Diet Fads

Technological advances and modern society have led to individuals being able to get what they want as soon as they want; fast food, credit cards and same day delivery to name a few examples. Due to this people have started to lose the characteristic of patience. This impatient attitude has also transferred itself into the realms of weight loss and weight maintenance. People want to lose weight and they want to lose it now. For this reason recent years have seen an increase in the number of quick fix or crash course diets, which promise to lose x amount of pounds in a small number of days etc. However such diets are only short term and do not result in long term gain.

There is no other secret behind it and no ‘super foods’ that can result in instant loss. There is a simple formula when it comes to weight loss: Eat less calories than you burn. So if you eat less and exercise more, then your weight will gradually decrease.

Crash diets or fads should not be incorporated by a player. The reasons behind such a statement include:

The majority of them are based around the ‘limiting’ of one nutrient and encouraging consumption of others (high fat, low carbohydrate), while some are even based around consuming very few calories so the body is forced to feed off its own fat stores. Both these approaches do not promote all round good nutritional intake. The body needs a certain amount of each nutrient to function properly and if the threshold level for each is not met then it will result in adverse health affects occurring in the long run. The nutritional intake of an individual is even more important for a player as they require more energy than the sedentary individual. A low calorie or low carbohydrate diet can result in fatigue occurring quicker and performance being affected as a result.

Due to the nature of the diets and the fact they pose health risks in the long run means that they are not adhered to for a long period. It is then that the individual on the diet returns to their pre-diet habits which could lead to the weight being put back on. This can lead to depression and a decrease in motivation as they feel all their hard work has been undone, which could lead to comfort eating, that could result in even more weight gained. If players are overweight then they should not view it as a short term rush and adopt a fad diet but instead look to lose the weight over a longer period through a change in lifestyle. That way they will never ‘come off’ the diet, their new lifestyle and habits will stick with them and can be employed over a long period without detrimental health issues.

Fad diets can also be dull, bland and very one food orientated. This makes adherence very difficult and as a result binges can happen to break the boredom. These binges can then affect the overall success of the diet, their bodily functions both of which can affect their ability to perform. A longer term approach will allow players to eat what they want (within reason) without outlawing any foods.

Fad diets are essentially seen as a short term ‘quick fix’ to an individuals weight issues. Player’s energy levels and health can be affected if they adopt such diets, therefore any players wishing to undertake them or lose weight should have these points highlighted to them so that they can make more of an informed decision.

Fads are quick fixes and not lifestyle changes.