A diet that is written only to be followed for a short time is called categorized as one of the fad diets.  The term has also come to mean any diet that explodes into national or international fame, only to plummet into obscurity. Examples include the grapefruit diet, the South Beach diet, and Jenny Craig. Some of the newly released diets include the Every Other Day Diet and the Cheat Your Way Thin Diet. They have been proven to work quite effectively for fat loss and they both talk about lifestyle diet rather than simple fad. Are they telling the truth or are they FAD as well?

Fad diets are sometimes known as food fad-ism. This refers to any form of food that becomes popular for a short period of time. These all have two things in common:

-    The food, or some ingredient within it, is thought to have amazing powers.
-    Other foods are removed from the diet because they have negative properties that should be avoided.

One of these fad diets that has these elements is the Atkins diet. In this diet carbohydrates are the Keystone element that is negative and therefore to be avoided. Low carbohydrates are extremely desirous in Atkins, because then the body enters a super fat burning condition.  Although it is a long-term diet, it did have short phases during which carbohydrate cutting was taken to the extreme. Unlike many fad diets the Atkins diet was designed to be something a person could stick to for a long period of time.

The Atkins diet was also one of these fad diets in that huge popularity was fairly short-lived. For a number of years anyone who thought of dieting thought about the Atkins diet .  People from Hollywood actors to politicians were all on the Atkins diet. But after the death of Dr. Atkins, the diet became much less of a household word.

There are many risks associated with fad diets.  Even a seemingly healthy diet like the Subway diet could be dangerous. At its center was a young man named Jared who had lost hundreds of pounds in only a year by eating Subway sandwiches. Jared’s diet was severe — going down to 900 calories a day from over 10,000.  Such an extreme level of caloric intake cuts and rapid weight loss is unhealthy. Even so, the Subway diet when followed in moderation can work.  Particularly because the diet included exercise — Jared walked 6 miles a day while losing the weight. Let’s talk about workouts. The newly released Warp Speed Fat Loss program claims to melt MORE than 2lbs of fat per week. Would one call it a Fad WORKOUT?

Be careful when taking on some of these fad diets. A healthy combination of reasonable diet and exercise in the long-term can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.