Be in the Know: 5 Go-To Diets that don’t Actually Work

As Wednesday was the longest day of the year (yes, we’ve all felt it), let us be reminded why. It is officially summer. For those of you that got sidetracked by all the cute outdoor summer eateries, happy hours, and rooftop wine & cheese tasting, I got your diet researching covered, or rather uncovered!

Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty of “starting our diet on Monday” – a few Monday’s too many. We’re human and life happens. I’m here to tell you it’s okay! What is not okay is relying on a fad diet that leads you to believe will make you lose weight quickly and efficiently. Let me save you the time and stress of participating in a diet that will leave you hungry! Here’s 5 diets to avoid this summer:

1.      The (insert food name here) diet

We all know someone that’s been on, for example, a “Grapefruit diet”, allowing them to eat only grapefruits prepared in different ways. Sure, you may lose a couple of pounds in the beginning. That’s guaranteed. However, you will lose weight because your body is lacking the nutrients needed from the other food groups. Furthermore, after 2 weeks of dieting this way (if you last that long, bless your soul), you will likely end up frustrated and downright hungry, which leads to binge eating, and 10 pounds heavier than when you started said diet. Talk about a complete waste of time!

2. Fasting/Low-cal diets

If it sounds like a bad idea, it likely is one. Huge NO-NO! Fasting/low-calorie dieting is one of the most counter-productive diets ever! Naturally, when you think of fasting/low-calorie dieting, you think of supermodels right? Wrong. They work much harder than you think, and besides, most of us aren’t supermodels! When your body consumes fewer calories than it needs, it adjusts it’s metabolism to match such intake. This will hugely backfire when you begin to maintain a normal diet again because your metabolism will not change back. That means you’re essentially setting yourself up to gain weight. Yes, you heard right. This aside, you will have much less energy, which is totally not worth it. What’s a hot body if you can’t show it off? Am I right?

3. No carbs diet

If you’re Italian, this is impossible. If you’re not, it’s still likely impossible. I’m kidding (sort of), but even if you are headstrong enough to cut carbs out of your life, spoiler alert, you aren’t losing fat. That’s right. You’re cutting out the high amount of sodium, which in turn makes you lose the water weight that sodium ever-so-kindly holds onto for us. If you’re active as I am, this diet will have even worse effects on you. You will easily burn through the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles. In plain English, you’ll be very limited to the amount of physical activity you’ll be able to participate in.

4. The hCG diet

The hCG, or Human chorionic gonadotropin, diet consists of two things: a) lowering your calorie intake to 500-800 calories per day and b) supplementing hCG by injection or pill. (hCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy). I must start by reminding, or informing the newbies, that a normal calorie intake for a woman (even while dieting) is on average 1,200 calories per day. Even that’s hard to maintain. It is nowhere near healthy or sustainable to intake half that amount of calories per day, especially long term. hCG is used to treat those with fertility problems and is NOT approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss and dieting purposes. This is an extremely dangerous diet and should never ever be considered. Side note: no diet should ever rely on a supplement. Supplements are exactly what they sound like, supplementary to your diet. An extra boost, if you will. You should see red flags when it comes to any diet that MUST include a supplement.

5. Liquid diets

I know the only liquid diet most of us have ever been on is whatever is served during happy hour. Kidding, but seriously, the name only makes it sound like a drag (and it is)! Liquid diets usually consist of a few shakes a day that serve as meal replacements. Like most of the diets already mentioned, the issue here is longevity. These diets often lead to weight regain, whether it be by binge eating, food restriction, or just the fact that this doesn’t allow for fostering healthy eating habits. The only time this diet should ever maybe, sort of, be considered is in a pinch, a few days before your wedding to look super fierce in your dress. If you’re considering this diet before your big day, your wedding best be over the top with Kim Kardashian as your maid-of-honor, otherwise you don’t need the extra stress!

So, how do I lose weight this summer, girl?!

The most important thing to dieting is making sure that you do it in a healthy manner that you are comfortable with. Don’t stress yourself out over an unrealistic diet. The most important thing in life is being happy, and let’s face it, if you’re unhappy you’re going to wind up in bed with a tub of ice cream watching Lifetime movies back to back! Be sure to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in every day. Whether that means going to the gym to lift weights, taking a class, doing some cardio, or meeting your friend for a mobile gossip session on the boardwalk – stay active! Not only will it help your diet, it’ll make you feel good.

Get yourself a Fitbit! They’re as cool as they are cute. Start some competitions with your friends to stay motivated. Count your macro-nutrients, not your calories. Macro-nutrients are your fats, carbs, and proteins. You can do this easily on apps such as MyFitnessPal. Stay hydrated! Don’t need a carb-free diet to lose water weight. Aim to drink a gallon of water of day. It’s attainable!

Now get off that mono-kini and dive into that two piece, we’re in this together, ladies! Unless it’s one of those really cute mono-kinis that make you look like Beyonce. You can keep that one.