What fad diet are you going to try this year? Clients always ask me for advice on their diet. But more than anything, they ask me about popular diet programs out there. Do they really work? Are they really healthy for you? Can you lose weight if you do them? In this article I will show you the advantages and disadvantages of the four most popular fad diets.

the atkins diet

Probably more than any other, the Atkins diet has occupied a controversial position. I mean, who would go on a weight loss diet that told them to eat fat and cut carbs? Well tons of people! So let’s take a closer look.

Pros: The diet has shown that people who follow it lose weight and improve their blood lipid profile (HDL LDL cholesterol and triglycerides). And if you love to eat meat, dairy and fat in large quantities, this is undoubtedly a perfect diet for you. However, you are prevented from eating carbohydrates, which is difficult for many people. That means pasta, rice, potatoes, whole grain breads and cereals, and even fruit are off limits. However, the diet claims that once you successfully flush them out of your system by eating nothing but protein and fat, your cravings are gone.

Cons: Since this diet is based on a no-carb regimen, it begins to lose its traction and benefits even when “low-carb” items are eaten. Atkins essentially eliminates an entire macronutrient entirely. In terms of non-weight related health issues, this diet puts a lot of stress on the body, forcing it into a state of relative ketosis, or the “I’m sick” state. This creates a marked loss of energy, tiredness, and a lack of energy available for exercise. If you’re going to be active and exercise regularly, your body needs some carbohydrates from healthy food sources.

Bottom Line – Getting sick to lose weight doesn’t seem as important as being strong and healthy with the drive and energy for all that life has to offer. In short, Atkins is an unhealthy way to lose weight.

South Beach Diet

Like Atkins, South Beach is a low-carb diet, but it somehow managed to structure itself in a way that wasn’t controversial.

Pros: The biggest pros of this diet are that, along with its weight loss aspect, it brings other positive health results, including lowering triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure, while increasing the good HDL cholesterol The diet provides a simple way to follow, as it doesn’t require people to track caloric intake in too much detail. Conveniently put foods into multiple lists to choose from. It also offers a tiered system designed to work on more of the foods you’d like to eat. So it’s a more sensible approach but with a definite shock factor to kickstart it initially.

Cons: The biggest complaint from dieters is the difficulty of the first phase of South Beach due to its strict food restrictions. In fact, they are so restrictive that the author does not even recommend that people stay there for more than a few weeks. This makes it even more difficult for his followers to transition to the second phase of the diet, in which they are allowed to slowly reintroduce carbohydrates. There are no true guidelines for amounts allowed at this stage and most followers report that the urge to carb load becomes extremely overwhelming.

Bottom Line: For the most part, this is not a terrible diet. Start with a no-carb, low-saturated-fat phase and then slowly work your way up to a more balanced eating approach. However, the diet is a bit “dated” because it emphasizes the glycemic index of foods. This makes the diet recommend quite a few foods that have a high glycemic load, as this concept wasn’t really understood until after the book was written.

The zone diet

The Zone Diet is not a low-carb diet, but follows a pie chart of macronutrients: 30% of calories come from protein, 30% from fat, and 40% from carbohydrates. And it is the strict balancing of this equation that makes or breaks the plan.

Pros: According to Dr. Sears, the founder of The Zone, if you can maintain a 30/30/40 protein/fat/carb balance, then you can maintain steady blood sugar levels. When insulin production is at the correct levels, your body can effectively burn fat. The best part of this diet is that its advocates claim increased energy and mental alertness, and many athletes subscribe to it for this very reason. What’s more, with stable blood sugar comes a decrease in cravings for simple carbohydrates and sugar-laden foods, making it easier to maintain weight.

Cons: You have to follow a strict portion control guideline, even when you’re hungry in the early stages. Also people say that the rules are hard to follow and that the structure requires quite a bit of time to plan meals and adhere to their restrictions. If you don’t plan your meals ahead or portion them out ahead of time, it’s extremely difficult to stay within the guidelines.

Conclusion – It is true that athletes say that dieting gives them more energy. However, many sports nutritionists and coaches now say their athletes are hitting rock bottom during practice and games after long sessions of the Zone diet. This, they claim, is due to a lack of intake of complex carbohydrates. However, this is still avoidable within Zone standards.

The low fat diet

Pros: Eating low-fat can be an effective way to eliminate harmful substances from your diet, including trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and excessive amounts of animal fats. These, as we know, have been linked to several serious health problems, including heart disease and various types of cancer.

Cons: Eating low-fat substantially decreases your intake of a complete macronutrient that is critical to your overall health. As I’ve noted in other articles, there are definite benefits to eating the right fats, including the infamous saturated fats. Eating the right fats supports heart health and a healthy metabolism, and is therefore an essential tool for weight management.

Bottom Line: Your body needs a consistent and consistent intake of fat to properly shed stored fat, so why would you drastically restrict fat if you’re trying to burn it? “Low fat” has also become synonymous with “high sugar” in most foods, so eating a low fat diet is simply not an effective weight loss tool.

The bottom line

All of these diets bring positive and negative aspects to the table. So what is the best approach to take? The best advice I can give you is not to follow any fad diet. Rather, you should educate yourself on the pros and cons of all aspects of nutrition and focus on eating clean, quality calories.

When all is said and done, a healthy diet should contain a balanced combination of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, fruits, vegetables, and plenty of water. This will ensure that you are eating to support ANY of your fitness and wellness goals.