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Beware of Diet Fads When Trying to Shed Pounds

It seems that some social influencers today offer their own weight loss programs and advice. The programs are appealing because we see these various influencers and we want to have bodies just like theirs.

However, did you ever stop to think whether these influencers have any nutritional training? Do they have medical training? Is the information that they offer nutritionally sound? Or is it just a good sales pitch?

Nutrition experts Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin, authors of the book Get Skinny the Smart Way, say that consumers should be cautious of celebrity-inspired diet books. They point out that such books are often based upon nutritional fiction and that, while the diets outlined in these books may result in short-term weight loss, they can be far from healthy in the long run. Therefore, you might consider passing up the celebrity diet books and opting for those written by nutritional experts instead.

But influencers aren’t the only ones preaching fad diets. For instance, the old diets are making their way back such as the so-called grapefruit diet, which recommends consuming a grapefruit before each meal. Another fad is the cabbage soup diet, which requires you to consume all the cabbage soup you can handle. Other fads call for eating all the eggs you can consume, only eating raw food or fasting every other day. Such diets are not only based on nutritional misinformation; they can also be dangerous.

For instance, let’s take a closer look at the cabbage soup diet. No major health organization has endorsed it. Moreover, the American Heart Association disapproves of it, noting that it can harm you. Promoters of this diet say that you can lose as much as 15 pounds a week by following it—what they don’t say is that most of that weight is water weight. Once you begin eating normally again, you will see your weight rise once more. Some of the side effects of the cabbage soup diet include a feeling of weakness, stomach pains, and diarrhea.

Yet another questionable diet approach is what’s known as food combining. Such a diet assumes that you are overweight because you are not eating the right combination of food. The requirements of such a diet can seem quite arbitrary. For instance, you might be told that you can eat a banana only in the morning. This is rubbish since your stomach can deal with a variety of different foods at one time. The idea behind such a diet is to eat food with fewer calories, but there are other methods you can use to accomplish the same goals.

Some companies even claim that you can shed pounds while you dream. They say that if you use their product right before bedtime, you will lose weight. In actuality, no company can make such a claim with any degree of credibility. In other cases, you may be tempted to try to lose weight by consuming special milkshakes or meal bars. In essence, these products are just milk and crap bars with specific vitamins and minerals added. However, one rarely feels satisfied after consuming these products. As a result, you may find yourself consuming additional calories during the rest of the day. While you might be able to lose weight in the short term theoretically, you’ll find it challenging to maintain the weight loss over the long haul.

The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of money that can be made through the sale and marketing of diet products. As long as people are overweight, companies will try to make a profit off of overeating. It is up to you to be savvy enough to recognize a diet fad when you see it and opt for a different approach to losing weight. You’ll find that there are no shortcuts to weight loss. Any successful diet program takes time, patience, and determination, along with a willingness to change your eating patterns.