17 Dec 2011 Expect another year of fad diets

by Kellie Dye

January kicks off every year with the usual abundance of New Year’s resolutions, diet commercials and advertisements to help you get fit and lose weight for the New Year.

Spring rolls around, and we are supposed to worry about the upcoming swimsuit season.

Summer gets here and we are inundated with how to get rid of belly fat.

During the months of November and December, we get mixed messages of yummy holiday recipes along with all those tips on how not to gain weight over the holidays.

It’s like the movie Groundhog Day, except that it’s the same year after year. There’s really nothing new. Fad diets get repackaged and renamed, but they are still the same old fad diets that have been around for decades.

Let’s face it. Fad diets don’t work in the long run. If they did, very few people would be overweight or obese.

I will make a confession that before I became a registered dietitian, I worked at a not-to-be-named weight loss center that sold prepackaged meals and shakes. My job was to make the sale and collect the check, so to speak. It didn’t take me long to notice that about nine out of 10 people signing up for the program had done it several times before.

This got me thinking. If they had to come back over and over, then perhaps this weight loss program doesn’t work so well. To me, if you can’t maintain the weight loss, then what’s the point? The weight loss is only temporary, and you’re out a significant amount of money. How is that good?

As you are bombarded with diet commercials, advertisements, billboards and other weight loss propaganda in January, try to have a critical eye. Don’t be a victim of the fad diet industry. Here are some points to consider before investing in a weight loss venture:

Is this a diet you can do forever? This is the biggest question you should ask yourself. If you can’t do it forever, then the weight you lose will most likely be temporary.

Is this diet program health supporting? In other words, if you have to take shots, drink supplements, take loads of vitamins and get your vital signs checked, then this diet is not health supporting. If your health is at risk while you are on the diet, that should be a big red flag. See No. 1 again.

Does the diet restrict a lot of foods? Is there a long list of foods to avoid? Any good nutritionist will tell you that all foods can fit into a healthy diet. No one learns balance or moderation when they practice food restriction. When you restrict certain foods, the risk of desiring them more and binging on these foods increases dramatically. Again, see No. 1.

Does the diet promote FAST weight loss? The faster you lose weight, the more your body wants to return to its higher weight again. When you lose weight more slowly, you give your body a chance to adjust to its lower weight. You’ll be more likely to maintain weight loss if it is slow rather than fast. It’s all about keeping the weight off. See No. 1.

Is the diet a super low calorie diet? (Need I say, see No. 1?) Your metabolism can lower a bit as you lose weight; however, when you follow a super low calorie diet, your metabolism will lower even more, making it very hard to keep the weight off.

Last but not least, return to No. 1.