What are fad diets and do they work? Many people are looking for ways to lose weight quickly. Working out for an hour or more per day as well as planning your meals for the whole week every week does not sound appealing, especially when the weight comes off slowly. Unfortunately, we often gain weight faster than we can lose it.

Fad diets have become very popular because weight loss is a challenge for many people. Furthermore, many of us do not have the patience for gradual weight loss, which means that we are more likely to turn to fad diets that promise quick results.

Let’s take a closer look at what fad diets are. We will also discuss the psychology behind fad diets and whether or not they are effective.

What are fad diets?

Every fad diet is often marketed as the best solution for quick weight loss. Many times, these diets promote the elimination of certain food groups even though those food groups contain important nutrients (“Fad Diets,” n. d.).

Some fad diets promote eating a lot of protein and eliminating carbohydrates. Others focus on reducing the amount of fat you consume. Some of these diets may also encourage you to eat a lot of a certain food but not other foods. 

Furthermore, some fad diets may also promote eating certain foods at specific times of the day.

Some examples of fad diets that you may have already heard of include:

Atkins Diet, Vegan Diet, South Beach Diet, Ketogenic Diet, Paleo Diet, Intermittent Fasting, Weight Watchers, The Dukan Diet, Volumetrics Diet and many more. New fad diets are constantly being created and marketed. Without a doubt, fad diets are big business.

There are a few ways to spot a fad diet.

First, some of them promise incredible weight loss results that are almost too good to be true. Second, unfortunately, some of the studies that support fad diets are not peer-reviewed (“Fad Diets,” n. d.). Not only that but also some of these diets have been created in order to help sell a product.

Can these diets be healthy for a long period of time?

Since fad diets often require you to eliminate certain food groups, they may not be healthy long-term. The reason they are not always healthy long-term is that eliminating certain food groups may cause nutrient deficiencies.

The one thing that many fad diets appear to have in common is that the reason they lead to weight loss is that they ultimately focus on reducing the amount of calories you consume per day (Obert, Pearlman, Obert, & Chapin, 2017).

Whether you eliminate all carbohydrates or fats, you are still ultimately decreasing your daily caloric intake. Therefore, you end up losing weight because you are ultimately eating less or you are eating more foods that provide you with fewer calories.  For example, you can eat a lot of celery and feel full, but you will not consume as many calories as you would if you ate the same volume of pasta.

The psychology behind fad diets.

Clever marketers have figured out a way to capitalize on our desire for quick results. Without a doubt, being overweight can have a negative impact on a person’s mental and physical health. However, losing weight is often a lot of work, both in the gym and in the kitchen. Unfortunately, some people may feel overwhelmed by the amount of work that they have to do to lose weight, which makes them targets for savvy marketers who promote fad diets.

As you may suspect, overweight and obese individuals sometimes feel insecure about themselves, are concerned with their health, and are often on the lookout for ways to lose weight (Lewis et al., 2011).

Why fad diets so popular and how marketers mislead you?

While you may get results from following a fad diet, you are likely to gain the weight back once you resume eating the way you did before you went on the diet. After you gain the weight back, you may be tempted to try another fad diet that promises better results than the one you tried before. Ultimately, what may end up happening is that you will get stuck in a vicious cycle of losing weight and then gaining it all back.

Those who are overweight want to see results faster because they sometimes feel trapped in their bodies and believe that life will change for the better as soon as they lose weight.

They may also not be fully aware of some of the negative consequences of fad diets. Furthermore, marketers that promote weight loss products and fad diets know how to make you believe that what they offer will truly change your life. 

This is precisely why people keep trying various fad diets expecting better results. Unfortunately, many people want a fast and easy solution to a long-term problem, which is the reason why fad diets are popular.

Are fad diets effective?

The answer to this question depends on what you define as “effective.” As you know, fad diets often come with a list of what you can and cannot eat. Ultimately, you end up reducing your caloric intake when you go on any of these diets.

Sometimes, caloric reduction is quite drastic. In the short-term, when you consume less calories, you create a caloric deficit which means that you will lose weight.

The greater the caloric deficit, the faster you are going to lose weight. Therefore, in terms of getting results fast, it is fair to say that fad diets can be effective.

While you may be able to lose weight quickly if you go on a fad diet, you must also be aware of the long-term health consequences, particularly when you eliminate certain nutrients.

Another thing that you need to consider is that you may not be able to maintain that particular diet. For example, if you eliminate carbohydrates from your diet, are you willing to give up pizza for the rest of your life? If the answer is “no”, then a fad diet will not get you the long-term results you are looking for.

In fact, those who severely restrict their caloric intake in order to lose weight are likely to regain the weight when they stop following a particular diet (MacLean, Higgins, Giles, Sherk, & Jackman, 2015).

While the short-term results may lead you to believe that fad diets are effective, it is important to focus on your long-term health. Therefore, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise regularly and eat in moderation without eliminating food groups nor any essential nutrients.