Desperate to meet those New Year’s resolutions? Be careful. There’s no quick fix when it comes to losing weight or building muscle. People often turn to fad diets, which, in the short term, produce some results, but in the long run, prove to be unsustainable. Save the late-night google binge and find out why these diets are anything but effective.

Apple Cider Vinegar Diet 

First of all, apple cider vinegar itself isn’t bad. It can be used in a variety of ways! From DIY household cleaning products to salad dressings. But it’s by no means a magical, fat-melting elixir. A lot of the claims about it curing every ailment and making you lose weight are entirely overblown. Yes, it lowers blood sugar levels, but only a little bit. It doesn’t make up for the food you actually eat. Sorry guys, no amount of apple cider vinegar is going to cancel out high calorie processed foods. Not to mention the fact that, over time, too much apple cider vinegar either causes or worsens low potassium in the body. Bottom line? Knock yourself out if you enjoy adding this ingredient to your diet. But don’t expect any miracles. [1]

HCG Diet

Be very careful with this diet. According to the experts, “It has not been proven safe by [the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)], nor has it been proven effective.” What is it you may ask? HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a type of hormone made by women during pregnancy. The HCG diet involves taking in either injections, pellets, drops, or sprays of HCG and eating only 500 calories max per day. (Although the “updated” version has generously increased this up to 1,500 per day.) The theory goes that HCG enables you to burn away fat as fuel, similar to how mothers use fat to feed their babies during pregnancy. But the experts themselves don’t completely know everything about HCG or how it works. What they do know is that it interacts with other hormones and can potentially lead to imbalances that drive disease, including cancer. That’s three strikes against HCG. It’s banned by the FDA (with ALL over-the-counter products being illegal), has yet to be understood by the science, and can cause imbalances and disease. [2] [3]

Military Diet

In a nutshell, the military diet claims you can lose up to 10 pounds per week by following a cycle of 3 “low calorie” days on and 4 “normal calorie” days off until you reach your goal weight. Supposedly, it was created by US military nutritionists, but there’s no evidence to back this up. Research shows that poor diets like this leads to poor performance in the military! You also need to consider the type of weight that is lost. Any time you quickly lose an extreme amount of weight, it’s usually water weight, not fat. You’re eating fewer carbs, food, and sodium, so your body is naturally going to shed extra pounds. But that’s not always guaranteed, especially if you go back to your usual way of eating during the four off days on this diet. [4] [5]

Raw Food Diet

A raw food diet is said to be an extreme form of veganism. Followers claim that cooking food destroys nutrients, which is why their raw forms are superior. First of all, not all nutrients are lost during cooking. In some cases, the opposite happens. Lycopene, the antioxidant found in tomatoes, is easier to absorb after cooking, which breaks down the cell walls of the plant. The same goes for beta-carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A; cooking foods that contain it, such as orange and green vegetables, increases both its absorption and conversion rate. Cooking cruciferous vegetables like kale and broccoli is very important for people with thyroid disorders. Doing so destroys compounds in them known as goitrogens that interfere with thyroid function. Secondly, a raw food diet isn’t without its risks. Studies show that many of the long-term side effects include nutrient deficiencies (Vitamin B12, D, calcium, protein), tooth decay, infertility or amenorrhea (loss of menstruation), weak bones, and muscle loss. The diet itself tends to be too low in calories, which, in the long run, isn’t good for health and longevity. [6] [7] [8]

The (Insert Food Here) Diet 

I’m going to lump a ton of different diets into this category. There’s cabbage soup, grapefruit, baby food, cookies, ice cream, twinkie, and lemonade. All of these diets overemphasize a single food or treat while asking you to practically starve. For instance, on the grapefruit diet, you’re required to consume one grapefruit at every meal while keeping calories at a bare minimum of 800-1,000 per day. Remember what I wrote earlier about apple cider vinegar. No single food is going to make you lose weight. You need to factor in other things such as your diet as a whole, along with regular exercise, sleep, gut health, and stress. Pounds of cabbage soup isn’t going to do anything for your weight if you’re barely getting enough sleep or if your stomach is always bloated.

Anything That Cleanses or Detoxes

Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you to avoid these diets ASAP. Why? Because the people who promote them don’t even know that the body already detoxes itself on a daily basis! We have organs like the kidneys and liver that do the work for us! If we truly want to detox, we would do well just by eating whole foods, sweating, and making sure we use the toilet every day. These diets, on the other hand, make themselves more complicated than they have to be and often result in nutrient deficiencies. According to Alissa Rumsey, RD, “Detoxes and cleanses are usually low in calories, protein, and fiber, all nutrients that our bodies need to function. These plans leave you feeling hungry and cranky, causing a rebound food binge once you stop the detox.” Don’t be tricked and just say no to anyone telling you that your liver needs to be detoxed. If it did, you’d have to be in the ER immediately. [9]

All Hype, No Substance

Unfortunately, losing weight, building muscle, and keeping your results takes time, dedication, and consistency. If you manage to get results in a short amount of time, then you need to consider how long you’re willing to keep up with that diet. Do you see yourself eating extremely low calories for the rest of your life? Or are you sticking to a bunch of unnecessary food “rules” even during the holidays or vacations? The keyword here is sustainability. No one can follow these to the letter for very long. And if they do, they often end up having severe health problems due to nutrient deficiencies or hormonal imbalances. Your best bet is sticking to a whole foods diet and finding which eating style works best for you, whether that’s plant-based, keto, low carb, high carb, paleo, or anything in between.

Have you done any of these diets? Share with me the craziest diet you’ve ever tried and why you’d never go back in the comments below!

Sources:

[1] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/apple-cider-vinegar-diet-does-it-really-work-2018042513703
[2] https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/the-hcg-diet.aspx
[3] https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/hcg-diet-products-are-illegal
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3013424/
[5] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323952.php
[6] https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/vegetables-should-cooked-maximize-nutrients-8677.html
[7] https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/hypothyroidism/do-you-need-to-avoid-cruciferous-vegetables/
[8] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-vegan-diet#how-to
[9] https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/best-worst-diet-plans-for-weight-loss/