Katie Bedard
Professor Sabatino
English
21 April 2015
“Try this new diet that can help you drop 10 pounds in only one week! By cutting out these foods, and taking this fat burning supplement, you will lose weight with no exercise needed! Buy now and get this supplement and diet plan for just $49.99. If this doesn’t work for you in 30 days return and get your money back!” This is a fictional example of a fad diet advertisement that I have put together from what I see and hear about almost every day. Magic pills, potions, supplements, and lack of food consumption is not an effective way to lose weight. These are all examples of what are known as “fad diets.” As obesity begins to grow in America, so do fad diets. It is estimated that nearly forty-five million Americans diet each year (Nutrition & Weight Management). Statistics also read that there is thirty-three billion dollars annually being spent on weight loss product (Nutrition & Weight Management). Fad diets are an ill-advised approach to eating because they are almost impossible to sustain for a long period of time, they give people false hope, and can lead to eating disorders.
The media in America creates this pressure to be slim and attractive. Americans are quick to turn to fad diets to solve their weight loss issues. What they don’t realize is that these diets are almost impossible to maintain. Basically what these diets are known to do is show quick results and weight loss, but aren’t permanent because the eating, or lack of eating is so drastic that no sane person can continue the diet for long amounts of time. When these people return to normal eating habits it often occurs that they gain the weight back, plus some (Sarah Riser). A lot of these diets have people eating the same foods every day which leads to boredom, failure, and weight gain. However with all the pressures put on especially the younger crowd by celebrities, and the American culture to be thin and beautiful, or fit and buff, people just want a quick fix so they disregard all of the negative factors that come out of these diets and focus on the superficial part.
“Try this new diet that can help you drop 10 pounds in only one week! By cutting out these foods, and taking this fat burning supplement, you will lose weight with no exercise needed!” Now who wouldn’t want to try this diet after reading that? 10 pounds in one week and no exercise needed, sounds like a dream come true if you ask me. This is an example of the false hope that is ill-advised by companies to get people to jump on their product and diet plan. What these diets do is create a freedom from pain and worrying, a lot like religion (Go Kaleo). Adopting a diet is also comforting, especially with how they are presented these days. They promise you radiant health and effortless weight loss. People are scared of disease and a lot of the time are lazy and want something that they have to put the least effort into. The false hope that these diets are giving to people is out of this world. People are running to these diets to feel safe and a part of something and aren’t realizing how they are actually doing themselves a disservice. They make you feel in control and give you this calming feeling that you are the pilot of your own body and health, but in the end while you are trying to maintain a healthy diet and care about your body and health, that’s the farthest thing from the supplier’s minds.
Last but certainly not least fad diets can very well be the one way ticket to an eating disorder. With the way that these diets are cutting out foods and making you believe that if you eat 800 calories or less a day is a healthy way to lose weight, there will be nothing left of you but skin and bone. A lot of the time you are losing more muscle then you are fat. One of the main symptoms of anorexia is being fanatical about our weight and diet (nedic). When you are suffering from anorexia you are constantly obsessed with controlling your eating. These fad diets play a big part in that because they are constantly telling you what to eat and not eat, and how many calories you should consume if you want to lose weight without exercising or actually putting some effort into changing your everyday lifestyle. A lot of the time fad diets lead to starvation. If you correctly calculate the amount of calories you are supposed to consume and carbohydrates etc. fad diets are setting you up for failure for that healthy lifestyle that you are striving for. You can tell a lot of these diets are going to lead people to this because they consider themselves “weight loss miracles” and are telling you not to consume certain nutrients that our body needs. Eating disorders are no joke, and either are these diets that are hurting people more than helping them.
You gained that twenty pounds over the course of a few months to a year, that means you aren’t going to lose it all in a few days or weeks. Fad diets aren’t realistic and set a lot of people up for failure. I am sure some diets work for some people however the key to losing weight and changing your body is by changing your everyday lifestyle. Going to the gym and altering your diet is the key to success. It will be easier to maintain, and give you hope and results of a healthier lifestyle. Variety of foods is good for your body, you need fats, carbs, and many other nutrients to provide you with energy. Don’t go wasting your money on the supplements and diet plans that these people claim will work magic on your body. Do your research, cook up some tasty, healthy meals, get your body moving, and I promise in just a few short weeks you will look and feel a whole lot better about yourself.
WORKS CITED
http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/americans-turn-to-fad-diets-for-fast-results
http://youngwomenshealth.org/2012/12/10/fad-diets/
https://gokaleo.com/2014/03/26/the-appeal-of-fad-diets/
http://nedic.ca/know-facts/definitions
Professor Sabatino
English
21 April 2015
“Try this new diet that can help you drop 10 pounds in only one week! By cutting out these foods, and taking this fat burning supplement, you will lose weight with no exercise needed! Buy now and get this supplement and diet plan for just $49.99. If this doesn’t work for you in 30 days return and get your money back!” This is a fictional example of a fad diet advertisement that I have put together from what I see and hear about almost every day. Magic pills, potions, supplements, and lack of food consumption is not an effective way to lose weight. These are all examples of what are known as “fad diets.” As obesity begins to grow in America, so do fad diets. It is estimated that nearly forty-five million Americans diet each year (Nutrition & Weight Management). Statistics also read that there is thirty-three billion dollars annually being spent on weight loss product (Nutrition & Weight Management). Fad diets are an ill-advised approach to eating because they are almost impossible to sustain for a long period of time, they give people false hope, and can lead to eating disorders.
The media in America creates this pressure to be slim and attractive. Americans are quick to turn to fad diets to solve their weight loss issues. What they don’t realize is that these diets are almost impossible to maintain. Basically what these diets are known to do is show quick results and weight loss, but aren’t permanent because the eating, or lack of eating is so drastic that no sane person can continue the diet for long amounts of time. When these people return to normal eating habits it often occurs that they gain the weight back, plus some (Sarah Riser). A lot of these diets have people eating the same foods every day which leads to boredom, failure, and weight gain. However with all the pressures put on especially the younger crowd by celebrities, and the American culture to be thin and beautiful, or fit and buff, people just want a quick fix so they disregard all of the negative factors that come out of these diets and focus on the superficial part.
“Try this new diet that can help you drop 10 pounds in only one week! By cutting out these foods, and taking this fat burning supplement, you will lose weight with no exercise needed!” Now who wouldn’t want to try this diet after reading that? 10 pounds in one week and no exercise needed, sounds like a dream come true if you ask me. This is an example of the false hope that is ill-advised by companies to get people to jump on their product and diet plan. What these diets do is create a freedom from pain and worrying, a lot like religion (Go Kaleo). Adopting a diet is also comforting, especially with how they are presented these days. They promise you radiant health and effortless weight loss. People are scared of disease and a lot of the time are lazy and want something that they have to put the least effort into. The false hope that these diets are giving to people is out of this world. People are running to these diets to feel safe and a part of something and aren’t realizing how they are actually doing themselves a disservice. They make you feel in control and give you this calming feeling that you are the pilot of your own body and health, but in the end while you are trying to maintain a healthy diet and care about your body and health, that’s the farthest thing from the supplier’s minds.
Last but certainly not least fad diets can very well be the one way ticket to an eating disorder. With the way that these diets are cutting out foods and making you believe that if you eat 800 calories or less a day is a healthy way to lose weight, there will be nothing left of you but skin and bone. A lot of the time you are losing more muscle then you are fat. One of the main symptoms of anorexia is being fanatical about our weight and diet (nedic). When you are suffering from anorexia you are constantly obsessed with controlling your eating. These fad diets play a big part in that because they are constantly telling you what to eat and not eat, and how many calories you should consume if you want to lose weight without exercising or actually putting some effort into changing your everyday lifestyle. A lot of the time fad diets lead to starvation. If you correctly calculate the amount of calories you are supposed to consume and carbohydrates etc. fad diets are setting you up for failure for that healthy lifestyle that you are striving for. You can tell a lot of these diets are going to lead people to this because they consider themselves “weight loss miracles” and are telling you not to consume certain nutrients that our body needs. Eating disorders are no joke, and either are these diets that are hurting people more than helping them.
You gained that twenty pounds over the course of a few months to a year, that means you aren’t going to lose it all in a few days or weeks. Fad diets aren’t realistic and set a lot of people up for failure. I am sure some diets work for some people however the key to losing weight and changing your body is by changing your everyday lifestyle. Going to the gym and altering your diet is the key to success. It will be easier to maintain, and give you hope and results of a healthier lifestyle. Variety of foods is good for your body, you need fats, carbs, and many other nutrients to provide you with energy. Don’t go wasting your money on the supplements and diet plans that these people claim will work magic on your body. Do your research, cook up some tasty, healthy meals, get your body moving, and I promise in just a few short weeks you will look and feel a whole lot better about yourself.
WORKS CITED
http://www.smudailycampus.com/news/americans-turn-to-fad-diets-for-fast-results
http://youngwomenshealth.org/2012/12/10/fad-diets/
https://gokaleo.com/2014/03/26/the-appeal-of-fad-diets/
http://nedic.ca/know-facts/definitions