There’s no shortage of weight loss diets, and there’s plenty of quick-fix plans that claim to melt off the pounds and get you results you want with minimal effort. But how healthy are these diets?
Legitimate weight loss plans can sometimes be hard to spot, so we’ve rounded up the most unsustainable diets you may want to avoid in the future.
Shakes
A diet of shakes only is problematic, here’s why:
- Poor quality protein and ingredients
- Very low nutritional content
- Too low in calories
- Rapid weight loss including a high percentage of muscle mass
- Rapid weight gain as soon as you stop, which you will
Detox
Similar to shakes, a detox diet will not bring you results long term.
- Very high carb with not much nutritional content
- Protein is needed to properly detox, and these plans are typically low in protein
- Too low in calories
- Rapid weight loss including a high percentage of muscle mass
- Rapid weight gain as soon as you stop
Points systems and IIFYM
Some weight loss diets include a points system, or eating anything ‘If It Fits Your Macros’.
- Eating whatever you like because it fits within your macros, doesn’t mean it’s healthy
- The quality of calories is important as well as the quantity of calories
Eat as much as you want as long as it’s healthy
Another problematic diet, overall calories still count.
- Overeating healthy food still increases body fat.
Low calorie crash diets
Avoid crash diets, these can be dangerous and affect your health in extreme cases.
- Too low calories
- Very low nutritional content
- Rapid weight loss including a high percentage of muscle mass
- Rapid weight gain once you stop
Healthy treats
Make sure you know what ingredients your healthy treats contain
- The ingredient list is not always healthy
- Quite often contain high calories due to the fat content meaning your ‘healthy’ bar is more calories than a chocolate bar.
