7 Ridiculous Diet Trends to Watch out for ...

The next time you decide to tighten the reins on your diet, avoid many of those ridiculous diet trends out there, no matter how appealing they sound. If it sounds too easy, is temporary or harsh, then most likely it’s the wrong way to lose weight. Most quick-fix diets are harmful and will lead to health problems, plus the weight will most likely return anyhow. Avoid making the mistakes that so many women make and avoid these ridiculous diet trends.

1. The Baby Food Diet

This diet has been made popular by celebrities and is one of the most ridiculous diet trends out there. The diet recommends eating up to 14 jars per day of pureed baby foods in an attempt to shed pounds quickly. For starters, this idea is ludicrous to begin with! It isn't based on a lifestyle approach. I can guarantee you in a week you’ll be so sick of baby food and buying nothing but jars of pureed mush that you’ll be ready to dive into any bag of cookies and chips you can get your hungry little hands on. The Baby Food Diet is devoid of protein and fats. Adults need more protein and fats than babies for a healthy metabolism, and we need it from whole foods as much as possible. We need to be able to chew food to secrete certain nutrients from it, and activate digestive enzymes through the chewing process. Please avoid this ridiculous diet trend which can lead to muscle loss, fatigue, and anemia. You may lose a few pounds but unless you’re willing to eat this way the rest of your life, then you’ll only gain it right back in a few days.

2. The Red Bull Diet

Whether or not you enjoy energy drinks is your own business, but when you start using them as food to lose weight, then we have a serious problem, ladies! Many women use energy drinks to replace breakfast and lunch. They believe the caffeine and stimulants can suppress their hunger, burn more calories and give them energy. With this energy comes a crash later on, which can lead to unhealthy food cravings and a screwy metabolism. Your body’s best friend for weight loss is eating! You can't trick your body by not eating. When you don't eat regular meals, your body goes into famine mode and learns to store fat! Eating the right foods for breakfast and lunch will lead to weight loss, not Red Bull. Unless you want to suffer adrenal fatigue, a slow metabolism and develop an addiction to those pricey energy drinks, don’t buy into this hype one bit.

3. The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet

This ridiculous diet trend is an oldie, but one of the most popular ones still lingering around. The diet consists of drinking 1-3 tbsp. of vinegar with or before meals to slow insulin resistance and ultimately lead to weight loss. Now, first things first. Vinegar has been proven to slow the rate of insulin into cells, which stabilizes blood sugar levels. There’s no denying the results from numerous amounts of diabetic research on this, however, using apple cider vinegar as a diet method alone, outside of eating healthy, is not a valid way to lose weight. I once fell for this claim and found over time that the apple cider vinegar made my stomach acidic, throat burn and even made me a little sick the more I used. Now, I simply use it to dress my salads for a nice tangy seasoning with the perks of it lowering my blood sugar during the meal. If you use this vinegar, by all means you may still enjoy doing so, but don’t use it alone as a dieting method to make up for unhealthy eating or dieting patterns.

4. Cabbage Soup Diet

This dieting method has also been around for quite some time. The diet involves eating a special vegetable soup recipe, made with cabbage of course, for two weeks to lose weight fast. I even had a boss once that tried it. At the end of two weeks of eating nothing but her cabbage soup for meals, she only lost 2 pounds. Her husband on the other hand ate lean meats and veggies at each meal and lost 10 pounds. What does this tell you? The body’s metabolism slows down when enough protein and fat isn't eaten. Don’t make vegetables the only foods that make up your diet. While they are crucial for healthy weight loss and disease prevention, our bodies weren't made to thrive on them alone.

5. The Cookie Diet

Sure you've seen Snookie as the celebrity endorsement behind the Cookie Diet, so it must be healthy, right? Think again, deary! The Cookie Diet is one of the best examples of ridiculous diets out there. Your body can't subsist off of packaged, processed, fake cookies as meal replacements. The human body needs clean, whole foods and less packaged stuff period, especially for weight loss. Also, eating cookies as your meals trains your brain to an unhealthy routine of thinking sweets were made to be eaten for meals. This can also train your tongue to crave sugar more, which will definitely lead to weight gain. Quit wasting your money on fake cookies and go buy some fresh fruit, fresh veggies, raw nuts and raw seeds if you need a snack idea. For your meals, be sure to combine lean protein, veggies, greens and healthy carbs from root veggies for optimal dieting results.

6. The Grapefruit Diet

This diet has been around since the '80s and some people report massive amounts of weight loss on this diet, which consists of drinking grapefruit juice or eating ½ a grapefruit before each meal. This diet is extremely low in calories and though grapefruits are nutritious, alone they are not the secret weapon to weight loss. If you want to eat healthy to lose weight, feel free to include them in your regime, but don’t believe that eating grapefruits with your meals can make lose weight. Never eat less than 1200 calories per day, as the Grapefruit Diet call for with some versions as low as 800 calories per day. Your metabolism will plummet and you’ll have a harder time losing weight the longer you stay on the diet.

7. HCG Diet

This diet just really irks me. People proclaim tons of weight loss on this diet and it’s no surprise why. The diet consists of 500-800 calories! Anyone on the diet would lose weight and also wreck their metabolism in the meantime. People fall under the hype that the over the counter drug is the magic bullet. The drug, which is actually a hormone tied to burning fat and appetite reduction, is nothing more than a chemical concoction that markets weight loss, yet hiding underneath is a low-calorie diet plan. I’m not disregarding that the supplement may suppress hunger, but any diet with only 500-800 calories in it is a recipe for disaster. There have also not been enough studies on this supplement to prove it is safe to consume over long periods of time. Once someone does go off of the supplement, normal , healthy hunger levels will return as the body’s metabolism tries to kick itself into gear again. After you begin eating normally, the weight will come on and you’ll be back at square one. Don’t tell yourself you’re willing to live your whole life dieting. It’s not worth it.

Lose weight the right way if you need to lose any at all. Losing weight is not found by a new study or fad diet. The secret lies in the simple solution that clean, whole foods lead to weight loss and health. All calories are not equal and it’s not just a matter of calories in versus calories out. The secret is in the quality of calories you’re eating and that you’re eating enough to maintain your metabolism and fitness levels. What are some of the most ridiculous diet trends you’ve heard of? Share!