Knowing the Red Flags of Fad Diets With Baptist Health South Florida

This is the time of year where weight loss and diets kick off the year with the mindset of ” new year new you”. We see advertisements for everything from weight loss teas and before and after success stories and more often than not hop on a bandwagon that is not sustainable. So today, I wanted to share some tips to help you decide if a diet is right for you in 2019 and encourage you to simply consider building a lifestyle of balanced nutrition and exercise.

Doctors, dietitians, and other experts agree that the best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories while maintaining a nutritious balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. And regular exercise needs to be a primary ingredient. According to this article, it has been found that fad diets are unfortunately marketed predominantly towards women to help them lose weight. Dr. Ballesteros of Baptist Health South Florida says, “Sometimes they don’t have a concept of portion sizes because these fad diets are very low in calories. You can do this for a short period of time, but not long-term.” What I want to encourage you is to have an understanding that building a healthy lifestyle takes time and effort. When you build a healthy lifestyle there are no “quick fixes”. Unfortunately, the marketers of these fad diets focus on an “ideal image” of beauty, instead of focusing on health, she says.

According to the article, Dr. Ballesteros says that she often sees patients who are feeling pressured by societies ideal of the “perfect body”, and unfortunately that leads many women wanting to try these fad diets. Unfortunately, most fad diets fail to focus on a regular exercise program, are designed for short-term results and utilize unnecessary supplements which can be harmful.

So with all of that said. I thought I would share some tips on recognizing a FAD DIET.

A diet is a fad diet if you notice any of the following:

• Promise of quick weight loss. Makes this promise without including regular exercise, while sometimes deceptively promoting the use of supplements.
• Avoidance of certain foods. Some diets exclude or severely restrict food groups or nutrients, such as carbohydrates.
• Rigid food combinations. Focusing on certain food combinations does not promote weight loss. A well-balanced diet does.
• Confusing scientific evidence. “Scientific” testimonials and pictures of “before” and “after” success stories are usually deceptive or false, often involving actors. Sometimes the aim is to confuse the consumer with conflicting or unclear claims.
• No mention of exercise. As previously mentioned, no weight-loss program excludes regular physical activity. See the American Heart Association’s recommendations for regular exercise.

“We need to be aware that ‘fad diets’ don’t work,” says Dr. Ballesteros. “That’s why it’s important for me to educate my patients. We also have a registered dietitian in the office who can be the one who sticks with the patient and individualize for them a healthy meal plan.”