Crash weight loss plans and fad diets are an unreasonable alternative to permanent healthy eating habits, according to the American Heart Association.
What is a fad diet? It's a well marketed diet with some miracle scheme to lose weight in an impossible manner, often by eating nothing but one food like a cabbage.
Quick-weight-loss diets generally put far too much focus on one particular food or type of food. They violate the first principle of good nutrition which is to eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods. If you are able to stay on such a diet for more than a few weeks, you may develop nutritional deficiencies, because no one type of food has all the nutrients a human being needs for good health. One such diet is the Cabbage Soup Diet. This so-called fat-burning soup is eaten mostly with fruits and vegetables. The diet supposedly helps heart patients lose 10-17 pounds in seven days before surgery. Even if the weight loss claim were true, all the damage due to a lack of many essential nutrients would far outweigh (pun intended) the benefits of losing the weight. Pixies, elves and fairies, or even cabbages, can't provide magical weight loss. Moderation in eating all the major food groups is the best bet.
These crazy diets also violate a second important principle of good nutrition which is that eating should be enjoyable.. These diets are so monotonous and boring that it's almost impossible to stay on them for long periods. Imagine eating cabbage soup, nothing but cabbage soup, for even a few days much less for a whole week. By mid week crawling bugs would look good. They'd carry you away in a straight jacket on Sunday.
There are many other ways fad diets aren't good ones. Many don't mention exercise, for example, walking 30 minutes most or all days of the week. While doing nothing can lead to heart problems, exercise is a major element of maintaining proper weight. When a diet mentions no need for a workout, run the other way.
Quick weight loss is possible. But if a program sounds too good to be true, it is.
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