Testing It Up

If it seems to you like we have been very generous with the diet-related posts, it is because it is the season once again where a lot of people will be juggling the need to stay fit with the temptation of eating one’s fill at parties. It is also that season when people simply throw caution to the wind, at least for a month or so, then resolve to just go on a diet later on.

Diet fads come and go, and with all the types of diets that are out there and the easy access that a lot of people have to them, it can be easy to wind up dazed and confused. But why is there a need to diet to begin with? Diet is and always will be part and parcel of any weight loss program. And weight loss is intrinsic to most attempts at lowering the risk for developing diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Fad diets, while they may indeed initially produce favorable results, lack the ability to sustain lasting results. Sometimes, one might just end up gaining more weight in the long term.

So what should we watch out for? First, be wary of diets that focus only on certain foods or food groups – you have, for instance, the grapefruit diet or the no-carb diet. My aunt was once talked into going on a watermelon diet, and she wound up in the hospital a few days later.

A good diet will not likely ask you to eat certain foods exclusively; it will most likely be a well-rounded diet that will be anchored more on moderation than on deprivation. This is one aspect that will make that diet sustainable over an extended period of time, as it will cater not just to the body but to the senses as well.

Any “detox” diet is also reportedly highly questionable. These extreme regimens reportedly have no scientific basis and may be entirely unnecessary.

Diets that have “miracle” food or ingredients are always a come-on, using the same principle of attractiveness as “get-rich-quick” schemes. And they more often than not do not work. Just remember, there is no easy way towards losing weight and keeping it off, and no miracle food or pill will ever be able to make that happen.

Lastly, never equate going on a diet with extreme fasting. Trying to lose weight does not mean one has to stop eating. This is actually counterproductive, as starving one’s self causes the body to adjust one’s metabolism.

Tags: crash diet, fad diet, good diet, harmful diet, successful diet, unsuccessful diet

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