With so much conflicting information about the best way to lose weight as quickly as possible, it can be difficult to figure out what’s actually healthy and what’s just plain bad advice. Unfortunately, when it comes to weight loss tips and tricks, many of them fall into the latter category. In fact, there are several diets out there that experts say are actually terrible for your overall health. Sure, there are ways to lose weight fast—but fad diets that promise fast results are typically a bad idea for your overall health over time, and will likely even end with you gaining all of the weight you lost right back.
To get to the bottom of things and learn more about some of the worst fad diets out there, we spoke to nutritionist Mary Sabat. She told us that if you care about your overall health and keeping weight off long-term, you should resist the urge to hop on the bandwagon of diets like Keto, juice cleanses, and Atkins. Learn about the negative effects of each of these diets below!
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1. The Keto Diet
If you're interested in losing weight, you've probably heard quite a bit about the keto diet—maybe you've even tried it for yourself. This diet typically calls for a lot of protein and fats like beef, eggs, fish, and poultry. However, Sabat warns that although it may be an effective way to lose weight short-term, this high-fat, low-carb diet can be detrimental to your overall health over time. She says it "can cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, constipation, fatigue, and irritability."
Sabat notes that one of the main issues with a keto diet is the fact that it's typically lacking in the plant-based department. Eating an ample amount of fruits, vegetables, and plant-based proteins is essential to getting enough antioxidants to fight cancer and disease. Recent studies show that a keto diet may also lead to higher cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Yikes!
2. Juice Cleanse
An all-liquid diet may seem tempting if you're trying to lose weight as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, though, Sabat says juice cleanses are nothing but a get-skinny-quick scheme, and they can have serious consequences on your health. "This diet, which involves drinking only juice for extended periods of time, can cause deficiencies in essential nutrients, particularly protein and fiber," she says. Not only are juices lacking in the nutrients your body needs to thrive, but they're also extremely high in sugar, which "increases the risk of obesity and strain on the pancreas." Together, the combo of low fiber and high sugar can also increase your cholesterol. For this reason, it's best to steer clear of any diet that requires you to drink only juice. Your body needs the nutrients you get from whole foods!
3. The Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet, similar to the Keto Diet, is another high-protein, low-carb option that many people choose to follow when they want to slim down. However, this diet is extremely light on the fiber, as well as essential vitamins and minerals. And, as you know by now, getting enough of all of these things is crucial if you want your body to stay as healthy as possible.
"Again, this high protein and low fiber diet runs the risk of a person not getting enough antioxidants to protect their health and immunity and not enough fiber to protect their gut and keep cholesterol in check," Sabat warns.
The bottom line
There's no denying that an easy, one-size-fits-all diet that melts pounds as quickly as possible would be ideal, which is why fad diets can be so tempting. However, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat a balance of healthy, whole foods that nourish your body—not to deprive it of essential nutrients. Ultimately, Sabat tells us that many fat diets lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, constipation, fatigue, irritability, deficiencies in essential nutrients, an increase in cholesterol levels and higher risk of disease. So next time you're thinking about hopping on the juice cleanse train, consider this: Is a dropping a few pounds for a short amount of time worth all of that?
