I counsel many clients, friends, and family on weight loss. There are countless fad weight loss diets out there, and unfortunately they can be very tempting. Losing lots of weight fast sounds great, right? However, weight loss in spite of healthy eating is not what I preach. I promote healthy eating. If you eat healthy and exercise but have a few extra pounds on your frame I contend that you are healthier than a thin person who doesn’t exercise and eats an unhealthy diet. It is possible to lose weight eating lots of high fat meats but that isn’t healthy. I don’t believe that weight loss is the paramount goal. Instead developing healthy habits should be your goal.
How do you know a fad diet when you see one? One sign is the elimination of certain foods or food groups. I have said many times on this blog that there is not a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid. When diets claim that you cannot eat whole grains or beans or fruits then a red flag should go up. Avoiding entire groups of foods is not easy to maintain. Once you add those foods back to your diet then the weight gain often occurs because you never learned to control portions.
A second sign of a fad diet is strange combinations of foods. Eating healthy is really not complicated. Some fad diets claim that you should combine certain nutrients together for weight loss. In reality, the key to weight loss is achieving a calorie deficit. You can be in a calorie deficit by eating less, exercising more, or (ideally) both. At the end of the day you need to take in fewer calories than your body needs to maintain your current weight. The best way to do this is by moving more and cutting back on portions. Also increasing fiber can truly help fill up your stomach and give you a sense of fullness.
Third, fad diets have gimmicks. The paleo diet claims that we should eat like cavemen because cavemen didn’t have the diseases that we have now. Cavemen also lived very short lifespans. There are diets that claim you should eat based on your blood type. There is no scientific evidence that your blood type determines what you should eat. These are just two examples of diets that, while popular, lack scientific evidence to suggest that they will keep the weight off over the long term. The American Dietetic Association has an excellent resource to look up popular diets: ADA Diet Review. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to make fad diets sound scientific. It’s up to you to be smarter than that.
I have been told by some thin individuals that they can eat whatever they want without eating healthy or exercising. After I get past the resentment, I remind myself that a fast metabolism is not an excuse to avoid exercise and eat unhealthy. Fueling your body with high fat, low fiber foods will catch up to you. Some children are very thin and develop bad habits at a young age because parents give them junk foods to help them gain weight. Often children hit an age where their metabolism catches up with them and weight gain occurs. At that point they have developed bad habits and run the risk of becoming overweight or obese. I have two children with very different food preferences and metabolisms. My son has a stocky build and loves higher calorie foods. My daughter is thin and picks fruits over all other foods. I still offer them the same food choices because both of them are developing food habits that will affect them for life.
When you see someone eating foods that don’t seem healthy-but they are at a good weight-remember that thin does not always equal healthy. You cannot always judge a book by its cover. Similarly if you want to lose weight don’t lose sight of what is important: fueling your body with healthy foods and living an active, healthy life.