Fad diets are basically diet plans which are designed for substantial weight loss in a relatively short period of time. They are referred to as “fad” owing to them riding the waves of a trend. Being propagated by a multitude of sources including television, the internet, magazines, etc.
These diet regimes gain a lot of their popularity owing to the fact that several celebrities swear by them. They are more popular among the younger generation looking for a miracle solution to lose weight and attain the beauty standards that have been set by society.
| Pros of Fad Diet | Cons of Fad Diet |
| Effects can be seen in a small amount of time | The results gained from this diet are temporary |
| Does not leave people feeling hungry all the time | The person following this diet can become physically weak |
| It targets the reduction of weight | This diet plan tends to cause dehydration |
| It requires minimal preparation | This diet causes bad cravings |
| The dishes in these diets are quite palatable and economical | This diet can lead to malnutrition |
| This diet contains a lot of antioxidants | The person following this diet can undergo severe health problems |
| The person following the diet also feels good | This diet plan decreases the intake of essential vitamins and minerals |
| This diet includes healthy carbohydrates | |
| This diet increases the intake of vegetables |
Advantages of Fad Diets
- Time –
This is arguably the biggest alluring factor of Fad Diets. Nowadays , when people want to lose weight, they want to do it in the minimum amount of time, with minimum effort. That is exactly what a fad diet promises, rapid loss of weight in a short span of time, with just simple dieting.
- Feeling of Hunger –
The food intake of a person, if decreased, the person can continue to feel hungry all the time and this can be very hard on a person who is trying to follow a diet plan. Most fad diets make sure that the food in the diet plans make a person feel less hungry.
- Weight Loss –
Most of the time, when looking for a diet plan, the only thing on a person’s mind is reducing their weight. They are not looking for a long-term solution to benefit their health and fad diets are tailor-made for this situation. Rapid loss of weight is arguably the biggest characteristic feature of fad diets.
- Preparation –
Often diet plans contain dishes that might involve complex instructions to prepare and the plan might be hard to follow. Generally, all fad diets however, are made up of food that is easily sourceable, contain no complex dishes and anyone can easily keep up with the directives specified in the diet.
- Taste and Price –
Another main advantage of fad diets, is the taste of the foods on the diet. Most fad diets have a mix of foods and dishes that are really quite palatable, thus satisfying a person’s taste buds while also helping in weight loss. Acquiring all the ingredients listed on the diet plan is also relatively cheap.
- Antioxidants –
Antioxidants are responsible for inhibiting the process of oxidation. Several fad diets, for example The Cabbage Soup Diet or The Master Cleanse have antioxidants included into the diet plan in one form or another. These antioxidants perform brilliantly in helping to remove toxins from a person’s body and purifying the body.
- Feeling –
To be physically healthy, a person also needs to feel good. Items like junk food, tobacco, alcohol, etc. can cause severe harm to the health of a body. Fad diets require people to stop the intake of all such items, and this helps them feel a lot better, both physically and mentally.
- Healthy Carbohydrates –
We intake a lot of processed carbohydrates in the form of bread, chips, pasta, etc., but our bodies can burn through processed carbohydrates very quickly, leaving us hungry and exhausted again However, healthy carbohydrates which are found aplenty in fad diets, like sweet potato, fruits, etc.,can remain in the body for much longer.
- Intake of vegetables –
Consuming vegetables regularly can have a host of different beneficial effects on the human body. That is something that is completely ensured whenever a person decides to follow a fad diet. Fad diets include having different kinds of vegetables, in different forms like raw, broth, soup, etc., just to name a few.
Disadvantages of Fad Diets
- Temporary Results –
Though it may be true that following a fad diet plan can allow a person to achieve their desired results in a very short span of time, the effects that they see, will not last for very long. The passage of time sees the temporary effects of the fad diet, start to fade.
- Weakness –
Adapting to a new diet plan can be quite taxing on the body. Almost all fad diets mostly require a person to considerably reduce the amount and/or frequency of food intake into the body. This can leave the person feeling very weak all the time and also lead to fatigue setting in.
- Dehydration –
The weight lost through a fad diet plan, need not necessarily be the weight of fat. Fad diets depend on dehydrating the human body by putting it through shock malnutrition and/or severely lessening the intake of protein into the body. So not only will the weight loss be temporary, people can also get very sick.
- Cravings –
Fad diets hugely increase a person’s cravings. They rely on a person’s willpower to have any effect, turning the unhealthy food, that a person must stay off of to adhere to the fad diet, into a reward for weight loss. These diet plans can also create bad association with food(s).
- Malnutrition –
Fad diets require a person to stay off a host of different types of foods. Often this leads to a number of different food groups being cut off, which contain nutrients necessary for growth. This can prove to be detrimental for teens, as this characteristic of fad diets can hinder their growth.
- Health Problems –
Fad diet plans bring with them a host of different health problems. Diarrhea is a very common side effect of this type of a diet plan along with headaches and dizziness. Fad diets can cause irregularities in your heartbeat while also being responsible for constipation and vomiting, just to name a few.
- Vitamins and minerals –
Fad diets leave only a very small pool of food options for a person to choose from. This means that the body also stops getting it’s required supply of essential vitamins and minerals. This can make a person fall prey to a number of different problems including anemia and osteoporosis.
Becoming a part of a trend has become almost a norm in the present day. Seeing someone achieve the quick results, that this type of diet offers, can make almost anyone try to follow it. However one should always remember that food is absolutely essential for the human body to function and eating right is imperative to have a healthy lifestyle.
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