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What are Fad Diets?

By: Garen Arnold

The short definition of a fad diet is any weight loss program that claims to deliver big results with very little or no effort at all. They typically follow cultural trends such as the low fat craze of the nineties and the current low carb variety. Many fad diets do not go to extreme measures, and while they will not work in the long term for most people they probably will not do too much harm either in the short term.

The problem with fad diets is that most people go on and off of them over and over, which causes their weight to cycle up and down which is harmful to the body over time. The metabolism needs a steady supply of nutrient rich foods to provide energy for daily activities and simply to keep the body alive. The fluctuating weight is just a side effect of the body being deprived of food and then stuffed with it, back and forth. This puts the metabolism out of whack and makes it even harder to lose the weight the longer it goes on.

So what are fad diets really? They are the product of a multi-billion dollar a year industry that plays off the obesity epidemic that is spreading around the entire world. Even countries that have been known in history for their small frames are now reporting growing numbers of overweight people, and its not due to evolution or fate of the human race. Its due to popular fast food chains stuffed with fattening, chemical laden products spreading into these countries. The human population is simply eating like never before.

Fad diets do not work, but they are accepted into modern society because of the overwhelming number of people who are desperate to take off the weight but do not know how to overcome the many obstacles to actually do it. In many cases, the obstacles lie within their own minds but instead of figuring that out it is easier to go on the latest fad diet and try once again to take it off the easy way.

Fad diets are the plans that cut out the hard work, but there is no way around that if the weight is to be lost once and for all. For example, studies have shown that people who lose weight through diet and an exercise program and much more likely to keep the weight off in the future than people who lose it through diet alone. Yet many fad diets do not require exercise, in fact one of the biggest selling points with many of them is that you can achieve rapid weight loss without working out at all.

Take two of the most popular fad diets: South Beach Diet and the Atkins Diet. Most people cannot exercise during phase one of the South Beach Diet because they become light headed and can even pass out. It cuts carbs completely out of the diet except select vegetables, and the body is robbed of its main source of fuel. Exercise can be dangerous if following this phase for very long, and many people do commonly extend the recommended time for phase one.

The Atkins Diet does include one very short mention of exercise in the latest book, but it is more of a side note than a requirement. The main focus of weight loss is through restricting carbs and exercise is not required. A high number of Atkins followers do not keep their weight off, and in fact many never get to their goal weights at all but spend years cycling on and off the plan.

The problem with these diets is they try to accomplish the impossible. You simply cannot effectively take off excess stored fat without moving the body and feeding it properly.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Fad diets are detrimental to your health. These popular fad diets seem to be appearing everyday in different forms. These fad diets will then manifest into new shapes. For example, the South Beach Diet manifested from the Atkins Diet. Another prime example of a fad diet is the Cabbage Soup Diet. This diet restricts calories and causes your body to go into starvation mode.

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