Fad Diets
Newsletters
During National Nutrition Month the American Dietetic Association (ADA) promotes a healthful lifestyle and weight loss plan that is completely fad-free. The ADA defines "food fads" as "unreasonable or exaggerated beliefs that eating (or not eating) specific foods, nutrient supplements or combinations of certain foods may cure disease, convey special health benefits or offer quick weight loss."
Fads are trends that seem like a good idea at the time, mostly because others around you have become equally excited about them. When presented with a fad diet, remember to look at the big picture and consider its long-term effects and your health. Fad diets can be harmful, and after people go off them they usually end up weighing more than when they began.
A healthy weight loss plan should be based on healthful, low calorie, high fiber foods, and not completely eliminate the foods you enjoy. A healthy plan should also include physical activity to improve your health, burn calories, and maintain your metabolism. But most important, a healthy plan should be based on principles you can follow for a lifetime.
I strongly recommend that you read caloriesperhour.com's free Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial.
The answer to long-term weight loss will not be found in the next fad diet that promises quick weight loss with little effort, or the one after that. It will be found in learning to eat well and exercise, and enjoy doing it.
In the spirit of National Nutrition Month, share this e-mail with a friend who has at one time or another been tempted by a fad diet. And don't worry about offending them -- it's happened to all of us!
Healthy regards,
Megan Porter, RD
