What is a Fad Diet? Examples & Analysis

When was the last time you ate something without thinking about calories? Let’s face it — most of us are constantly trying to cut back on carbs, eat less, or make better food choices. That’s perfectly fine as long as we don’t go to extremes. 

It’s one thing to eat clean and another thing to cut out whole food groups or skip meals for the sake of losing weight. Fad diets, or crash diets, are a recipe for failure, leading to muscle loss, low energy, and poor health. 

One-third of Americans are on a diet, reports a 2018 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. More than half do so in an attempt to get leaner. Some resort to cleanses, detox plans, or crash diets. 

Based on these figures, one could assume that obesity rates are falling. Nothing could be further from the truth. Two in three U.S. adults are either obese or overweight. 

Many of these folks are spending a fortune on diet pills and weight loss programs. Some go to extremes to cut calories. After all, we’ve all heard about the cabbage soup diet, the alkaline diet, or the HGC diet. 

These things don’t work. If they did, bodybuilders and fitness models wouldn’t put so much effort into getting stage-ready. 

But what is a fad diet and how can you spot one? Most importantly, why are crash diets so harmful? Read on to find out the answer! 

What Are Fad Diets?

About 45 million Americans go on a diet each year. About half of them resort to fad diets. These eating plans promise quick results and involve short-term dietary changes. 

Crash diets are not always easy to spot. Some might seem healthy at first glance. Generally, they’re very restrictive and eliminate one or more food groups. 

The alkaline diet, for example, is based on the idea that certain foods can boost your health and lead to weight loss by changing your body’s pH. 

Proponents say that alkaline-forming foods may prevent cancer, increase your energy, and protect again heart disease. However, none of these claims is backed by credible evidence. 

This dietary plan is based on vegetables, soy, nuts, seeds, legumes, and some fruits. Animal products, fish, dairy, fruit juices, and caffeine are off-limits — and so are most grains. 

While it’s true that cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment, there’s no proof that alkaline-forming foods can prevent or treat cancer. Furthermore, alkaline diets are not sustainable in the long run and can lead to nutrient deficiencies. 

Other fad diets are even worse. The five-bite diet, for instance, involves eating like someone who has undergone gastric bypass surgery. You’re allowed to eat anything you want as long as you only have five bites of it. 

Limiting the amount of food you eat will result in weight loss. The problem is that you’ll also lose muscle and become deficient in essential nutrients. 

There’s no way you can get enough protein, carbs, fats, and micronutrients from 10 or 15 bites of food per day. 

What about Detox Plans? 

Detox plans and cleanses fall into the same category. These usually involve things like colon cleansing, juice fasting, or eating only certain foods. 

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) warns that detox diets are likely unsafe and ineffective. 

There is no compelling evidence to support their use for weight loss, detoxification, or disease prevention. Some may even worsen existing health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, or kidney problems. 

Most studies involving detox plans are small or inconclusive. These diets may cause weight loss due to severe calorie restriction, but the results won’t last. Expect to gain back the pounds you lost as soon as you return to normal eating.

Fad diets, including detox plans, may also require using specific products that claim to burn fat or flush out toxins. 

As the NCIIH notes, these supplements may contain illegal, harmful ingredients and have no proven benefits. Colon cleansing devices and pills can lead to dehydration, infection, bowel perforation, and electrolyte imbalances, among other side effects. 

While it’s true that fad diets often limit sugar, junk food, and other bad stuff, they also restrict healthy foods. Some require fasting with water or eating just one type of food for days or weeks in a row. That’s the last thing you want when you’re trying to get leaner.

There are safer, better ways to lose fat without sacrificing lean mass. A staggering 95% of diets fail. Why put so much time and effort into something that doesn’t work?

How to Spot a Fad Diet

Spotting bad dietary advice isn’t easy. Most diets are being promoted as the best approach to fat loss, making it difficult to tell fact from fiction. 

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends avoiding any diet plans that guarantee quick weight loss or eliminate whole food groups. Furthermore, there’s no proof that combining certain foods can boost your metabolism and help you get lean. 

A very restrictive diet or one doesn’t involve regular exercise is unlikely to work. The same goes for any diet plans that make dramatic statements or claims that sound too good to be true. 

Here are other red flags to watch out for:

• Claims based on before-and-after photos
• Diets that require ordering ready-made meals or weight loss pills
• Elimination or more food groups 
• Marketed as a cure-all
• Recommendations based on a single study or small studies 
• Lists of “good” and “bad” foods
• Cookie-cutter meal plans that claim to work for everyone
• Diets based on liquid meals only
• Diets that involve eating unlimited quantities of specific foods
• Claims based on the “magical” fat-burning effects of specific foods or ingredients

Fad diets often use a one-size-fits-all approach to weight loss. As you already know, different people have different nutritional needs. To get leaner, you must determine your calorie needs based on age, weight, gender, activity level, and training goals. 

As an athlete or gym-goer, you also need to track your macros. The amount of protein, carbs, and fat in your diet has a direct impact on body composition and sports performance. Crash diets rarely say anything about this. 

Examples of Fad Diets 

Let’s say you go on a 1,200-calorie diet plan. 

You can lose weight on 1,200 calories a day, but you must ask yourself where those calories come from. A diet based on grains, for instance, can deplete your body of protein, heart-healthy fats, and micronutrients. 

A good example is the macrobiotic diet, which requires getting at least half of your daily calories from whole grains. 

While whole grains are healthy for most people, they don’t provide enough protein, fat, calcium, and iron. You must also eat fruits, veggies, meat, fish, and other foods to meet your nutritional needs. The macrobiotic diet limits or eliminates these foods.

A Gluten-Free Diet Isn’t Necessarily Healthy 

Gluten-free diets fall into this category too. Just 0.4% of people are allergic to wheat and 1% have celiac disease. Unless you’re struggling with these issues, there’s no need to cut out gluten. 

According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, current research doesn’t support the benefits of going gluten-free for the general population. 

Obviously, ditching high-carb foods like white bread, breakfast cereals, and muffins can lead to weight loss, but that’s not always the case. 

If, say, you replace white bread with potato bread, you’ll still get empty calories. 

One slice of white bread has 77 calories, 13.3 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat, and 2.6 grams of protein. Potato bread has a similar nutritional value, offering 70 calories, 14 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fat, and 2 grams of protein per slice. 

In this case, choosing one type of bread over the other won’t make any difference. 

The Starch Solution Restricts Protein and Healthy Fats

Another example of a fad diet is the Starch Solution. This high-calorie, low-fat diet plan promotes the consumption of rice, beans, potatoes, and other starches. 

Vegetable oils, animal products, sugars, and junk food are off-limits. High-fat foods like avocado, nuts, and seeds can only be consumed occasionally. 

As you probably know, you must eat fat to burn fat. This nutrient serves as a source of fuel, supports cell growth, and helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins, explains the European Food Information Council. 

Some types of fat, such as omega-3s, keep your heart healthy and improve blood lipids. When consumed as part of a balanced diet, they may prevent bone loss and increase bone strength. 

Your body also needs moderate amounts of saturated fat to produce testosterone. This explains why low-fat diets have been linked to lower testosterone levels in men. 

The Starch Solution is not nutritionally sound. Although it eliminates sugars and processed foods, it also limits protein and healthy fats. In the long run, it can mess up your hormones and lead to nutrient deficiencies.

We won’t go into details about the HCG diet, the blood type diet, the cabbage soup diet, and others. These weight loss plans lack scientific support and are not sustainable in the long run.

The Dark Side of Fad Diets 

Fad diets not only deprive your body of vital nutrients but also promote weight gain in the long run. 

Dehydration, fatigue, muscle loss, and digestive distress are all common side effects. This approach to weight loss can also take a toll on your mental health, leading to anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. 

A common trait of fad diets is severe caloric restriction, which may result in metabolic slowdown. 

Although you may initially lose weight, your body will adapt to a low-calorie intake sooner or later. As a result, it will become more efficient at using energy and storing calories for fuel. 

The longer you’re on a diet, the harder it gets to get leaner. As soon as you resume your old eating habits, you’ll put the weight back on— and some more. That’s why so many people are caught in a cycle of losing and gaining weight. 

Very-low-calorie diets are only recommended to those with extreme obesity. Someone getting ready for bariatric surgery, for example, may restrict his energy intake to 800 or fewer calories per day to lose weight fast. 

However, even in such cases, dieters are under medical supervision and work closely with a doctor or nutrition specialist. 

Researchers warn that yo-yo dieting disrupts normal physiology. It not only slows down your metabolism but also triggers an inflammatory response and contributes to chronic diseases. 

Juicing and detox diets are particularly harmful, according to the NCCIH. 

These weight loss plans often involve laxatives and all sorts of teas that may lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. The risks are even higher for people with diabetes, cardiovascular problems, or kidney issues.

What’s the Best Way to “Diet?”

Now that you know more about the dangers of fad diets, you may wonder how to lose weight safely. 

Your best bet is to make lasting lifestyle changes. Cut back on sugar and processed foods, downside your portions, and stay active throughout the day. 

Try to estimate your energy needs and keep an eye on your calorie intake. Our guide on how to count calories for bulking, cutting, or weight maintenance is a good starting point, so check it out. 

If you still want to go on a diet, choose one that’s nutritionally sound and fits your lifestyle. The Mediterranean diet plan, for example, is based on whole foods that support heart health. 

Another good choice is the paleo diet, which promotes the consumption of lean meat, fish, leafy greens, and good fats. Although it’s quite strict, it reinforces healthy eating habits and can be adjusted to your needs. 

What diets have you tried so far? Is there any weight loss plan you would recommend? Let us know your thoughts below!