Fads are BAD!

In Food Science class today, we learned about what diets actually do more harm than good. These diets are bad for you primarily because they end up making you gain more weight in the end than you lose. Quite counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?

Here are some of the diet plans that Professor Roach instructed us to avoid. (She's a pro. I'd listen to her if I were you.)

#1- New discovery diets

The first one that comes to mind is the new Acai Berry Diet. Just because Oprah endorses it doesn't mean it is a good thing. Chances are if these "new discoveries"were really as amazing as they were advertised, they would have been discovered years and years ago.

#2- Diets that over or underemphasize specific, narrowly defined nutrients

Lets go back to third grade health. The food pyramid. Yes it is simple and we have had to fill it in hundreds of times, but it really does matter. There is a reason why each of those food groups is on it. Even fats and oils. Our body needs those to function. Sure, carbs turn into sugars, but we need sugar so carbs are a very good thing and they are a huge source of energy in our diets. One popular example of this is the Atkins diet. It tells you to eliminate carbs from your diet and this is not a good thing.

#3- Rapid weight loss

Rapid weight loss is defined as losing more than 2 lbs. a week. Simply put, our bodies are not meant to lose that much weight at one time and we shouldn't subject our bodies to that kind of damage.

#4 Special foods only available from promoter

Jenny Craig. The Cookie Diet. Nutrisystem. These are 3 of the most popular diets that are sold primarily via commercials that hook viewers in and convince them that their diet will help them lose weight fast and easily. The trick with these plans is that you have to buy their food. These are foods that you can make just the same at home with a few changes in ingredients. Any diet plan that says you have to buy and eat their foods is one that you should try to avoid. They are expensive and they don't teach you how to eat healthy to sustain your lower weight for a longer period of time. Don't fall into the traps!!!

#5 Rigid and Limited menu

These diets do work as a quick fix, but like most fad diets, they are harmful in the long run. Examples of these are the Grapefruit yet or the fruitarianism diet. The first one is pretty self explanatory. Eat grapefruit with every meal. The latter, fruitarianism diet, is where you only eat fruit. (Duh.) These both make you lose water weight really fast because you eat foods that leave your body very quickly. You aren't eating things like fats, carbs or sodium that will hold on to the water in you body. These too will make you gain more weight than you lose.