Q: Losing weight seems to always show up on my list of New Year’s resolutions. Any advice?
A: Fad diets are not the route to go.
It’s New Year’s resolution time. For most, losing weight is near the top of the list.
Being an ideal body weight has many health benefits especially when it comes to cancer prevention and decreasing recurrence rates for breast cancer survivors. Weight loss, if one is overweight, is a great goal to have, if done properly, but unfortunately many turn to the latest and greatest “fad” diet to help them achieve their goal. The definition of a fad diet is any weight loss program or aid that promises to produce dramatic weight loss in a very short period of time. These diets are usually very restricted in calories and may even eliminate whole food groups all together. Research shows in order to obtain the nutrients your body needs you must consume a balanced and varied diet. Fad diets do not allow you to eat a well-balanced diet, especially when eliminating whole food groups, and can put you at risk for nutrient deficiencies and increase your risk for certain diseases. Fad diets are often short lived because they’re too restrictive, too full of rules, or too complicated. In order to spot a “fad” diet, review the following statements. If any of the following statements ring true, odds are it’s not worth the effort.
You may be looking at a fad diet if the diet:
- Blames weight gain on things like blood type, personality, hormones or toxins in food
- Carries no warnings for individuals with health problems to seek medical advice before beginning the plan
- Promotes and sells a product, such as herbal weight-loss pills at https://nygoodhealth.com/product/phentermine/ or a specific food
- Doesn’t address the need for portion control
- Doesn’t allow freedom and flexibility
- Doesn’t recommend or include physical activity
- Encourages unlimited consumption of certain foods
- Forbids or limits certain foods
- Ignores individual differences in weight loss
- Lists good and bad foods
- Must combine certain foods in each meal
- Requires you to pay a good amount of money to get results
- Promises a “quick fix” with little to no effort
- Promises rapid weight loss, more than 2 pounds a week
- Requires you to purchase a certain product
- Draws simple conclusions from complex studies
- Sounds too good to be true
- Uses testimonials or case studies to show results
If weight loss is part of your resolve for the new year, please consider scheduling an appointment with TurningPoint’s registered dietitian to get the no-fad approach to dieting. Call the office at 770-360-9271 for an appointment.
