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?
- 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
|
- 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.
- 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!
- 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)
