Outsmart the Fads: The Truth About Popular Diets and How to Eat for Lifelong Health

June 18, 2025
Summary
Webinar Q&A

View the Webinar Recording

Summary

Diet trends have come and gone through the ages!

Do any of these sound familiar?

The Vinegar Diet: 1820s

  • Promoted by the celebrity, thin-obsessed Brit poet Lord Byron who influenced fashion, behavior, and diet trends
  • Regimen: drink vinegar - a “tonic” he believed could cleanse the body 
  • Drink water/tea; eat crackers
  • Health effects: digestive discomfort and potassium depletion

The Cigarette Diet: 1920s

  • Ads claimed smoking could suppress appetite and help maintain a slim figure. 
  • Dangerous "diet aid" with devastating long-term health consequences.

Cabbage Soup Diet: 1950s

  • Low-calorie diet with soup: cabbage, onions, carrots, and canned tomatoes
  • Contemporary: convenient, budget-friendly, quick fix
  • Short-term effectiveness
  • Long-term boredom and nutrition deficiencies

Atkins Low-Carb Diet: 2000s

  • Dr. Robert Atkins, American cardiologist
  • Theory: eat fewer carbs to promote fat burning
  • High-protein, high-fat
  • Four progressive phases that gradually reduce restrictions
  • Heart health? Sustainability?

What’s a Fad Diet? What’s a Sound Eating Plan?

A fad diet may start off with some positive results, such as these. 

  • Body fat loss from calorie restriction
  • Loss of water weight from calorie and carbohydrate restriction 
  • Metabolic changes from changes in  macronutrients
  • Motivation from quick initial results

But what happens as time passes on a fad diet?? You may notice barriers like the following. 

  • Inconvenient: It may be challenging to dine with family and friends such as at restaurants or parties
  • Too hard: It can be hard to obtain certain specialty foods, or you may crave certain foods that are not allowed on the diet. It can also lead to boredom if it’s too restrictive
  • Expensive to maintain. Some diets have expensive branded products or delivered meals, charge fees for belonging to the diet program itself, or require high amounts of pricier foods like meat
  • Nutritional deficiencies can occur if the diet excludes food groups
  • Long-term health risks: There may be risks of chronic conditions, such as higher risk for heart disease on a keto or low-carb diet with saturated fat from meat, higher risk for osteoporosis on a paleo or dairy-free diet without high-calcium foods, or increased risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease on a gluten-free diet if it doesn’t include whole grains
Fad Diets Sound Diets
Often restrict or eliminate entire food groups Balance of food groups
Rarely emphasize exercise Physical activity promoted
May lack key nutrients or be nutritionally inadequate Nutritionally sufficient
Emphasis on weight loss Healthy eating pattern
Promotes quick, drastic weight loss Gradual weight loss
Focuses on temporary fixes Promotes long-term changes
Hard to stick with over time Easy to maintain
Often expensive or require specialty products Affordable
Not science-based Science/evidence-backed
May worsen or ignore chronic health conditions Supports chronic disease management & prevention

Let’s Evaluate a Hypothetical Diet - “Super Slim for Life”

Let’s look at a hypothetical weight loss program. It claims to be a low-carb, high-protein program. It includes: 

  • 1 daily meal with vegetables and lean protein
  • 5 daily products like bars, shakes, instant meals, snack foods
  • Recommended supplements

What might seem great?  

It claims you’ll lose weight and keep it off.

  • Reduces calories
  • Keeps protein up
  • Food prep takes minimal time and effort
  • You get a meal plan - no decision-making!
  • Lots of snacks
  • Products are fortified with vitamins and minerals

What might be problematic? What questions should you ask?  

  • What are the calorie and nutrient counts of their products?
  • What are the macronutrient contents? How much protein, carbohydrates, and sugars does it have?
  • Is it high in sodium with those processed foods? 
  • Which ingredients are in their products?
  • Would you meet dietary guidelines if you follow this diet? For example, does it include foods and nutrients of concern like seafood, beans and nuts, and dairy or calcium? Is it nutritionally adequate? 
  • Are you able to feel full? Or are the packaged meals and snacks too small?
  • Are you able to continue a lifestyle you enjoy? What if you go out or eat with other people? Can you find foods that are on the plan?

Consider potential drawbacks like cost of meal and snack products, whether there’s a cost to join the program, a potential lack of flexibility if you go out, and whether you’ll be able to maintain your weight loss if you stop the diet program. 

How could you use the diet healthily?

  1. Practice your cooking skills with your Lean and Green meal. Vary it so you can learn to enjoy a variety of healthy foods. 
Protein Vegetable High-Fiber Carbohydrate
  • Fish, shrimp/shellfish
  • Skinless chicken
  • Lean ground turkey
  • Eggs/egg whites
  • Beans, lentils
  • Tofu, edamame
  • Reduced-fat dairy
  • Salad
  • Grilled, steamed, roasted vegetables
  • Carrot, celery sticks
  • Tomato and cucumber slices
  • Corn, sweet potato, green peas, acorn squash
  • Oatmeal, whole-grain bread and pasta, brown rice, quinoa
  • Fresh fruit
  1. Establish additional healthy habits

While you’re on a diet with packaged meals and snacks, food planning and prep don’t take much time or energy. Take advantage and shift your physical and mental energy to establishing healthy habits around physical activity, sleep, and stress management.

  1. Make the plan fit your lifestyle

Choose products you like, and time meals and snacks the way you want. For example, your “Lean and Green Meal” could be:

  • Scrambled eggs and vegetables for breakfast
  • Grilled chicken salad for lunch, OR
  • Salmon with roasted asparagus for dinner!
  1. Plan to gradually go off of the diet

For example, once a week, swap a commercial product for a snack/meal you prepare yourself. That helps you learn to plan and prepare your own meals and snacks. Keep the calories and protein content similar to what it would be on the diet. 

For example, instead of a branded chocolate shake (180 calories, 25 grams of protein), try 3 ounces of skinless chicken or canned tuna, 1 cup steamed broccoli, and ½ cup of strawberries (190 calories, 29 grams of protein)

Health Coach Q & A

What links should I know about? 

Lark is here to help!

Lark Customer Support!

https://support.lark.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Facebook page for DPP

https://www.facebook.com/groups/larkdpp

Lark blog

https://www.lark.com/blog

Lark recipes

https://www.lark.com/resource-type/recipe

Email a Lark coach with questions or to make an appointment

coaching@lark.com

Is a glucose monitor helpful?

That’s a great question! We think a lot about blood sugar levels in the Diabetes Prevention Program! A glucose monitor can provide interesting and possibly useful information, but it is not a standard device for the majority of people with prediabetes. 

Here are some possible benefits of a glucose monitor. 

  • It can help you see how different foods, including different types of carbohydrates, may affect your blood sugar levels. This can guide healthier food choices. For example, you may notice that having a whole grain may increase blood sugar less than having the same size portion of a refined grain. Or, you may notice that a larger portion of grains may increase blood sugar more. In these cases, you may decide to have more whole grains compared to refined grains, and to serve smaller portions. 
  • It can help you see how physical activity affects blood sugar. You may, for example, notice lower blood sugar after breaking up sitting time throughout the day with light activity like standing up or marching in place, compared to higher blood sugar if you don’t break up sitting time. Or, you may find that longer walks, or more intense activities like stair climbing, lead to lower blood sugar. 
  • It can motivate you and hold you accountable. The immediate feedback of how your diet and exercise choices affect your blood sugar can inspire healthier choices to keep your numbers in check. It can also feel more personal than having a healthcare provider or other source give you recommendations when you see how actual choices affect your own blood sugar. 

Here are some reasons why you should only consider blood glucose monitors with caution. 

  • It’s not a standard requirement for people with prediabetes. Most doctors don’t prescribe it, and Lark’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) focuses on preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes through weight loss, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle choices. 
  • If you’re using a glucose monitor on your own without a doctor’s supervision, it can be easy to misinterpret results. 
  • Glucose monitors can be a hassle, leading to burnout following your diabetes prevention program. It may be more impactful to focus on lifestyle changes like weight loss and activity. 
  • Glucose monitoring can be expensive if not covered by insurance, including the cost of the monitor plus testing supplies like strips. 

If you're thinking about using a glucose monitor, try talking to your healthcare provider for guidelines on whether you should use one, which one may be best for you, and how to get the most benefits from it. 

What are your thoughts about parasite cleansing?

That’s a great question, and definitely relevant to today’s webinar on recognizing and avoiding fad diets! 

A parasite cleanse is not supported by scientific evidence. A parasite cleanse is a concept that comes from the idea that harmful parasites live on many people without detection. The theory continues that these parasites cause symptoms like lethargy, digestive discomfort, trouble losing weight, or skin conditions. The “cleanse” may include special diets, herbal or other dietary or nutritional supplements, laxatives, or other products. 

There’s no scientific evidence that these vaguely defined parasites exist and cause such symptoms in people. In fact, these cleanses can be harmful. Here are some risks. 

  • Products involved in the cleanse may interact with medications or cause dehydration or electrolyte imbalances.
  • Longer term, unbalanced diets may be nutritionally inadequate.
  • Parasite cleanses can take focus away from more scientifically proven methods to improve energy levels, weight loss, and digestive health, like eating well, staying physically active, and getting plenty of sleep. 

To be clear, a true parasitic infection is a medically significant condition, if you think you have a parasitic infection, it’s important to be diagnosed by a doctor. Parasites are specific medical conditions, such as infections with giardia, tapeworms, or pinworms) that require treatments, usually via prescription and with medical supervision. 

What about walking in grass due to knee pain?

That’s a great question! It is wonderful that you are exploring ways to stay active while managing knee pain and avoiding any damage or further damage to your knees. Staying active can help lower blood sugar and risk for diabetes, while improving quality of life.

Here are some potential benefits of walking in grass.

  • It’s softer than walking on a sidewalk or other paved surface. This can reduce shock to the knee joint and help cushion it, preventing pain. 
  • It’s a more varied surface than a flat paved path, leading to increased muscle engagement. You’ll have a better chance of developing supportive muscles around your ankles, knees, and hips. Over time, you may be better able to support your knee and prevent further pain. 

Here are some potential risks and considerations. 

  • Grass may be uneven and have hidden holes, dips, roots, and rocks. You may trip or jar your knee or ankle, leading to injury. Your risk of falling or losing balance is greater if you have knee weakness or pain that is leading you to be extra cautious. 
  • Grass can be slippery when wet, and it can even hide slippery mud spots. This can lead to a risk for falling. 
  • Uneven terrain can lead to muscle strain and pain for the knee. 

You’re best off talking to your doctor about the best ways to get active with knee pain. For some people, walking on grass can help. For others, walking on grass or pavement may be best combined with cycling or other low-impact activities. Your doctor or an exercise specialist can provide personalized recommendations for you. 

OUR next live webinar

Maximize Lark's Food Logging and Coaching to Reach Your Goals

July 2, 2025 12:30 PM
Members of Lark's Diabetes Prevention Program can check your emails for registration information! Not a member? See if you're eligible for live webinar access and more.

Related content you might enjoy:

No items found.