Fads Vs Lifestyle Changes
Oh, the secrets Google can reveal. Did you know that Google can tell us what keywords are searched before someone finds our website? Yes, they can. And we’re thrilled that most of you are searching exactly what Professional Weight Management offers: healthy weight loss. Which makes us happy because we want everyone to lose weight with lifestyle changes that will last a lifetime. Losing weight the healthy way not only protects your health but also keeps your scales from bouncing back to even higher numbers once your diet ends. It’s the smart choice.
But we also see a much smaller number of searches for fad diets, and tis the season when many are tempted by the latest internet diet sensation. We get it. Fad diets promise super fast weight loss, and who doesn’t want to be thin right now? Yesterday would be even better. But—and you knew there was a but coming—what do the medical experts say about fad diets? Here’s the guide the Cleveland Clinic uses to identify fad diets:
Recommendations that promise a quick fix
Claims that sound too good to be true
Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study
Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations
Lists of “good” and “bad” foods
Recommendations made to help sell a product
Recommendations based on studies published without peer review
Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups
Elimination of one or more of the five food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy
And, according to the Cleveland Clinic, fad diets have one thing in common: “They propose a temporary solution to what for many people is a lifelong problem. Once the diet is stopped, the lost weight is usually regained quickly. Fad diets don’t focus on lifestyle modification, which is necessary to keep the weight off, and these diets aren’t sustainable throughout life.”
Most of us were taught the five food groups in school, so it’s easy to understand how eliminating whole food groups from our diet can be harmful. We need all those vitamins and proteins. But it can be harder to recognize the dangers in a fad diet’s injection or pill. Some of us remember the Fen-Phen deaths more than a decade ago. That diet aid was a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine, which was intended to speed up the patient’s metabolism and boost weight loss—which it did. Unfortunately, for some patients it was also linked to heart valve failures and Fen-Phen was taken off the market. This product has a particularly sad connection for us and one of the stations which have long aired our testimonials, as the wife of the then-current owner died of heart issues after her doctor gave her Fen-Phen injections.
So if fad diets can cause bounce back weight and might even damage your health, how should you lose weight? With a plan customized to your metabolism and lifestyle changes you can continue for years to come. With our plans, you will do your own cooking and learn to choose and prepare healthy options you can enjoy with your family. You’ll get support from experienced consultants who will recommend PWM high-protein snacks so you won’t be hungry during your weight loss, and you’ll have access to high-quality vitamin and mineral supplements which will gently and naturally boost your weight loss. So you’ll lose the weight fast, not your muscle or your health. Exactly as the Cleveland Clinic recommends.