The viral ‘egg diet' is the latest weight loss trend to sweep social media as people continue to look for ways to shed a few kilos.
But while the hashtag #eggdiet has attracted more than 68.5 million views and many have shared their weight loss successes, experts warn that extremely strict diets are not sustainable and it's just another example of how most diets ultimately fail.
According to users, the egg diet consists of eating only eggs at each meal, along with low-carb snacks like fruit, low-carb vegetables, and some extra protein.
While this diet will quickly boost your metabolism and burn fat in the short term, it will eventually slow your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight in the future.
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One TikTok user who was trying to diet admitted she had broken it, writing: “I think the last nine days of minimal eating has caught up with me today. I feel sick all day.”
A diet that focuses on one food excludes many healthy foods that are good for the body. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, unhealthy proportions of weight loss, mood changes, muscle weakness and hair loss.
Vidur Saini, nutrition expert from the United States fitness volt Saying that most people can't stick to the diet long enough for it to function sustainably. They start out strong, but quickly fall behind and revert to their previous suboptimal eating plan.
“That's why many of us lose weight and regain it shortly after, and long-term, sustainable weight loss now appears to be rare,” Saini said.
“Fortunately, healthy eating doesn't have to be complicated or unpleasant, and weight management doesn't have to take over your life.
“You don't even have to give up your favorite foods. But, you need to stop looking for short-term fixes and develop healthier long-term habits.”
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Below, Saini shares six common reasons why most diets fail.
too much food restriction
Most diets prohibit certain foods or food groups. For example, a paleo diet excludes all processed foods, while a ketogenic diet strictly limits your carbohydrate intake. Other diets cut out sugar or alcohol.
The thing is, while cutting out certain foods can cause you to go into a daily calorie deficit, this approach is also sure to trigger an appetite.
Essentially, any diet that prohibits specific foods or food groups will inevitably lead to cravings that drive you to cheat on your diet.
Allowing yourself to eat the minimum amount of this particular food or drink allows your body to feel like it is not being deprived of something. Everything in moderation!
Ingredients cost
Eating healthy, fresh ingredients is always good, but food is one of life's unavoidable expenses, and if your financial situation isn't always secure, it can be difficult to maintain this eating plan in the long run.
For example, some diets dictate that you have to eat expensive foods, and these products are somehow better for weight loss than more reasonably priced products.
Often, if a diet promises something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so don't be fooled.
Organic veggies and grass-fed beef from free-range cows cost a lot more than the basics you can get at Costco, but are no different nutritionally. They certainly won't help you lose weight faster.
In order for your diet to be sustainable, you need to be comfortable with the cost of your food. For example, if your grocery bill doubled overnight, you have a ready-made excuse to ditch your new meal plan.
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too complicated
In order for diets to be unique, they are often unnecessarily complicated. This complexity often leads people to make mistakes or give up after a while.
A food combination diet is a good example. Some people might say things like “you can't eat fat and carbs in the same meal,” which looks good on paper but makes meal prep a lot more complicated than it needs to be.
Ultimately, for any diet to be effective, it has to be simple enough to follow every day.
perfect or fail
Diets are usually very prescriptive and no variation is allowed.
However, in daily life, it is difficult to stick to any diet. Maybe you have a friend's birthday or day off and you decide to indulge your sweet tooth.
In fact, your diet doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be good most of the time — and that's enough to hit your weight loss goals.
not suitable for long term
Setting a time frame for any diet will set you up for failure.
Some of the most common ways diets are advertised are through their quick fix timestamps, such as “lose 15kg in 90 days” or “30 day weight loss plan”.
Excess body fat accumulates over the years, and no one sleeps thin and wakes up fat.
Achieving your physical goals can take months or even years. Any diet would have to be very strict to achieve significant results in just a few weeks, so it would not be sustainable as your body would lose the weight very quickly.
Before considering any diet, ask yourself, “Can I follow this for the next 6-12 months?”
Based on little or no scientific basis
Some diets are based on very flawed science, or may not have any science at all.
An example of this is calorie-burning or negative-calorie foods, such as celery. Claims that no food burns more calories than it contains are very misleading.
An effective diet works by controlling the balance of calories. With fewer calories consumed, your body will replenish the energy deficit by using fat stores in your body. No deficit means no fat burning. There are no shortcuts to this law of thermodynamics.
Often, if a diet promises something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so don't be fooled.
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