Sorry ladies, but if a diet sounds too good to be true, scientists say it probably is. A group of researchers looked at four trendy fad diet to determine their long-term effectiveness in terms of weight loss and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. The results were published last week in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, and they aren't pretty. Not only are they incredibly ineffective, but their original claims were all a crock of lies to begin with. So who are these diet fraudsters?
Read more on ¿Qué más?: How to overcome the #1 obstacle to weight loss
Researchers at McGill University compared the Atkins diet, South Beach diet, Weight Watchers diet and Zone diet against traditional weight loss methods such as regular exercise and healthy eating. While people did initially lose weight right away, they regained it all back and then some within two years. That's not good. Rapid weight loss and gain puts tremendous strain on the heart and kidneys, not to mention various other organs. Honestly, researchers believe people would be better off just sticking with a good ol' balanced diet and a few sweat sessions a week. At least this method is free.
Researchers noted that the weight loss market in the U.S. pulled in $66 billion in 20013. That's a lot of dough for diets that yield little to no results. Are we all just being zánganas? Well, not really. In our defense, many of us purchase these diet plans in the hopes of looking like the "after" pictures featured in these diet brands' ads. If these diets worked for Gina A. from Arizona and Tommy P. from California, surely they'll work for us, right? RIGHT?!? Not necessarily. First of all, Gina and Tommy are either fitness models or they're regular schmos who've been down lit and photoshopped within an inch of their lives.
The fact of the matter is, there is no magic weight loss bullet. And if there is, I promise you it won't be cheap. Honestly, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you're better off just taking these 5 (totally free) pieces of advice.
- Watch your portions. You don't have to pay Weight Watchers to tell you what a serving size looks like. Read labels to get a better sense of what a serving size should be and stick to it. If you're eating out or if you're cooking at home, use a calorie counting app to help you determine what a serving size should look like.
- Set a secondary fitness goal. Do you want to be able to run a 5k by next year or perform 10 "real" pushups in a row? Focusing on these goals will help keep you motivated during those weeks when the number on the scale refuses to budge.
- Add, don't subtract, food groups. Your body needs meat, veggies, fruits, dairy and carbs to function properly. When you eliminate one or more of these food groups, you're essentially depriving your body of essential nutrients, which may in turn cause your metabolism to slow down.
- Pick up some weight. Or rather, weights. Weight lifting won't make you bulk up. On the contrary, it'll help you build lean muscle that will in turn continue to burn fat and calories even when you're at rest.
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