Fad diets are diets that involve rapid weight loss, but are only to be followed for a short period of time. The term has also come to mean any diet that explodes into national or international fame, only to plummet into obscurity. Examples include the grapefruit diet, the South Beach diet, and Jenny Craig.
Fad diets are sometimes known as food fad-ism. This refers to any form of food that becomes popular for a short period of time. Common aspects of these fads include:
- Some elements of the food are said to have miraculous properties.
- Many other foods are completely eliminated from the diet, because they are thought to have negative properties.
The Atkins diet displays the characteristics of one of these fad diets. In Atkins carbohydrates must be avoided because of their negative characteristics. Low carbohydrates are extremely desirous in Atkins, because then the body enters a super fat burning condition. Although it is a long-term diet, it did have short phases during which carbohydrate cutting was taken to the extreme. Unlike many fad diets the Atkins diet was designed to be something a person could stick to for a long period of time.
The Atkins diet was also one of these fad diets in that huge popularity was fairly short-lived. For a number of years anyone who thought of dieting thought about the Atkins diet . Every movie star, singer, and sports figure claimed to use the Atkins diet when they needed to lose weight. Although still around today, the diet is far from as popular as it was at its height.
Many fad diets can be quite dangerous. Even a diet like the Subway diet, as first presented in the commercials, could have problems. At its center was a young man named Jared who had lost hundreds of pounds in only a year by eating Subway sandwiches. But Jared had made a radical shift in his caloric habits. Doctors agree that weight loss on that scale isn’t healthy. Even so in moderation the Subway diet can work, particularly when combined with exercise — Jared walked 6 miles a day.
Approach fad diets with caution. A long-term eating strategy combined with moderate exercise is usually the better bet.
Read great reviews:
