Fad Diets From A Nutritionist's Point Of View

Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist for the 28 Day Challenges provides some information about fad diets and how they usually aren’t the best ways to lose weight at all:
I have been interested in nutrition for a very long time. Before I studied nutritional medicine, I devoured cook books, diet books, and health magazines (still do to be honest).. and most have a common theme.. diet and weight loss.
It’s just the methods that differ in each diet.
And boy, do the differ. There are literally hundreds of different diets out there.
Here’s the thing though.. They call them FAD diets, not because of the weird methods that make up some of these diets (and there are some super weird ones!), but because of how WE act on them.. We use these diets like fashion crazes, and new toys. We eat them up and throw them away.. We jump on board, and then jump overboard.. This is why they are FADS.

The definition of a “diet” is just what we eat on a day to day basis.. To say that you are going “on a diet” doesn’t make sense to me. To jump on a fad diet is alarming to me.. This type of behaviour leads to yo-yoing with weight loss and weight gain. Crash dieting rids our bodies of excess fluid which is why there is initial weight loss, however, the majority of crash dieters then plateau with weight loss, get disheartened and go back to their usual way of eating and jump off the fad.
Most diets WILL work.. But the goal of a diet shouldn’t be to lose X of amount of kilos in a short time. A healthy diet should help you achieve your ideal weight in a realistic, sustainable way and KEEP it off.
How are you going to keep weight off if the way you lost it was by only eating lemons??
How are you going to feel healthy if the only thing you eat is potatoes??
Fad diets have been sucking people in for decades. The grapefruit diet, zone, south beach, pritikin, raw food, HCG, raw til 4, fasts, soups, teas, powders, and pills.. All come with a beautiful looking success story that is inspiring to us all.. However, food, like everything is not one size fits all.. Some people need to be gluten free, some think it will help them be healthy, other people will thrive on a vego lifestyle, while others need to eat meat to be fit and healthy. Some of the newer marketed diets like the 5:2 diet or paleo have research to support their efficacy, some like the 40 day banana diet are clearly ridiculous.
I read the labels on some of the diet teas and am so astounded with the herbs in them. Senna for example is a powerful laxative. I would only prescribe that to someone who had severe constipation. Yet, this is the main ingredient in a lot of weight loss teas.. Of course you are going to lose weight if you are giving yourself diarrhoea. You also risk giving yourself major headaches from electrolyte imbalance, and nutrition deficiency as your food will not be able to be digested properly.
Some other teas claim to have 50-100 times the amount of green tea than one cup. Yet, the active constituent of green tea, is not mentioned on the packet, nor is it written in an actual number amount in grams or milligrams, so it screams marketing scam to me. If this was a serious product it would be transparent in its ingredients.
Now, I have no problem with using protein powders and smoothies in a balanced weight loss program, but I do have a problem with many of the rubbish ingredients that are in lots of different brands out there.. They should not have loads of sugar, colours, artificial flavours or preservatives. See a comparison of some brands with the Healthy Mummy Smoothie here.
As for herbal extracts, as a naturopath, I totally believe in the power of herbal medicine, but I have seen so many people self-prescribe lots of different supplements that they order on line or buy at the supermarket without getting professional advice. Most people think because it is a herb it is safe. Or that if they can buy it over the counter without a prescription it is not dangerous.
Adding in weight loss powders can help, but they too, can be a FAD diet.. Herbal medicines can be powerful. They can interact with prescription medicines and with other herbs to cause issues. There has been a case recently of a man needing a liver transplant after buying multiple weight loss supplements online. So, I urge everyone who is considering that they may need nutritional supplements or herbal medicine, to talk to a qualified herbalist or naturopath and get good quality herbs that won’t interact with what you are already doing.
The best FAD diet from my view is the one you tweak for life. The way you eat can constantly be improved, so choose one meal at a time and tweak it. Make the changes long lasting. Understand WHY you need to make changes and you will stick to them.
Throw the FADS away and learn to love your healthy lifestyle instead of seeing it as a burden.
Cheree Sheldon, Nutritionist