A fad diet is a quick weight loss plan that promises results that are typically unsustainable in the long run. It permits eliminating an entire food group or a strict decrease in one’s intake of a particular food category. In an era where it is easy to gain weight because of unhealthy eating, people are desperate for easy ways of losing weight championed by fad diets. The major appropriate methods of losing weight encouraged by nutritionists include combining various healthy foods, exercise, and a long-term plan that sustains their weight. It takes time and dedication to adapt to a regular exercising routine and follow proper nutrition recommendations (Gustafson, 2021). Many people are not patient enough to follow a healthy weight loss plan that will take longer compared to the quick weight loss scheme promised by fad diets.
Despite my willingness to try fad diets in the past, it did not happen because I researched and consulted to understand their possible impacts on my long-term health. I learned that many fad diets would not work as promised, and others are not sustainable in the future (Module 7 Notes). For instance, paleo is a fad diet that focuses on eating meat, vegetables, and nuts while neglecting grains and other carbohydrates. While paleo does not encourage eating junk foods, it significantly reduces the intake of an entire food group, carbohydrates. Since athletes need about 6 grams of carbohydrates per day, the paleo diet puts many at risk of living an unhealthy lifestyle (Cambeses-Franco et al., 2021). Paleo diet makes it difficult to consume 6 grams of carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits. I do not wish to try any fad diet in the future due to its disadvantages and lack of sustainability in the long term.
References
Cambeses-Franco, C., González-García, S., Feijoo, G., & Moreira, M. T. (2021). Is the paleo diet safe for health and the environment? Science of the Total Environment, 781, 146717. Web.
Gustafson, C. R. (2021). Why do people follow popular, or fad, diets? Module 7 notes: Exploring fad diets