again I ask the question, "Did the diet work?". Sure, in the short term it did, but it didn't in the long term. Hence why I have entitled this article "Fad Diet, Fad Result".
Ask yourself what your ultimate fat loss goal is. Is it to lose X kilograms of fat in the quickest possible time? Or is it to lose X kilograms of fat, quickly and maintain it for life? Some fad diets might deliver on the former, that is, if you are able to stick to the diet for a long enough period of time. In the vast majority of cases however, NONE will deliver on the latter. Let's consider why exactly.
By embarking upon a fad diet, you are essentially turning your eating habits upside down. No longer are you able to enjoy your food. Food is now a chore and you must now eat according to a set of pre-determined guidelines. As a result of this, a strong sense of willpower must kick in if you stand any chance of significant fat loss. You start to get hungry and then you start to get cravings. From here, two main things can (and most likely will) happen:
A. You cannot handle the cravings any more. You binge like crazy and you're back at square one. What a complete waste of time.
B. You push through and continue to torture yourself on the fad diet. You lose weight and finally reach your goal weight after a period of time. So you decide to come off the diet and revert back to eating normal food. But hang on a second! You used to eat normal food and you were overweight...why would eating normal food now be any different? It isn't any different! Yep you guessed it, the weight piles back on. Congratulations, you're right back where you started.
It's a lose-lose situation. By embarking upon a fad diet, you are going to waste a lot of money, time and effort. Plus, you're not doing your body any favours by starving it of essential nutrients and having it endure unwanted stress, both mentally and physically. One major problem is that you will only lose weight if you stick to that fad diet - for life (ironic if you think about it). I can assure you that a lifetime on a fad diet isn't going to be a pleasant experience - we all want to enjoy life right? The other big problem is that a fad diet does not teach you anything with regards to health and nutrition. As in situation B above: your diet ends and you're left helplessly in the dark. You have no knowledge or experience with regards to what 'normal' food is healthy and conductive of maintaining your fat loss. Game over.
It seems common sense that, after trying some of these diets, we would realise that they simply do not work - period. But the fad diet industry is big business! Why? They fill us with all this hope through fancy advertising that THIS DIET WILL BE THE ONE! One of my favourite (well, not quite) quotes from what I believe to be a 'fad diet' advertisement, has got to be from the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program. On the television commercial they state "Wouldn't it be great to lose those extra kilo's by simply changing your eating habits? Well now you can!". I interpreted this to say "Before the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program was around, it was impossible to lose weight by changing your eating habits...but now this breakthrough-program allows you to!". If you ask me, it's all dirty marketing tricks aimed at taking your hard-earned money. For the vast majority of us (ie. those without a medical condition), we have ALWAYS been able to lose weight by making simple lifestyle changes. When we just consider fat loss, it really can be this simple:
Calories IN versus Calories OUT
A calorie is a measure of energy. If you eat too many calories, your body will most likely store this extra energy as fat. If you don't eat enough calories then your body will break down tissue to use as energy. Here is a simple set of rules when starting out:
Calories IN > Calories OUT = WEIGHT GAIN
Calories IN = Calories OUT = NO CHANGE
Calories IN < Calories OUT = WEIGHT LOSS
(Note that these rules are simplified and there are a lot more variables to take into consideration when you get into the nitty-gritty. However, for the purposes of this article and on the very basic level, they are to be used as a guide for basic weight loss)
If you exercise more, your calories OUT increases. If you eat more, your calories IN increases. If you eat less, your calories IN decreases. If you exercise less, your calories OUT decreases. No matter what 'diet' you are on (diet definition 1 or 2), these universal simplified rules apply. But wouldn't you rather stick to diet definition 1 and still lose weight? I know I would!
Let's now incorporate diet definition 1 into our vocabulary. Take a look at your eating habits (ie. diet) over the past week and establish an approximate average daily caloric intake. This might take a bit of maths work. Let's say you come up with a figure of 2500 calories a day. What has this resulted in? Weight loss, weight maintenance or weight gain? Unless it's weight loss, try reducing your caloric intake by several hundred calories a day (equivalent to a couple of slices of bread) and see how this works. You can still enjoy all the foods you love - so long as your overall energy intake is conductive of fat loss! Plus a well balanced diet full of vegetables, fruits, grains and meats will aid you in living a very healthy lifestyle and leave you feeling great.
On top of this, get outside, play some sport, go to the gym with a friend...get active! You will feel great and have FUN. There is absolutely no point in spending hours on the treadmill if you're bored - find something you enjoy! Exercise will increase your bodies demand for energy and thus increase your weight loss results.
Once you have established some very basic ground work for losing weight, you can then learn about protein, carbohydrates and fats and why each of them is extremely important in a healthy diet. Then you can look into various types of exercise and learn how to lose fat quicker than you ever imagined. All of this information is available on this website and I highly recommend you take those extra steps to educate yourself and then incorporate that information into your daily lifestyle. Plus, a personal trainer can be extremely important to guide you to success.
At the end of the day, if you live the lifestyle of a 100kg person, your body will adapt and you will ultimately be 100kg. If you live the lifestyle of a 65kg person, you will eventually be 65kg. Stop wasting your time, money and effort on fad diets - they have been around for years and are still yet to provide typical and lasting results.
Further reading:
Yo-Yo Dieting - No-No Dieting
Do you believe that the Tony Ferguson diet is healthy and maintainable?
Tony Ferguson Diet Review...A Fad Diet?
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