New year, new you…right?
If your New Year resolution was to get in shape and lose weight, that’s great! But, how are you dieting? Fasting? Juicing? The cayenne lemonade diet? Read this before you even think about any fad diet that promises a lot of weight loss, with little effort.
Here are 3 diets you should never try:
1. Diets that focus on only a few foods or food groups
Diets like the cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, strict vegan diets, raw food diets, and even low-carb diets are bad for you! You should be aware of any diet that cuts out entire food groups. You need to eat from a variety of food groups to get all the nutrients you need. Some restrictive diets can work at first, they will definitely fail over the long term. Sure, you can lose weight on diets that focus on single foods (like cabbage soup), but how much cabbage soup can a person eat? After a while, you’ll get tired of eating the same foods every day, and cravings the foods that lead you back to your bad eating behavior.
2. “Detox” diets
The Master Cleanse, the Hallelujah Diet, and The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox, as well as others, are bad for your body! Extreme diets that call liver flushes bodily cleanses, colonics, hormone injections, and more are suspect, according to experts. “All the flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, unnecessary, and there is no scientific basis for these recommendations,” says Pamela Peeke, MD, the chief medical correspondent for the Discovery Health Channel. “Your body is well equipped with organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and the immune system, to rid itself of potential toxins and does an excellent job of cleansing itself without needing flushes or cleanses.”
3. Fasting and very low-calorie diets
Diets like the “Skinny” vegan diet, Hollywood Diet, and Master Cleanse do more hurt than good. Of course, fasting has been a cultural and religious tradition for centuries and is ok for a day or so, but fasting for weight loss is counterproductive. Your body needs a balance of nutrients to run properly. When you starve your body of these foods, it starts to store fat and slows down your metabolism. This can slow down and even stop weight loss altogether. Not to mention, you most likely will gain weight back when you start eating again.
The best way to go is, eat healthy portions more often throughout the day. Most nutritionist and trainers recommend 6 small balanced meals throughout the day. And don’t forget to drink water! It’s best to see your Dr. for meal prep advice and weight loss suggestions.
