There’s the South Beach Diet. Atkins. The 3-Day Diet. The Zone Diet and the slew of other diets that can fall into a specific category like a high protein diet, low calorie diet, no fat diet, or a diet that balances all three food types (carbohydrates, protein, and fat). Sometimes, the diet is in a category all by itself, where it forbids certain foods – for whatever reason – while allowing others.
How do you know which one you should choose? Now there’s a million dollar question! It’s one in which companies are spending millions on advertising every year, claiming that their diet is the exact one that will solve your weight problem. Their classic promise? Theirs is a fast diet – one that will help you shed those unwanted pounds quickly.
Before you go jumping into a new diet knowing only what they’re telling you, there are precautionary measures that you should consider:
- Look further into their claims. For example, the Internet is bursting with claims that Green Tea will help you lose weight. There are lots of Green Tea diets to choose from, all promising that Green Tea is an ancient secret for weight loss. In her book Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat: And the 101 Truths That Will Help You Shed the Pounds Permanently
, Dr. Nancy Snyderman warns that for Green Tea to help you lose about 80 calories, you would have to drink four to six cups of green tea per day. 80 calories isn’t even enough to burn one pound.
- Beware of testimonials and endorsements. To put it lightly, weight-loss product ads are under fire from the Federal Trade Commission. The reason? The FTC says these ads are harmful to consumers, who are often unaware that what they are watching or reading is just an elevated sales pitch, and not some amazing new diet or weight loss product breakthrough. Legally, these ads can say whatever bold claim they want to make, as long as they have a disclaimer somewhere that says “Results not typical.” If the results are not typical, then the only thing you’ll be losing is your money.
- Look for diet techniques that you can learn to incorporate into your daily life – even after the diet. The reason you are trying the diet is to lose weight. What happens when the diet ends? Unless you make some changes to your regular diet, the weight will likely come back. Look at particular characteristics such as recipes of the diet you are interested in and find ways that you can blend these new ideas into your regular diet. For example, on the Zone Diet, I learned to use egg whites instead of the whole egg. The egg white has protein in it – as opposed to the yolk which is made up of cholesterol. So on certain things I cook, I will use only the egg white.
- What evidence does the diet have to support it? A diet that comes backed up with evidence based on scientific research is more reputable than a diet that is solely endorsed by a celebrity. Ideally, the diet will have a website or book that shows the research to back up their data – studies they have done with actual participants in the diet to show that their diet works a majority of the time. If all the diet has to back up its claims are actors, then you should probably be leery of it.
- Allows you to customize the diet to fit your needs. This is a freedom that you should have regardless of whether or not the diet says it can be combined with another diet. You know what you like and what you’re willing to try. If you are unsure of a diet, perhaps trying out a few of the recipes will give you a better idea if it’s a good fit for you. Don’t be afraid to alter it so that it includes something that you are comfortable with. By experimenting and learning new ways of eating a healthier diet, you are more likely to stick with it.
There’s no doubt about it: you have a lot of diets to chose from. And new ones will keep coming out faster than you can say, “I lost 10 pounds in three days!” By keeping in mind the five tips that I gave you, you should be able to weed out the diets that are unsafe, a waste of your money, or just another fad diet. Above all, trust your intuition. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
