The truth about fad diets

Carbs. The dietary villain.

It wasn't that long ago when Americans were afraid to eat fat due to a possible link with heart disease. In the midst of a low-fat, fat-free diet craze, a message got lost in translation. Instead of reducing unhealthy fats, American's heard: Fats are bad, carbs are good. As the food industry does best, they saw this as a great opportunity to make and promote low fat/fat-free products. What happened next?

Take out the fat but add lots of sugar. Around this time, Americans started to eat more processed food (rich in refined grains and sugar), more fast food, more sodas and much less fiber and whole grains. Sadly, around this time there was a rise in obesity and diabetes. In addressing one problem (heart disease), dietary advice fueled another problem (obesity and diabetes). However, not all carbs are created equal (just like fats). Americans have a liking for sweet, refined and convenient foods - which contain a lot of carbs, sugar and energy dense calories. Rather than reducing the intake of these types of carbohydrates in the diet, diet fads encourage you to limit/avoid all carbs - including whole grains, dairy, legumes, vegetables and fruit. Once again, a message was lost in translation. We've taken a complex topic and made it simple - carbs are bad and fats are good.

Although this blog post is about diets, it would be a mistake to ignore the other lifestyle factors that contribute to poor health, such as stress, poor sleep hygiene, working too many hours, alcohol abuse, loneliness, low self-esteem, limited physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, obsession with technology and so much more. Is it practical to assume that the elimination of carbs (even fruit!) will improve the quality of life of an overworked, sleep deprived and stressed human being? Sure, you may lose weight by decreasing calories and cutting out the nutrient-poor foods in your diet but a diet fad doesn't change your life unless you've changed your lifestyle.

From Atkins, to Paleo, to Whole 30, to Keto....almost every diet has an enemy (or enemies) and it continues to be carbohydrates. While we now know that fats are not unhealthy, carbohydrates are still claimed to be bad for you - they still have a nasty reputation. As the merry-go-round of good vs. bad food continues, people are confused - what do I eat?? And with this confusion comes misinformation. American's seek simplicity in such a fast-paced world so it makes sense that people look for diets that are easy, provide a quick fix and involve little to no thinking.

In my opinion, it's not the diet itself that is the answer to health and weight problems. People desire rules to help simplify complex situations. Plus, in our viral and social society, it's easy to want what others have. It's much easier to comply to dietary advice when you are told "carbs will make you fat, don't eat them" than to spend months working on your lifestyle choices and relationship with food in order to adopt a diet that is more scientifically-based, sustainable and suitable for all life situations. It's easy to fall prey to a diet that uses buzz words to catch your attention.... "boost mental clarity, quick weight loss, improve your gut health, not leave you hangry, easy, longevity, anti-aging, improved athletic performance, better sleep, overall health improvement." Don't be fooled to believe that eliminating carbs can really do all of this.

While scrolling through social media, browsing the internet, thumbing through a magazine, listening to a podcast or hearing from your friends/family members/teammate, there's a good chance that fad diets are gaining your attention. Right now, "keto" (or ketogenic) is creating a lot of buzz among celebrities, athletes and medical/health/fitness professionals. All this chatter may be making you a little curious, interested or just confused and frustrated. For the sensible eater, a fad diet may sound absurd, ridiculous and miserable but for an individual who is vulnerable for change, the latest diet fad is viewed as plausible solution that will finally fix a long-term problem. 

Even with glowing testimonials and pages of research studies, the chance of experiencing long-term weight loss or health success with a fad diet is not in your favor. Although nearly every diet promotes weight loss, health improvements and a "lifestyle" approach, in reality, the majority of fad diets are not sustainable....for a lifetime. Remember this as you browse through social media and see/hear someone raving about a diet - this is a snapshot of life, not an indication of how this person will eat for a lifetime. Beyond dietary compliance, many fad diets fail because they are not health-promoting (and sometimes dangerous). Even if a fad diet has "proof" that it is safe, sustainable and effective for the short-term, removing entire food groups, severely limiting food variety, starving your body of nutrients and living a life of food rules is harmful to your long-term physical and mental health. 

With the rise of every new fad diet, it's easy to get lured in by the hype - especially when the diet is all over social media, in magazines and even in the grocery store. To make matters worse, early adopters often become "authorities" with very strong opinions (and very convincing testimonials). The real nutrition experts (dietitians) are thought to be "ignorant to the facts" as the real authorities are quick to dispute any and every counterargument with a testimonial or research study. Through repetition, and hearing about a certain diet over and over again, it's only a matter of time when you will believe the authorities that this diet is superior to any other diet out there. And so it begins - you subject your mental and physical health, quality of life and fitness/performance to a trend.

Let's get real. When someone experiences impressive and superior results from a fad diet, results will be shared - often in the form of blog posts, podcast interviews and interviews. However, as you well know, what works for one person doesn't always work for another person. There are outliers that achieve results that are not easy, sustainable or effective for the masses. And even if the diet appears to be a new "lifestyle" for those who have had success, it's impossible to know if this diet is actually a permanent lifestyle. Adhering to a diet for a few months or even a few years is far from a lifestyle. 

As a sport dietitian, my job is to personalize diets for health and performance. Never do I suggest a style of eating that is not sustainable. Eating can and should change. There are plenty of recommendations, suggestions and guidelines to help develop a long-term style of eating but unless you have a medical condition, never should eating come with rules and a bad or off-limit food list.

The truth about fad diets is that a few will succeed in the long-term but most people will fail. Would you want to get surgery from a doctor who has failed most of the time and has only succeed a few times? Diet fad results are exaggerated and negative results are rarely discussed (or heard). To succeed with a diet, you need to follow it for the rest of your life and it needs to work for you - however you define success for your health, fitness and quality of life. Different dietary approaches work for different people. A diet that offers recommendations for the masses (with very strict rules) isn't personalized for your needs and your lifestyle and your goals.

As for the Ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting (the two fad diets that are all the rage these days), there's nothing magical about these diets.

For most people, achieving weight loss, health and performance improvements for the long-term means making changes that can be maintained for a lifetime. With birthdays to celebrate, events to attend and meals to enjoy with family and friends, you need to change your lifestyle to ensure that your diet will work for you. I can tell you that eliminating carbs or not eating for 8-16 hours is not the solution. 

Should athletes follow a Paleo diet?

The Paleo diet is marketed as a "lifestyle" as it it is described to be "the healthiest way you can eat because it is the only nutritional approach that works with your genetics to help you stay lean, strong and energetic because our modern diet is at the root of degenerative diseases such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, depression and infertility." It's a way of eating based on the supposed habits of prehistoric hunger-gatherers or caveman. 

I absolutely agree that the Western diet is too full of refined foods, added sugar, unhealthy fats, extremely processed food and fast, convenient food. As a dietitian, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any dietary approach that favors a reduced intake of processed food and emphasizes real food.

However, there is no basis to removing major whole food food groups, like dairy, whole grains and legumes from the diet. Foods that are wholesome and contain a variety of healthy nutrients.

Consider that the Mediterranean diet is ranked as one of the healthiest styles of eating from around the world. It is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and olive oil and low in meat. 

The Paleo diet is not only unsustainable but it's not healthy or beneficial for our environment.

If you consider some of the healthiest individuals from around the globe (consider longevity and quality of life as markers for "healthy" and not body image), they eat a lot of plants, they eat grains and legumes and they even consume eggs, cheese and milk.

If grains were so bad, we would all have health issues and that is just not the case. When people complain of health issues, like digestive troubles and low energy, you have to consider what people aren't eating that can assist in better health. Removing food is not the answer. Behavior change is the answer. This is why diets don't work. They don't change behaviors.

When people say that they feel so much better after getting rid of sugar, processed food and grains, it's only when real food is consumed in place of unhealthy alternatives, like processed food, that people will feel better. Oatmeal and berries or a bowl of Lucky Charms? A salad or a protein bar for lunch? A sweet potato with veggies and a lean piece of meat or fast food? Of course you will feel better when you eat real food! And when you eat real food, you spend more time in the kitchen as you have to put more thought into meal prep. When eating is an afterthought and you go into a meal hungry, you are more likely to make unhealthy choices. It's no shock that people feel better when they go Paleo. But grains are not to blame. When's the last time you told yourself that you should really cut back on all the lentils and Teff and Kamut in your diet?

Based on research, caveman were trying to eat enough calories to survive and reproduce. Their diet was not based on "health" but to thrive. The way a Paleo individual today eats is very different than in prehistoric times. Now a days, people are spoiled by the Paleo section of a menu at a restaurant to make ordering easier, there are Paleo packaged bars for when you are in a hurry, there are primal food blogs and cookbooks for inspiration and there is the Paleo friendly section at the Whole Foods salad bar for when you need lunch on the go.

Six million years ago, a caveman was making food choices based on where he lived and the season. He didn't have choices.

There are a lot of holes in the Paleo diet philosophy and let's be real honest, Paleo is all about marketing and food bloggers, nutrition "experts", food companies and magazines know this. If they can catch your attention by a dietary trend/fad, they will do anything possible to get you to believe that with this diet strategy you will get amazing results.

In today's society, it's very interesting to see the cult-like response of diets. People trust information from friends and "followers" and from popular websites and blogs, more than they trust scientific information. We live in a FOMO world where people feel the need to follow a similar style of eating of someone else for fear of not being liked or accepted. Think about all the people you know who are following a no sugar, gluten free, high fat or paleo diet. While people may say this diet "works" (for now), perhaps these people feel more confident in nutrition choices because everyone else seems to be eating this way too.

The truth is that there is no quick fix for healthy eating and what works for you probably won't work for anyone else. 

So while the Paleo diet, low in processed food, sugar and carbs, may work for some time for the average individual, it's still a diet that includes food rules and an off limit food list for no reason.
And once again, obesity and health issues didn't happen from people eating too much whole grains, legumes and quality dairy.

Take a good hard look at your daily diet and ask yourself in the past year, how often you did you eat out, cook a meal, or rely on processed food out of convenience because you were too busy? Do you like real foods like vegetables, fruits, bulgur, lentils, cottage cheese, yogurt and leafy greens? Do you LOVE processed foods like pita chips, cereals, bars, etc?
I'm not saying that the later is bad to consume but it's the former (and not limited to those whole foods) that needs to make up the majority of your diet for health benefits.

As for athletes, it can be very difficult to obtain all of your carbohydrates in a Paleo diet because one can only eat so much fruit and vegetables due to all the fiber. But let's also not overlook the health benefits and nutrients that one obtains from whole grains, dairy and legumes and these foods can be consumed in a healthy diet, alongside vegetables, fruits and your choice of quality protein. 

Ideally, carbohydrates should come from real food, like fruits, vegetables, grains, starches, dairy and legumes. Yes, you should also consume healthy fats and protein. This type of balanced diet is very healthy and satisfying and it doesn't leave a lot of room for sugar and processed food. It gives you energy, it offers great gut health, it protects your immune system and it keeps you well. Yes, you need to grocery shop often, meal prep and cook but a Paleo diet doesn't do that for you. A Paleo diet only tells you what not to eat. It doesn't change your lifestyle habits or thoughts, patterns and behaviors related to food.

As an athlete, when your carbohydrate needs increase, let's say from 3-5g/kg bw per day to 6-8 or even 8-10g/kg to account for the increase in training volume, I can assure you that you can't meet those needs from only whole foods as you will feel incredibly full and it may even cause GI issues. Therefore, as an athlete, you have some wiggle room to deviate from a normally high fiber diet and choose more refined foods. You can still choose real food but low residue foods, juices and sometimes bars may be needed to help you meet your daily carbohydrate needs. This is not reward food or food that you earned but instead, it's food that serves a purpose and a function. We prioritize these more refined foods around workouts due to energy needs and a change in appetite.

If you are trying to lose weight or lean up for performance, a Paleo diet is not the fix. Furthermore, you do not have to devote every minute of your life trying to reach or stay a specific weight, because essentially, you are living like a starving person, fighting your biology.
Your diet should make you happy. With behavior and lifestyle changes, you can learn to love a healthy diet and a healthy diet doesn't have to be perfect. It can still include treats and sweets and fast food and processed food.

It is through healthy daily habits and a smart training regime that you can achieve the leanest livable weight for performance and for your health. And guess what....you can still eat carbohydrates like grains, legumes and dairy!

To be a successful athlete, you need to a healthy body.
A healthy body requires you to be extremely organized, planned and intentional with your eating choices. 

You can't outtrain a poorly planned diet.

Don't assume that any diet will improve your health if you can't maintain that style of eating for the rest of your life. 

For further reading, check out this informative article on the typical American diet and how much processed food is consumed on a daily basis. 

Whole grains didn't make our country unhealthy. 

Start putting blame at one of the major causes of health issues and obesity. 

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