The diet industry is big business. But recently there has been an increase in complex, fad diets all promising that they offer the ultimate way to shed the pounds or drop a jean size. Of course, some work and some don’t. So now a group of nutritionists working with the British Diabetics Association have put together a list of the five worst diets for sustainable weight loss.
5. The Six Week OMG Diet
This diet makes many controversial claims about losing weight. One of them is that it is best to exercise on an empty stomach. While there are some benefits to avoid eating before a gym session, most experts suggests that having at least a small snack will stop you from fatiguing too quickly, and will allow you to get more out of the workout. The diet also suggests that you should avoid eating for three hours after the workout – nutritional science, on the other hand, has evidence that reveals eating an hour after a workout is the optimal time.
In terms of the dietary requirements, the Six Week OMG Diet suggests that fruit should be entirely avoided because “the body doesn’t know the difference between chocolate cake and an apple”. Unfortunately (or fortunately) this just isn’t the case, and the nutritional benefits of eating an apple, not to mention the difference in fat and calories, makes chocolate cake very different to an apple.
4. The Alcorexia/Drunkorexia Diet
This diet is more hearsay than a realistic weight-loss technique. The concept comes from the rumours about skinny supermodels who starve themselves during the day and save their calories for an alcohol binge at night.
The diet would not only be relatively ineffective compared to a standard diet of healthy eating and exercise, it would be also be quite dangerous to your wellbeing.
3. The IV Drip Diet
Once again this diet comes from rumours of high speed celebrity weight loss. The idea revolves around starving yourself and then going to an IV clinic to receive a drip to get your nutrition. An IV drip is more akin to a supplement than offering the real nutritional benefit of food. As such it would be dangerous to attempt this diet.
2. The KEN (Ketogenic Eternal Nutrition) Diet
The KEN Diet is similar to IV drip diet in the sense that it involves avoiding eating entirely and instead relying on a liquid formula that is pumped into the body through a tube in the nose. The whole idea of ‘controlled starvation’ is nutritionally disastrous to the body and offers no long-term weight loss prospects.
1. Dukan Diet
The Dukan Diet was popularised by the Royal Wedding. Kate Middleton and her mother were reported to be following this extreme and very complicated diet. The diet has four different ‘cycles’ each banning the intake of a certain food group.
As with many diets there is very little proof of any sustained weight loss, and the Dukan diet is so confusing and time-consuming it’s not worth the effort.
Comments are closed.