In this day and age and especially at this time of year, many people will embark on a new health and fitness journey as part of their New Year’s resolution – usually to lose weight. There are so many different types of diets out there, from the Atkins diet to the soup diet. We’re here to educate you on why you should do your research before making decisions to go on a new diet, because you may not realise all the detrimental effects they can have on your body. Read on to learn about a few of the worst fad diets out there, including information on just what they can do to you.
5 Unhealthy Diet Plans
1. The Atkins Diet
Since it was first created in 1972, the Atkins Diet has been one of the most popular diets out there. It encourages you to reduce your carbohydrate intake drastically while being able to eat all the protein-rich and high-fat foods you want. What people don’t know, however, is that when you reduce your carbohydrate intake, your body will start converting protein (or other non-carbohydrate substances) into glucose; it’s not just carbohydrates that can raise your blood sugar and insulin levels. If you consume more calories than you burn from any source, you’ll end up gaining weight anyway.
Also, when drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake, it can cause fat to be turned into energy which is called Ketosis. Ketosis can cause all sorts of issues including headaches, nausea, dehydration and dizziness.
2. The Paleo Diet
Also known as the Cavemen diet, the Paleo diet is a more modern fad diet requiring the sole or predominant eating of foods that are presumed to have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era (Stone Age). For example, those on a Paleo diet will eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and healthy fats and oils. The diet involves avoiding processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, grains, most dairy products, legumes, artificial sweeteners, vegetable oils, margarine and trans fats. The diet is often low-carb, which can have severe detrimental effects on the body, as detailed above. Not only this but completely cutting things out of your diet that you’re used to can cause side effects such as headaches, extreme cravings and fatigue. Many people who attempt the Paleo diet find that being so restrictive causes boredom quickly, and they end up gorging on more food than they would have in the first place.
3. The 5:2 Diet
The 5:2 diet is a well-known diet which involves practising fasting. Fasting has been around for years, both for religious, weight-loss, and other reasons such as protests. The 5:2 allows you to eat normally for five days, and then carry out two days of very restricted eating. The part-time diet appeals to a lot of people due to its flexibility, however, the long-term results of intermittent fasting are less clear. Those who have tried it before have noted various side-effects such as dehydration, anxiety, bad breath, and difficulty sleeping. The 5:2 can encourage binge eating, which is not good for your body.
4. The Dukan Diet
Developed by a French doctor, Pierre Dukan, in the 1970s, the Dukan diet consists of four different stages; ‘attack’, ‘cruise’, ‘consolidation’, and ‘stabilization’. The attack phase is considered a very unhealthy way to diet.
The Attach Phase
Dieters begin with the ‘attack phase,’ which encourages rapid weight loss (from 2 to 3 kilograms / 4.4 to 6.6 pounds), within 2 to 10 days. This is said to be a way of ‘kick-starting the metabolism’. In this phase, you switch from carbohydrate-burning to fat-burning, which produces Ketones via a process called Ketosis. As we’ve explored before, this can cause bad breath, a dry mouth, fatigue, headaches, nausea, insomnia and weakness.
5. Liquid Diets
Liquid diets consist of shakes, smoothies and soups. They basically aim to get all your nutrients through a liquid form. One of the most dangerous types diets out there, there are many different forms of liquid diets, including The Cabbage Soup Diet, Protein Shake Diet and The Smoothie Diet. One of the well-known side effects of liquid diets is that there is a high chance you will not be able to sustain it for a long amount of time. They are very low in calories meaning you will quickly feel dizzy, weak, and dehydrated. You could also experience hair loss and fatigue, and because they are not sustainable you are likely to regain all the weight when you start eating properly again.
Why not try a Healthy, Balanced Lifestyle with V8?
You may or may not already know, but technically fad diets are doomed to fail. This is down to your body being programmed to cling onto fat as soon as it detects weight loss.
In actual fact, not tying yourself down to a strict diet will enable you to sustain a healthy, balanced food intake. Enjoy everything in moderation, and ensure you eat your 5-a-day (V8 juice can help you with this!) so that you can maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
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