Numerous "crash" diets and nutritional schemes have been presented occasionally as the most suitable method for weight loss. Although the effectiveness of these diets remains doubtful and their mode of action rather dangerous, they continue to attract attention, showing the great need and impatience of individuals for immediate results. Let's see in this article the main fad diets and what each one promises. Are they worth following?

The Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet, low in carbohydrates, became popular in the early 2000s. It advocates high protein and fat consumption while limiting carbohydrates to induce ketosis, a metabolic state that makes the body burn fat for energy. Although it sounds promising, heavy carb restriction leads people to binge on carbs. Thus, it is not a diet that can be maintained for a long time and has the risk of leaving us with a big, uncontrollable craving for carbohydrate foods such as bread, potatoes, chips, pies, etc. Moreover, ketosis can cause nausea, bad breath, headache, dehydration, and dizziness.

The South Beach Diet

Introduced in the early 2000s by cardiologist Arthur Agaston, it was named after the corresponding area of ​​Miami and is essentially a form of low-carb dieting. It focuses on eating lean proteins, healthy fats, and low-glycemic carbohydrates. It emphasizes avoiding highly processed foods and refined sugars. It is divided into three phases. In the first two weeks, all carbohydrates are removed to reduce cravings for favorite foods. In phase 2, weight loss occurs, and gradually, some whole-grain carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables are introduced. Finally, Phase 3 is maintenance, i.e., the person continues to live with these new eating habits. Although this diet may sound logical, it requires a lot of education to make healthier choices.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

This short-term diet became popular in the 1980s. It involves eating large amounts of cabbage soup and other foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk. It is followed for one week and claims a significant weight loss of 4.5 kg. This begs the question: after this week, what are we doing? As tempting as it is for the wedding or christening you have this summer, it is better to avoid it and choose a healthier relationship with your diet than a flat stomach for half a day.

The Grapefruit Diet

Also known as the Hollywood diet, this diet appeared in the 1930s and reappeared in the 1980s. It involves eating grapefruit or grapefruit juice with every meal, along with limited portions of other foods. The diet claims that grapefruit leads to immediate fat burning within 12 days. This diet is not scientifically supported. Grapefruit does not lead to increased fat burning and can interact with medications, such as statins to lower cholesterol, drugs to lower blood pressure, injectables in organ transplants, anxiolytics, corticosteroids for the treatment of IBD, arrhythmia drugs, and antihistamines due to the furanocoumarins it contains.

Lemonade Diet or Master Cleanser

This extreme detox diet gained attention in the early 2000s and is purportedly followed by Hollywood celebrities. It is a liquid diet that involves drinking a mixture of lemon juice, water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for several days, without any solid food. It all started with Stanley Burroughs' book, "The Master Cleanser." You are supposed to feel happy and full of life within ten days. I wonder how happy you feel when it's only been a few hours since your last meal and you're hungry. This diet contradicts a wealth of scientific data, ignores the body's normal processes (such as hunger, satiety, and hormones), and will lead to weight loss that will mostly be fluids and... your muscle mass.

The Baby Food Diet

This diet gained popularity in the late 2000s and involves replacing meals with baby food jars. The idea is to control portion sizes and reduce calorie intake by only eating ground meals that a baby would eat. One can either get ready-made baby meals or grind one's food. The Baby Food Diet cannot become a way of life; it does not fit into our daily lives as adults and, most importantly, it does not provide the necessary nutrients needed by an adult. It is another fad diet.

The Paleo Diet

This diet focuses on eating foods supposedly available to early humans, such as lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The diet excludes grains, legumes, dairy, refined and added sugar, added salt, starchy vegetables, and ultra-processed foods. It gained popularity in the 2010s. It makes many exclusions and does not contribute to a good relationship between nutrition and the body, reinforcing "black and white" thinking.

The HCG Diet

This diet combines a very low-calorie meal plan with regular injections or oral supplements of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy. It gained popularity in the 1950s and resurfaced in the 2000s. HCG helps suppress appetite and promotes fat burning, allowing people to stick to a low-calorie diet without feeling too hungry. It has three phases: loading, loss, and maintenance. Of course, we should never take drugs, formulations, or injectables for weight management. There is no existing medicine that helps with weight loss. The only way to manage weight based on recommendations is to change lifestyle, i.e., diet and physical activity.

These are some well-known crash diets that promise instant weight loss. As much as some of them sound like a good idea or "logical" to you, remember that they tap into this very ability to convince you of their effectiveness. A rule of thumb: If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a crash diet! Read everything about fad diets and how to spot them easily and quickly here.