Can someone explain fad diets to me? Atkins...

[johntaylorny]

I'm trying to figure out how fad diets work for some folks. They are not natural but they seem to work and I can't figure out how. For example Atkins diet says you are to count carbs, not calories. You must keep your carb intake below 20g per day.

Now if you only at 20g of carbs/day I think you'd be drained and lathargic with no energy. But what I can't understand is how can you eat anything you want without worrying about calories and lose weight? The fact is 3,500 calories = 1lb. Period. Simple math. So how the heck can I lose weight by eating a diet made 100% of fat and protein, have a calorie surplus and lose weight????!!!! If you are doing Atkins and eating 500 calories/day more than you are burning, how could you not gain 1lb every 7 days? Doesn't make sense to me.

And I think the fads are burning out. Most of the low carb grocery stores in my area have gone out of biz and not renewed their leases.

[-Aaron-]

There short term diets, not long term diets. They are around to lose weight fast, in a short period of time.

[depo12]

There short term diets, not long term diets. They are around to lose weight fast, in a short period of time.

very true...that's why they're very bad, because they DO work, but ONLY temporarily...when you lose weight that fast, it's bound to come back, and it always does...Of course Atkins will make you lose weight, if there's no carbs, for one you probably won't be eating enough, and even if you are, your body can only burn fat/muscle...so the results are immediate and large weight drops, but the after-effects are, well, immediate weight gain

[TheKansan]

I'm trying to figure out how fad diets work for some folks. They are not natural but they seem to work and I can't figure out how. For example Atkins diet says you are to count carbs, not calories. You must keep your carb intake below 20g per day.

Now if you only at 20g of carbs/day I think you'd be drained and lathargic with no energy. But what I can't understand is how can you eat anything you want without worrying about calories and lose weight? The fact is 3,500 calories = 1lb. Period. Simple math. So how the heck can I lose weight by eating a diet made 100% of fat and protein, have a calorie surplus and lose weight????!!!! If you are doing Atkins and eating 500 calories/day more than you are burning, how could you not gain 1lb every 7 days? Doesn't make sense to me.

And I think the fads are burning out. Most of the low carb grocery stores in my area have gone out of biz and not renewed their leases.

Usually even fad diets have a caloric deficit. It is usually much steeper than probably should be used. The focus of the fad diet is usually to lose weight, not fat. Personally I think it is probably just as easy to lose weight through simple caloric deficit as it is to lose by removing carbs from your diet.

I don't avoid carbs, nor will I unless I am trying to get to an extremely low BF%

[Dave P]

Fad diets tend to advocate "extreme" measures. For some reason people like to feel "extreme" when they are dieting. Its as if it makes them feel like they are making a serious sacrafice in order to get healthy.

The bottom line is to lose weight, not fat mind you, but weight overall. They cater to people just chasing that number on the scale instead of the look in the mirror. They will fill your head with all sorts of bad ideas, that will make you lose tons of "weight", in order to get you to lose as much "weight" as possible, as fast as possible, so that you can go tell your friends about how awesome the diet is. Hopefully you can contaminate people with the ****ty ideals of these diets before you inevitably rebound and end up fatter than when you started.

Fad diets are a plague.

[Finnegan Bell]

Of course u cant lose weight in caloric surplus,it is against the law of conservation of energy (yes it applies here),the trick in Atkins is that protein and fat r very satiating foods,so people will tend to eat less when they eleminate carbs,and their apetite decreases,not to mention the big water weight they lose at the beginning of the diet.

[ChacoTom]

Any diet that "works" can only do it by creating a caloric deficit over time. Typically, they include "gimmicks" that make it easier to cut down on calories -- prepackaged meals, elimination of whole food groups, massive consumption of liquids, etc. They also encourage you to exercise. Why? Because exercise will add to the deficit.

You could literally creat a fad diet out of anything and get it to work, provided the caloric deficit is there. While it wouldn't be very healthy, you could get people to lose weight on a diet of chocolate cake and Coke. In fact, they'd probably lose a lot of weight on that diet, because after 3 days of it, they'd stop eating all together!

This is why "diets don't work." Every fad diet relies on you doing something that you are very unlikely to continue to do the rest of your life. At first, the diet "works." Then you get to your target weight, or hit a plateau, and you revert to your old habits. 95% of everyone who goes on a diet gains all the weight back, generally because they have not learned new habits and have used a diet's gimmicks as a crutch.

[Finnegan Bell]

Not to mention that this weight is 50-60% muscle mass.

[nithos]

And I think the fads are burning out. Most of the low carb grocery stores in my area have gone out of biz and not renewed their leases.

Basically, it's because people like carbs and can only live without their bagel for so long before saying "Screw It."

In general, the "low carb" diets worked because fiberous veggies, protein and fats are more satiating. You will feel like you are eating more, when you are actually consuming fewer total calories.

Don't forget, the average person has TERRIBLE eating habits. A little tweak like removing sodas from their diet can make a big difference.

[AKR]

Not to mention that this weight is 50-60% muscle mass.

which is really stupid, since more muscle = faster metabolism. right now, my gf isn't even worried about losing weight. she's been lifting weights to gain muscle, which will make her metabolism faster.



fad diets are for idiots with no forethought, who are so uneducated that they care more about how much they weight and how thin they are, rather than their body fat percentage or their health. they don't even do five minutes of actually research. they simply see someone on tv tell them that this will work and that's good enough for them. then these idiots try it, and if they happen to lose weight (including muscle), they just get off the diet, and yoyo back up to their original weight, or get even fatter.

[Finnegan Bell]

which is really stupid, since more muscle = faster metabolism. right now, my gf isn't even worried about losing weight. she's been lifting weights to gain muscle, which will make her metabolism faster.



fad diets are for idiots with no forethought, who are so uneducated that they care more about how much they weight and how thin they are, rather than their body fat percentage or their health. they don't even do five minutes of actually research. they simply see someone on tv tell them that this will work and that's good enough for them. then these idiots try it, and if they happen to lose weight (including muscle), they just get off the diet, and yoyo back up to their original weight, or get even fatter.

Along time ago I was that idiot

[AKR]

Along time ago I was that idiot

good thing you changed at a young age.