Archive for June, 2007

Free Fad Diets

The advent of internet has made information available to virtually anyone who would care to surf it. For a person seeking to lose weight without spending a dime on programs, the internet provides a veritable source of how to’s and suggestions. Here are examples of fad diets one can explore with just a click of a mouse.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

As the name suggest, the main food to be taken by its followers is cabbage soup. Though this diet does not advocate long-term adherence, eating cabbage soup as main part of the meal would somehow be too much for most to stand. Since cabbage is a vegetable notoriously low in calories, this diet is also physiologically dangerous, not to mention gastronomically uninspiring.

The 7-Day Diet

This diet presents a list of food that one should strictly follow and eat for seven days. The problem here is that the different web sites I visited recommended a slight variation of food for a given day, except for the avoidance of bananas on the first day. People who tried this diet reported feeling weak and fatigue, which is understandable since it advocated eating mostly just fruits and vegetables, a poor source of calorie needed for the body to maintain its function.

The Blood Type Diet

This diet was formulated and advocated by Dr. Peter D’Adamo who claims that the most important diet determinant is your blood type. In his program, he outlined the food that should be taken and avoided by people with different blood types. Basically, type O should stick to a diet full of red meat and avoid wheat, type A should go vegetarian with a little fish and chicken, type B is allowed almost all basic food with a few exceptions and type AB should eat a combination of food eaten by type A and B. It’s probably worth mentioning that those in the know had derided D’Adamo’s diet for lack of scientific merit. But hey, it’s a free world, right?

The Grapefruit Diet

This diet has been around since the 1980s and bases its claims on the fat-burning properties of grapefruit. The proponents advocate eating any type of food you want as long as you eat half a grapefruit or drink 8 ounces of its unsweetened juice every meal. A study was even conducted in 2004 at the Scripps Clinic in California to prove that grapefruit really does induce weight loss. However, experts are expressing caution over the type of food eaten with grapefruit as it is important that along with this fruit, you take in a variety of food to achieve balance nutrition.

The South Beach Diet

This diet’s attractive name has made it one of the most popular fad diets in recent years. Formulated by a cardiologist, this program advocates on eating food containing good carbohydrates and fats. It instructs its followers to eliminate insulin resistance through the avoidance of high-glycemic carbohydrates like sugar, candy, grains, and cereals. This diet promises weight loss of up to 13 pounds in the first two weeks. Attractive prospect this may be to those desperately seeking to lose unwanted weight, there is still the big possibility of gaining back those pounds throughout the course of the diet.

About Fad Diets

Fad diets are weight loss plans that guarantee reduction of one’s weight in a short period of time. These diets are so popular since all fed on the social perception that beauty is equated with a thin body. Most are also promoted by celebrities who provide testimonies on the slimming power of their diets.

Fad diets constitute a billion dollar industry in the U.S. though nutritionists and experts had already expressed doubts on the long-term efficacy of these programs. Let’s take a look on several of the more popular ones and examine just what the fuss is all about.

Probably one of the most touted fad diet programs in recent history is the one promoted by the physician Atkins. It is a diet based on the lowered intake of carbohydrates and increased consumption of protein-rich food. This fad diet uses the process of ketosis in achieving reduced weight. Ketosis happens when reduced intake of carbohydrates induces the body to burn fat reserves for energy. This condition leads to reduced hunger and ultimately, weight loss. All the follower has to do is avoid food rich in carbohydrates such as grains and pasta and eat only food high in protein.

A fad diet with similar premise is The Zone diet which centers on the claim that the hormone insulin is released after eating carbohydrates and promotes weight gain. This diet program advocates eating food in apportioned blocks during established times of the day. It promotes that eating proper combination of food, approximately 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat will lead to a state of peak performance (termed The Zone) where the body experience decreased hunger and weight loss.

The Pritkin Principle diet, however, focuses on limiting your caloric intake and eating food with high liquid content such as fruits, soups, vegetables, and oatmeal. Though it advocates food low in fats, this kind of diet may also restrict your calcium intake.

On the other hand, the diet promoted by Dr. Dean Ornish emphasizes on a lifestyle that would help reverse heart disease. He recommends eating food low on fats and carbohydrates. The program also suggest on doing exercise to accompany the diet.

The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan does not restrict the amount of food eaten. Instead, it advocates watching the kind of food you eat and advises on eating low-density food like non-starchy vegetables, non-fat milk, and soup broths. It also suggests on avoiding what is considered as high-density food like chocolate and nuts which has high amount of fat in it. The program also encourages its followers to keep records on the kind of food eaten as well as the amount of physical activity made.

There are also several herbal remedies and diet pills available in the market that offer the same result with less time and hassle. However, accompanying controversies also surround these products like Hydroxycut and Dexatrim as they can cause adverse reactions in some individuals. Also offered in the market are liquid diets such as Slim Fast and the Cambridge Diet food replacements.

None of these diets had ever proven long-term effectiveness so for nutritionists and other health experts, good old physical exercise still beats all these fad diets in terms of achieving and maintaining your ideal weight.