Fad diets come and go, but one thing they all have in common is they don’t work for everyone and more often than not, they don’t work long term.

This is because most fad diets are commonly focused on weight loss, assuming that people’s weight and how they look is what matters most. However, what they don’t take into consideration is the stress these diets can have on the body and the effect this can have on your energy levels and hormonal system. When your body is experiencing stress and hormone imbalances, you are no longer living with optimal energy to live the life you really want.

How do fad diets and lifestyle trends impact your weight, hormones and energy?

The problem with fad diets and lifestyle trends is they tend to be quite extreme. This could be anything from a lemon detox where you pretty much only eat lemons, to a carb-free diet, eating only fats and proteins. On these extreme diets, often key macronutrients and micronutrients are deprived, which leads to a yoyo effect when it comes to weight loss and weight gain.

“On these extreme diets, often key macronutrients and micronutrients are deprived which leads to a yoyo effect when it comes to weight loss and weight gain.”

The Calories In and Calories Out Myth

Most ‘fad diets’ you would have seen over the years are based around the calories in and calories out myth. This means that the body is running on a negative energy balance, using more energy than what is coming in, to achieve weight loss. While this might work in the short term, metabolic health can’t be sustained in the long term. This is because fad diets have no basis for nutrition, due to being solely focused on weight loss.

Why stress affects your wellbeing

Thanks to this myth, fad diets have never focused on what nutrients the body needs to function optimally. By not giving your body the energy it needs, we place stress on our adrenal system and hormonal system, which also means our energy levels are compromised.

Not to mention, this extra stress is on top of all the other daily stressors our body has to deal with such as caffeine, alcohol, deadlines, family demands, grief, excess sugar and environmental toxins. To have the best energy levels and weight management, we really need to be reducing all forms of stress.

Why eating a nutrient rich whole food diet is best

I prefer people to focus on eating a nutrient rich whole food diet. Use this as your base diet and then fine tune and experiment with it to find the perfect mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat for you. By doing this you’ll optimise your diet for your personal metabolism, genetics and performance.

Figuring out how to eat right for you is incredibly important. If you’re not giving your body enough energy and nutrients, you will find it actually makes it harder rather than easier to lose weight. To find out what right for you take the BePure Macronutrient Profile Test.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common Fad Diets:

Fat Free Diet

One of the biggest misconceptions we’ve seen is that fat makes you fat. We now know this not to be true. Society became crazed with eating ‘fat free’ processed foods and avoiding fatty wholefoods that we now know to be very healthful like eggs, butter and olive oil.

“One of the biggest misconceptions we’ve seen is that fat makes you fat.”

In fact, the majority of ‘fat free’ processed foods have had the ‘fat’ replaced with sugar. Fat is actually an essential part of our diet, as it provides us with essential fatty acids, which are the building blocks for our hormones and give us sustained energy. Everyone needs fat.

Low Carb Diet

You may remember the Atkins Diet which became popular in the late 90’s. This fad diet was characterised by restricting carbohydrates and including only high protein and fat.

While this diet may have worked for some people you know, it isn’t for everyone. This is because a diet of this kind is more suited to someone who is a strong protein type. Protein types thrive on a high protein diet and do much better avoiding processed sugar, while keeping their intake of grains and starchy vegetables low.

Vegan and Plant-Based Diets

The vegan and plant-based way of eating is common, not only as a way of eating for better health, but also because of personal belief systems around animal welfare and the environment.

Vegan and plant-based diets are made up of plant foods only and avoid all animal-based foods, including meat, dairy and eggs. While this does provide the body with an abundance of vitamins and minerals (only if you are eating a healthy vegan diet rich in leafy greens and vegetables), it is a lot harder to provide your body with optimal levels of protein on a plant-based diet. This is essential protein synthesis to maintain muscle mass.

At the BePure Clinic, we truly believe eating nutrient rich whole foods that include an appropriate level of animal protein to suit your macronutrient profile is best for optimal health. A protein type will struggle on a vegan diet, as this high carbohydrate diet will spike their blood sugar levels, which is associated with a number of problems with energy, weight and hormones. A true carb type, however, might suit a whole food vegan or plant-based diet better.

If you are on a vegan diet for personal beliefs around animal welfare and the environment this is, of course, a very valid decision. It is just important to be conscious of the effect it could be having on your personal health and wellbeing.

Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet involves a dramatic reduction in carbohydrates while increasing your intake of good fats. This dietary combination aims to shift the body's metabolism away from burning sugar and carbohydrates as fuel, to actually burning fat in the form of ketones that are manufactured in the liver. When the body is using ketones as a fuel source, we say that person is in ketosis, and that's the ultimate goal of this diet.

“The ketogenic diet as we know it today involves a dramatic reduction in carbohydrates while increasing healthy fat intake.”

This still doesn’t mean it suits everyone. A carb type will struggle on this diet, however, a protein type may thrive. Anyone experiencing adrenal issues or thyroid stress should take caution with the keto diet.

Paleo Diet

A paleo diet is focused on eating as humans would have in the Paleolithic period. This means that there is a focus on unprocessed whole foods.These main foods groups are excluded in a paleo diet: grains, legumes and all processed sugar.

“These main foods groups are excluded in a paleo diet: grains, legumes and all processed sugar.”

The Paleo diet often has great results, however, again it’s not for everyone and it often doesn’t serve people well long term. For a carb type, it is not necessary to completely cut out all grains, as gluten-free grains are all a good fuel source for those that tolerate them. Even for those who aren’t a carb type, but have adrenal stress, you’ll still benefit from including gluten-free grains in your diet.

Sugar-Free

“Going sugar-free has become the new ‘fat free’.”

Going sugar-free has become the new ‘fat free’. When it comes to sugar, it’s about much more than physical appearance. High sugar consumption can lead to fatty liver and type two diabetes - even in individuals who are not overweight. Recent research have brought to light that sugar intake is related to disease, weight issues and energy levels.

While going completely sugar-free is extreme, we encourage lowering sugar intake wherever possible. Try to stick to whole foods, but if you absolutely have to have something in a packet, make sure you read the ingredients list and stay away from ingredients ending in -"ose". Fructose, maltose or dextrose are just a few examples of sneaky sugar getting into processed foods.

For more tips and for sugar-free recipes check out our recipes on the BePure Blog.

BePure Philosophy

While there are many diets out there, the BePure philosophy focuses on a way of eating that best suits the individual, rather than dieting. This is based on eating nutrient rich whole foods to match your macronutrient profile in order to support your health and vitality.

In the BePure Clinics utilise assessing your macronutrient profile, which looks at what balance of proteins and carbohydrates and fats best suits you, to help find what way of eating is right for you. This is because we are all different, meaning no one's biochemical makeup, unique lifestyle or environment is the same. Therefore none of us can fit into the ‘one-size’ fits all rule of fad diets and trends.

At the BePure Clinics, we see the most positive outcomes when we are eating the right balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates that are unique to our macronutrient profile. We also recognise that the right balance of your macronutrients right now might change as your lifestyle and environment changes. For example, when increasing exercise your body might crave and require more carbohydrates during this time.

If you’d like to learn more about understanding your unique body, why what works for you when it comes to diet and lifestyle is personal, and how to unlock your energy to live the life you really want, I recommend you head along to my latest tour, ‘Tired, Stressed and All the Rest?’. You can find more details about the event below.