MANY people are attracted to the “quick fix” solution fad diets offer, but succumbing to the false promises of these diets could see you end up carrying more weight than before you started.

Dietitians Association of Australia spokesperson Tania Ferraretto told SuperLiving that most people actually dieted themselves fatter, particularly serial dieters who were always on and off diets.

“Two years is the long-term weight loss we use to measure whether it’s working or not, and after two years we know that 98 per cent of people have regained their weight and usually more,” she said.

The reason for this, according to Ferraretto, is when you lose weight quickly you do not just lose fat, you lose water and muscle as well.

When you lose muscle it slows your metabolism down, which in turn affects your ability to burn kilojoules.

While you will still more than likely see the kilos fall away, you do not know whether it is fat, water or muscle you are losing.

Ferraretto said this meant that even if you returned to eating normally, as opposed to overeating, after you had lost the weight you’d still get fatter.

“You will have more fat on board than you did beforehand because you have slowed your metabolism down by losing muscle,” she said.

Top 5 popular fad diets

Top of the list is a diet most people have heard of, the Atkins Diet.

Created by American physician and cardiologist Robert Atkins, the Atkins Diet is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet.

The Atkins Diet consists of four phases – induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance.

Weight loss of as much as 5-10 pounds (2.27-4.55kg) is not uncommon for people on the diet and this is mostly during the two-week induction phase.

A recent study done by one of Choice’s American sister publications, Consumer Reports, found that people who restricted carbohydrates were more likely to have a higher body mass index.

Choice said this did not necessarily mean plans such as the Atkins Diet did not work, but rather cutting carbohydrates alone would not achieve the result you were after unless it was combined with regular exercise and portion control.

Another popular diet, according to Ferraretto, is the Cabbage Soup Diet.

As the name suggests this is a weight-loss diet that revolves around eating copious amounts of low-calorie cabbage soup over seven days.

This diet claims you will lose 4.5kg in a week. However, nutritional experts say it is nearly impossible to lose that much fat within a week. It is more likely that most of the weight lost is water.

The loss of this much weight in a week is unhealthy, according to Ferraretto.

“Healthy weight loss is a half a kilo to a kilo a week,” she said.

A diet that seems to be popping up more often these days is the South Beach Diet.

Designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston and dietician Marie Almon, the South Beach Diet is a three-phase diet that swaps bad carbohydrates and fats for good carbohydrates and fats.

This particular diet eliminates trans-fats and saturated fats, replacing them with foods high in unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acid.

The South Beach Diet has been labelled a “fad” diet by critics because it eliminates most carbohydrates, which puts it in the category of “low carb” diets.

The first phase is the strictest, eliminating all sugars, processed carbohydrates, fruits and some higher-glycaemic vegetables as well.

Although the diet reintroduces most fruits and vegetables and some wholegrains in the later phases, the first phase is believed to upset the body’s electrolyte balance because most of the weight lost is water.

Number four on the list is the Blood Type Diet.

Naturopathic physician Peter D'Adamo claims that blood type is the most important factor in determining a healthy diet.

More of a “way to eat” than a typical weight loss diet, the Blood Type Diet maps out individual eating plans for each different blood type.

For example, according to D’Adamo, people with type A blood are more suited to a vegetarian diet and organic foods while people with type O blood will do better by eating animal proteins and engaging in intense physical activity.

Lastly we have the extremely popular Lemon Detox Diet.

This diet is a purely liquid diet that encourages the consumption of around 6-9 glasses of the Lemon Detox drink a day instead of solid food for 5-10 days.

The drink is a combination of maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper and pure water.

Once again, a diet of this nature encourages rapid weight loss, but it is a combination of muscle and fat.

Nutritional experts believe that any muscle lost will more than likely be replaced with fat once a person goes off the diet and begins to eat normally again.

The Lemon Detox Diet can be particularly harmful because a lack of solid food can leave a person feeling dizzy, moody and hungry affecting their ability to function and their energy levels.

What to look out for

A large number of fad diets are available on the Australian market, many claiming to be legitimate weight-loss solutions.

Ferraretto said people should be wary of diets offering a “quick fix” and promises of excessive weight loss in a week.

Another thing to be on the lookout for is diets that eliminate particular food groups or healthy foods.

“You don’t actually need to cut, for example, all your carbs out or your dairy out or your meat out or whatever it might be,” Ferraretto said.

“There aren’t any of those rules that have been scientifically proven.

“It’s really about eating a well-balanced diet that’s going to give you everything you need, and the other thing is it’s not one size fits all.”

Tips for healthy and natural weight loss






Eat less – most people eat well, but they eat too much. Reduce the size of your servings and incorporate a range of nutrients;

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