When it comes to fad diets, don't believe the hype. More often than not, t__hey're ineffective and dangerous.__ Yes, even healthy sounding eating plans like veggie-based diets or diets that require dieters to cut out starch, sugar or fat. Those are especially hazardous, as they basically deprive your body of the essential calories, vitamins and minerals it needs to function. In other words, these fad diets are actually dangerous starvation diets.
Read more on ¿Qué más?: How to overcome the #1 obstacle to weight loss
Here are five especially hazardous diets that you should avoid as if your life depended on it–because it does.
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The Atkins Diet
Eating all the burgers and cheese your heart desires may seem like a dieter’s dream come true, but it’s actually a cardiac nightmare. That’s because when you cut greens and carbs out of your diet, all you’re left with is artery-clogging meat and dairy products–you know, the stuff that could lead to high cholesterol levels and heart disease. And even if you don’t develop heart disease, you’ll probably get pretty backed up and become bloated. Really, is any of that worth giving up bread?
The Baby Food Diet
Limiting yourself to portions fit for a baby is dangerous. Smaller portions mean smaller helpings of the vitamins and minerals your adult body needs to function properly and ward off preventable diseases. Leave the baby food for your baby and treat yourself to a real meal, meant for a real, grownup woman.
The Master Cleanse Diet
Master Cleansers basically consume nothing but water spiked with lemon, molasses and cayenne pepper for about a week or so. Sure, people lose weight on this plan, but only because they're losing tons of muscle mass and excess water, and also because they have explosive diarhea. Not worth it.
The No Sugar Diet
Avoiding sugar like the plague? Not a good idea. In doing so, you risk eliminating healthy food groups, like fruit and some veggies, from your diet. The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons per day. Stay within that range, and you'll be able to have your fruits and eat them too.
The Five Bite Diet
There’s portion control, then there’s this ridiculous five bite diet. Basically, the diet consists of participants eating whatever they want, so long as they limit their nibbles to five bites per meal. It’s essentially a starvation diet in skimpy portion control’s clothing. True portion control is about striking a balance between the amount of carbs, fat, and protein your body needs to be healthy and remain active–a feat you cannot achieve in only five bites.
