Fad Diets
Ah yes, fad diets. They're everywhere, and there are tons of them. Actually, a lot of people may disagree on just how many there are. I say that because there are many different ways to define what a fad diet really is. Most of it is based on personal opinion. So, here's my personal opinion of what a fad diet is...
As mentioned in Phase 1, weight loss happens when you take in fewer calories than your body needs to maintain it's current weight. This is a scientific fact. Therefore, based on this scientific fact, I feel that every single diet plan and weight loss program that is based on doing anything besides just eating less total calories each day... is a fad diet.
Yeah, that's a whole lot of fad diets then.
But, that's pretty much my view of weight loss and a key reason behind The Lose Weight Diet. It's all about doing what needs to be done and nothing else. No gimmicks, no nothing. Fad diets on the other hand are just the opposite. Gimmicks, gimmicks and more gimmicks. Sure, some (The Cabbage Soup Diet) may be a little more gimmicky than others (The Atkins Diet), but one thing remains the same in every case... they make you do things that you don't need to do. I like to call these "things" unnecessary diet tasks.
Take the extremely popular low carb diet, The Atkins Diet, for example...
Why go on a low carb diet when you know that it's calories, not carbs, that needs to be lowered in order for you to lose weight? Why go out of your way to limit eating something that you could (and SHOULD) still be eating and could still be losing weight while eating? Why do something that doesn't need to be done?
Also, for the record, The Atkins Diet (and all low carb diets) require the removal of most of the carbs from your diet. Do you know what this also just so happens to do? It just so happens to also remove a great deal of calories from your diet. What's that you say? You "accidentally" also eat fewer calories when you were only trying to eat fewer carbs? Interesting. Hey, you know what you might want to try? "Purposely" lowering your total calorie intake and forgetting the whole low carb diversion altogether. I bet that will work out pretty well for you, and you won't have to eat low carb to do it.
Do you see what happened there? Not only is a low carb diet based on doing something not needed, but a side effect of that not needed task IS the actual needed task. That right there is what fad diets are all about, doing anything except what is directly needed for weight loss to take place.
It's just completely unnecessary. In fact, it's so unnecessary that I'm going to use a metaphor (or is it an analogy?) to explain it. It's like throwing your shoe at the TV to try to hit the power button and make it go on instead of just using the remote control. Yeah, you may still hit it and turn it on, but there was absolutely no need to do it that way.
Fad diets have you doing things that just DON'T need to be done in order to make what you want to happen actually happen. Whether they work or not means very little at this point. It's the simple fact that these diet plans are based on doing something for weight loss that is NOT required for weight loss. To me that's just silly.
And, as if that wasn't enough, don't forget to add in the fact that most of these fad diets cost money. Whether it's books, products, or memberships, many of these types of diets cost some kind of money.
Hang on. Let's review this again:
Things required for weight loss to happen:
- Taking in less calories than your maintenance level.
- ::blank space::
- ::more blank space::
Things required by most fad diets:
- Diet tasks that don't need to be done in order for a person to lose weight.
- Your money.
Now that's just plain silly, isn't it?
Listen, I didn't write this article so I could bad mouth all the other diets. Granted, I personally will never recommend any other diet besides The Lose Weight Diet (or a diet based on it's common sense principles) to anyone... ever. However, I can't deny the fact that some people may have some strange preferences and weird needs and could for some reason prefer fad diets like the low carb diet over diets like The Lose Weight Diet. If something appeals to you for whatever reason and you think it will work for you, then by all means, do it. As long as it's safe and healthy, I can't tell you not to.
Like I said, I didn't write this article to call out fad diets like the low carb diet or to debate whether they really work or if they're just completely useless. Maybe we'll get into that some other time. But here, in this article, my only purpose is to call out your common sense.
Why on earth would you want to be on a weight loss diet that is based on things completely unnecessary to weight loss itself? Things that just don't need to be done. Things that could be dangerous. Things that in some cases cost money. Why on earth would you want to throw your shoe at the TV instead of just using the remote?
If at this point you still have a good answer to this question, please do me a favor and email it to me.
However, if you don't have an answer, then my job here is done.