FAD Diets - Some Perspectives

If you are following a FAD diet to lose weight or to improve your lifestyle or health, this article is for you.

What does FAD mean? Here is a Google definition.

An intense and widely shared enthusiasm, for something, especially one that is short-lived;a craze.

Examples?

Diet, clothing, hairstyles, and many more.

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We will focus on FAD Diets in this post.

As the definition goes, FAD diets are short-lived. Though, they seem to give benefits in the short term, it is hard to sustain such diets or they don't give enough results in the long term.

I am not saying this just like that. Many of my customers confess that FAD diets did help them in the short-term, but not in the long term. And eventually, they ended up gaining the weight back again.

One of my customers specifically had followed Intermittent Fasting(IF) for about 2+ years and ended up gaining weight despite getting some good results initially. He now follows a balanced diet plan and lost 8+ kgs and continues to maintain much better health and fitness.

Some examples of FAD diets? There are many more other than mentioned below.

Atkins Diet

South Beach Diet

Plant-based Diet

Ketogenic Diet

Paleo Diet

Dukan Diet

What are the demerits of a FAD diet?

- They go extreme on macros - While one macro is prescribed very high, you hardly get to eat another macro.

- Because you go extreme, you become deficient in some of the vitamins

- Sometimes, people develop fatty liver (due to too much carbs or fats) and kidney stones (due to too much protein intake and insufficient water intake)

What are some of the other issues?

- Constipation

- low exercise tolerance

- headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and vomiting

The objective of this article is not to create fear factors about FAD diets, but one should know the truth and technicalities of how things work.

If you don't follow what exactly it says, there are more probabilities of it not only working for you but also bringing more issues as mentioned above.

Some studies suggest that these diets are not nutritionally balanced as it discourages certain food groups like whole grains, legumes, and dairy products. The micronutrient deficiencies can have long-term adverse outcomes.

Ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9294402/#:~:text=Health%20Consequences,-The%20PD%20not&text=Some%20studies%20suggest%20that%20this,have%20long%2Dterm%20adverse%20outcomes

So, what needs to be done?

Follow these basics and you will thank yourself in the long term.

✅ Follow calorie deficit or calorie surplus based on weight loss/gain

✅ Sleep well and keep your stress level low

✅ Stop eating sugary, highly processed snacks

✅ Bring in good balance in macros - Carbs, Fat, and Protein, based on your lifestyle

✅ Eat a lot of vegetables in your diet

✅ Exercise at least 2 to 3 times a week. Rest days, keep moving. Try to log 10K steps a day.

✅ Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day or more/less depending upon your lifestyle

✅ Change your body composition, as that's the only way you will stay as a healthier person in the long term

I can hear you say, "These are very fundamentals and they are not helping me"

But I can tell you, you really need to dig deep into your lifestyle and fix those small things with highly consistent habits.

Don't trust shortcuts. Do the right things.

You will never regret all the good that you did for yourself.

Takeaway:

When it comes to your health, take help from educated and informed people around you.

Don't just follow blindly what they say.

Get ready to experiment. Discover yourself how you feel and the benefits of following a certain diet and food sources.

And especially, never hurry for results. Every good thing takes time.

Give yourself ample time. It should not be just about losing or gaining weight. It should be about your overall health as the primary objective.

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If you have any thoughts about this article, please feel free to leave your comments below. I would sincerely appreciate it. Thank you for reading.

PS: I am an experienced health and wellness coach. I offer programs such as Running, Fitness, Diet & Nutrition, and Weight Management. You can connect with me or follow me at LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganesh-kuduva-health-coach-2903457/