Why Fad Diets Don't Work

The likelihood of finding a woman who is content with her weight is as rare as finding a man who wants to talk about his feelings.

As long as a man can run without puffing and is still able to look down and see his appendage, he will generally not be too overly concerned about his weight.

A lot of women on the other hand, are obsessed with their weight to the extent they would prefer to be skinny rather than fit and healthy. It is because of this perception that fad diets have become so popular with females.

A fad diet is a weight loss plan or aid that promises dramatic results. These diets typically don’t result in long-term weight loss and are often unhealthy or dangerous. They appeal to people by promising weight loss that is very quick and easy. 

It is human nature to take the easy road and this is why many women would prefer to try the quick fix of a fad diet instead of making the effort to lose weight through long-term changes in their eating and exercise habits. Experiencing initial weight loss is what often keeps people motivated on fad diets. What they fail to realise, is that any restriction in calories and more awareness of what they are eating will result in initial weight loss anyway. Weight loss experienced from fad diets is usually short lived and unsustainable.

The skinny on fad diets:

• Fad diets start off by setting unrealistic eating goals. A typical fad diet often expects an average female to eat under 1200 calories a day. However within 2-3 weeks due to the extreme calorie deficit the body then switches into starvation mode, which triggers the body to conserve energy.
• This then lowers the thyroid hormone (that is responsible for regulating basal metabolism), and when energy is needed for everyday activity the body is forced to break down body tissues e.g. muscle.  Muscle is metabolically active so if you lose muscle your metabolic rate decreases.
• Because you have less muscle, you must eat even fewer calories than before to reduce your body weight.  This then causes the weight loss to stop; and because of this most people quit.
• Then when you go back to eating normal again (the same amount of calories you were eating before the diet), your metabolism has slowed down due to a decrease in muscle. 
• This in turn causes an increase in body fat which often leaves you at a greater weight gain than previously...the yoyo effect!

It is an incredibly vicious cycle. To avoid it, try to remember that healthy weight loss should be due to a lifestyle change of implementing exercise and healthy eating habits.

Many of my clients have tried their fair share of fad diets and due to lack of success, have come to me ready to work hard and make the changes that were necessary for long term health.  To highlight the sort of healthy and sustainable weight loss results that can be achieved through a proper exercise and healthy eating programme, I can share the results of three of my Boot Camp ladies. Each worked out five times a week for six weeks and followed my Healthy Eating Guide. All of them lost between 8 to 10kgs, achieved outstanding fitness improvements, increased their muscle and reduced body fat. At first they were surprised at the amount of food they could eat. If you asked any of them if the six-week programme was easy, they would be guaranteed to say ‘no’.  But they would also tell you they are more energetic, stronger, fitter and most importantly happier than they were at the start of the programme.

If you want to get healthier and fitter then never forget that; ‘Good things come to those that work hard’.

The next time you are thinking about starting a diet, look for the obvious fad diet signs listed below:

1. Any diet that claims to help an average person lose more that 500g to 1 kg per week. It took you time to gain the unwanted weight and it will take time to lose it.
2. Claims that you can lose weight whilst still eating fatty or high sugar foods and not exercising. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Offers testimonials from celebrities/experts in weight loss, science or nutrition. These people will be getting paid to advertise the diet plan or product.
4. Limits your food choices and doesn’t encourage you to get balance and variety in your nutrition.
5. Requires you to spend a lot of money on seminars, pills, or meals in order for the plan to work.

All members of Boot Camp with Kaz receive a FREE Healthy Eating Guide, which has all the information you’ll need to complement your training programme and will help to ensure sustainable weight loss, leading to lasting results.