5 Reasons I Don't Recommend Trendy Diets

Allie Redding
Jul 6, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 4, 2024

A look into why most people don't do well with Fad Diets

“I don't know what to eat.”

This is what I have heard from many patients throughout my years in healthcare, especially with the continued popularity of no-carb/high-protein diets.

My patients didn’t think it was possible to eat carbohydrates without gaining weight!

This is a dangerous road mentally and physically. For some, weight loss might come, but it doesn’t stay. For others, they restrict themselves severely and never lose a pound. Some even develop unhealthy relationships with food. What once produced pleasure now ensues fear.

Trendy diets are hard to manage successfully without negative, unintended effects.

Now let me be clear, when I refer to “trendy diets” I am specifically talking about eating patterns that limit or eliminate natural whole foods or restrict caloric intake in an extreme way. This is not all diet plans, but it is most.

If you are currently trying a diet plan and don’t know if it’s good for long-term health, then this is a great read for you! We can always chat on a free consult call.

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Diets Lack Balance

Anytime we remove entire food groups or overly restrict foods that are from natural sources (i.e. food that comes from the ground) we have tilted the scales too far.

Our metabolism needs carbs, fat, and protein for daily metabolic processes, immune system regularity, and organ maintenance. If we stop eating one macronutrient, can our body figure out a way to survive? Sure. But that’s like making a car drive with a flat tire after forgetting to change the oil. It’s not the best option and it may cause long-term damage.

Diets Are Not Sustainable

When we lose weight through extreme methods, our metabolism responds like it’s in an extreme situation. If we follow something too intensely for too long, we can suffer from burnout and negative food associations.

If your diet plan is not sustainable long-term, then your outcomes won’t be either.

Diets Are Restrictive

In the 90s, we cut out fats. Then it was carbs. Now some diets say you can't eat fruit. Tomorrow it will be something else and the cycle continues. Restricting makes your body think it’s in a time of famine or shortage and plays cruel tricks on your mind. Your body will hold tight to the pesky belly fat thinking it may not survive winter, and your mind makes you want the food you can't have all the more. Restrictions can also create negative food associations and do a disservice to your mental health.

Diets Do Not Get To The Root Issue

Assessing how we got to a place where we needed to lose weight or change our eating plan is a vital question that most diets do not consider.

We can’t ignore the years of bad habits that brought us here and then think 3 weeks of under-eating, and over-restricting is an effective solution. Diets don’t address the problem, they address the symptoms. And the symptoms will continue to resurface if the sickness remains tethered to our thoughts and actions.

Diets Do Not Typically Work

Research continues to show us that weight loss is not the toughest goal to meet. Long-term weight maintenance is much harder to achieve. This makes sense because it requires a deeper commitment to change for 12 months than it does for 12 weeks.

Diets don’t teach us sustainability, healthy habits do. So don’t cheat your health! Take the longer, more uncomfortable path and reap the benefits that last forever.

Knowing where to start is often the hardest part! If you feel like your game plan for weight loss has not worked in the past, then let’s talk about what WILL work! The first consult call is free, and you should book today!