Weight loss program tendencies have come and gone through the years. Some had been quirky, others had harmful restrictions.
Who hasn’t heard of a celebrity-backed liquid cleanse or the promise of fast weight reduction after adhering to unusual meals combos?
However which of those fads truly labored, and which do vitamin specialists in 2025 firmly discredit?
To assist kickstart your New 12 months’s well being objectives, MyFitnessPal dietitians took a deep dive into the evolving historical past of fad diets to see if any had benefit.
Additionally they offered evidence-based suggestions for constructing a sustainable, wholesome life-style, centered on nutrition for real life.
Right here’s a decade-by-decade breakdown of probably the most iconic weight loss plan fads over the previous 100 years and their affect on well being, in accordance with specialists.
Twenties–Thirties: The Grapefruit Weight loss program
The Pattern
Often known as the “Hollywood Weight loss program,” this in style strategy concerned consuming half a grapefruit earlier than each meal. The declare? Grapefruit contained enzymes that would “burn fats,” turning the fruit right into a shortcut for weight reduction.
Dietitian Verdict
“Including fruit to your weight loss plan can truly be an effective way to assist with weight reduction! It provides fiber that will help you really feel full. It’s sometimes low in energy however excessive in quantity,” says Stephanie Nelson, MyFitnessPal’s Senior Lead Vitamin Scientist (1).
However she emphasizes that grapefruit doesn’t burn fats.
Including grapefruit to meals “with out making every other adjustments to your weight loss plan gained’t truly end in weight reduction,” says Nelson.
Melissa Jaeger, RD, LD, Head of Vitamin at MyFitnessPal, agrees. She notes that grapefruit has quite a lot of nutritional vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C, which helps our immune methods (2).
“However there merely isn’t any scientific proof to help fat-burning claims about grapefruit,” she concludes.
Jaeger additionally notes that some variations of this weight loss plan restricted every day energy to 800. That isn’t sufficient to fulfill every day vitality wants (3).
She additionally warned that grapefruit and its juice work together with some drugs (4). So, this weight loss plan could also be dangerous for some individuals. At all times discuss to your physician about meals it’s possible you’ll have to keep away from should you take drugs.
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Get pleasure from grapefruit as a part of a balanced weight loss plan, however neglect the fat-burning claims. Wholesome, sustainable weight reduction requires a reasonable calorie deficit and a give attention to nutrient-rich meals (5).
Forties–Fifties: The Grasp Cleanse
The Pattern
Trending within the Forties and in style once more within the early 2000s, The Grasp Cleanse, also called the Lemonade Weight loss program, concerned a principally liquid weight loss plan routine.
Throughout the primary cleanse part, dieters drank a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water for a number of days. They aimed to “detox” and drop pounds.
Additionally they drank a cup of laxative tea within the night to encourage bowel actions.
Dietitian Verdict
“Juice cleanses trigger weight reduction as a result of individuals who do that basically starve themselves,” says Nelson (6).
Notably, a lot of the load misplaced throughout cleanses is probably going because of the lack of water and muscle mass moderately than precise physique fats (7).
She provides that “individuals who do that strategy are inclined to acquire the load again after the “cleanse” is over except they alter their weight loss plan habits long-term (6).”
Nelson explains that folks should change their weight loss plan to drop pounds long-term, so this cleanse is ineffective.
Knowledgeable Takeaway
A liquid cleanse isn’t crucial, and doing one might decrease your metabolism (8). Your physique already has efficient built-in detox methods—the liver and kidneys (9, 10)!
Taking laxatives whenever you don’t want them may also result in problems like dehydration, as you lose fluid in your stools (11).
General, Nelson advises, “it’s greatest to skip this one!”
Sixties: The Sleeping Magnificence Weight loss program
The Pattern
Probably the most excessive model of this weight loss plan suggested dieters to sedate themselves for as much as 20 hours a day. This was to keep away from consuming totally throughout these hours.
Dietitian Verdict
This can be a very harmful weight loss plan development, cautions Emily Sullivan, RD, Meals Knowledge curator at MyFitnessPal.
Amongst severe well being problems, she warns that this weight loss plan might result in malnutrition from not consuming sufficient, together with danger of dependancy to sleeping drugs (12, 13).
As a substitute, Sullivan advises getting the right amount of sleep, which is essential for weight administration and general well being.
She means that 7-9 hours of sleep per day is right, and in reality, some analysis exhibits that sleeping lower than 6 hours per night time can result in weight acquire (14).
Then again, she notes that oversleeping, resembling 9-10 hours nightly, has additionally been linked to weight acquire when in comparison with sleeping 7-8 hours (15).
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Prioritize high quality sleep, however keep on with the really helpful every day vary. Over-sleeping or utilizing sedatives to keep away from consuming has no place in a wholesome life-style. You probably have disordered consuming or hassle sleeping, attain out to a health care provider or psychological well being skilled for help.
Nineteen Seventies: The Egg & Wine Weight loss program
The Pattern
This three-day weight loss plan concerned consuming eggs, black espresso, and wine for breakfast and lunch. Then, steak and wine for dinner.
The concept was to cut back calorie consumption drastically however make weight-reduction plan extra “tolerable” by together with alcohol.
Dietitian Verdict
Jaeger says, “this weight loss plan is low in nutrient-dense energy with a excessive focus of energy from alcohol — not the makings of a protected, balanced, nutrient-rich weight loss plan.”
She notes that it lacks fruits, greens, entire grains, and wholesome fat. So following this weight loss plan for a very long time might danger dietary deficiencies because of its excessive restrictions (16).
Additionally, the weight loss plan’s reliance on alcohol raises well being considerations, from dehydration to impaired judgment (17, 18).
Alcohol has empty energy and promotes irritation (19, 20). This negatively impacts well being and weight objectives.
General, Jaeger says that “fast fixes” and really restrictive diets don’t result in protected, efficient weight reduction or wholesome habits.
Knowledgeable Takeaway
This weight loss plan displays the worst of quick-fix fads. It’s restrictive, promotes dangerous ingesting behaviors, and does nothing for long-term well being or sustainability.
Nineteen Eighties: The Cabbage Soup Weight loss program
The Pattern
This week-long weight loss plan allowed limitless cabbage soup. It paired the soup with modest parts of particular meals, like skim milk or fruit, on sure days. Like many fad diets, it promised fast weight reduction.
Dietitian Verdict
“Whereas recipes discovered on-line for making home made cabbage soup for this weight loss plan include quite a lot of greens, this singular recipe doesn’t make for a balanced weight loss plan,” says Jaeger.
This weight loss plan is extraordinarily low in energy and lacks protein, fats, and different important vitamins. Any fast weight reduction is probably going principally water and lean muscle, not fats, and isn’t a long-term resolution (7).
Jaeger additionally emphasizes that this weight loss plan doesn’t have scientific proof to help its weight reduction claims or to evaluate its security.
She advises us to construct sustainable diets, avoiding fads that declare to assist us quickly meet our objectives.
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Purpose for selection in your weight loss plan moderately than specializing in one meals or kind of meal. Addressing whole consuming patterns makes sustainable weight loss extra profitable.
Nineties: The Blood Sort Weight loss program
The Pattern
This weight loss plan claimed an individual’s blood kind (A, B, AB, or O) dictated which meals had been healthiest for them.
For instance, kind O people had been suggested to eat a high-protein, meat-heavy weight loss plan, limiting vegetarian proteins (21). In distinction, kind A people had been inspired to keep away from meat and as an alternative select extra seafood and vegetarian protein sources (21).
Dietitian Verdict
“The idea behind these diets is that a person’s blood kind is theorized to be their ancestral blood group,” says Brookell White, MS, RD, a Meals Knowledge Curator at MyFitnessPal.
Although the thought of this weight loss plan appealed to many, there’s a lack of analysis to help its claims.
One examine of this consuming model discovered potential advantages for physique weight and a few well being markers, like blood strain and ldl cholesterol (22).
However White factors out that the well being advantages in followers had been doubtless because of higher consuming habits (extra vegetarian meals) moderately than blood kind (22).
“This appears to be the consensus for many research which have been accomplished,” she says (23, 22).
Knowledgeable Takeaway
There’s no want to find out your blood kind to eat healthfully. Deal with evidence-based dietary patterns with loads of selection, such because the Mediterranean weight loss plan.
2000s: The Uncooked Meals Weight loss program
The Pattern
One of many extra lasting tendencies, the Uncooked Meals Weight loss program, promotes consuming raw, unprocessed meals to retain pure vitamins and enzymes. Normally, individuals following a uncooked meals weight loss plan solely eat vegan, plant-based meals.
Dietitian Verdict
Daisy Mercer, RD, a Meals Knowledge Curator at MyFitnessPal says consuming uncooked meals like fruit and veggies can have advantages. These meals present essential vitamins like fiber, antioxidants, nutritional vitamins, and minerals (24).
Mercer additionally says that consuming uncooked usually means consuming much less processed meals. It’s going to usually present us with extra fiber, and our our bodies will work more durable to digest them. That can result in higher satiety and fewer want to overeat.
Consuming a uncooked meals weight loss plan might also assist scale back consumption of sodium and saturated fat, she notes.
Moreover, uncooked plant-based meals might include extra nutritional vitamins and minerals (25). Some vitamins may be misplaced in cooking, Mercer factors out (25).
For instance, sure cooking strategies, like boiling, can significantly scale back the water-soluble vitamin content material, like vitamin C, in fruit and veggies (26). It could be greatest to prepare dinner high-vitamin C meals extra shortly, with much less warmth and water, resembling by steaming (26).
However analysis means that a mixture of uncooked and cooked meals within the weight loss plan could also be greatest for our well being (25).
A uncooked vegan weight loss plan, with over 90% uncooked meals, may not be protected long-term (25). It could trigger micronutrient deficiencies and different well being points (25).
Mercer cautioned {that a} uncooked meals weight loss plan may also turn out to be harmful when uncooked or undercooked meats are concerned, posing a danger of foodborne sickness (27).
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Consuming extra fruit and veggies is an effective way to help your well being. As a substitute of worrying about whether or not they’re cooked or uncooked, give attention to consuming quite a lot of plant-based meals as a part of a balanced weight loss plan.
2010s: Juice Cleanses
The Pattern
Juice cleanses are whenever you devour nothing however juice from fruit and veggies for a time frame, usually from at some point to at least one week. It turned fashionable as a “detox” technique, with supporters claiming it “resets” the physique.
Dietitian Verdict
Like all liquid fad weight loss plan, juice cleanses may cause fast weight reduction (28).
“That is principally because of not consuming sufficient energy,” Mercer factors out, moderately than any particular impact of the juice cleanse on weight reduction (28).
And, as soon as once more, should you don’t make wholesome, sustainable adjustments to your weight loss plan, you’ll doubtless acquire the load proper again (28).
Mercer notes that ingesting unsweetened, 100% fruit and vegetable juices carefully can enhance your vitamin and mineral consumption (29).
Simply understand that juice lacks fiber. This results in fast absorption of pure sugars, which may act like refined sugar and trigger short-term blood sugar spikes (30).
Moreover, we regularly devour extra juice than we might entire meals, leading to further energy (31).
Juices with decrease pure sugars and energy, like celery or cucumber juice, could also be higher for managing physique weight.
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices may be a part of a balanced weight loss plan in small quantities. Simply don’t depend on them for vitamin or pointless “cleaning” of the physique. For wholesome weight reduction, select entire fruits and veggies most frequently, and use juice splashes to taste your water!
2020s: The Carnivore Weight loss program
The Pattern
This weight loss plan promotes consuming like some early ancestors who solely consumed animal merchandise, together with meat, eggs, and a few dairy. It goals for weight reduction and claims to have anti-inflammatory results.
Dietitian Verdict
Proponents of this weight loss plan declare it improves illnesses and aids in weight reduction, says White.
However, she provides, “there isn’t any proof that implies that is true. The truth is, proof appears to recommend {that a} diverse weight loss plan is greatest usually (32).”
She warns that the Carnivore Weight loss program lacks fiber and key nutritional vitamins, particularly C and E.
These vitamins are discovered nearly solely in vegetation (33, 34). They’re essential for every thing from intestine well being to immunity and most cancers prevention, she says (35, 36, 37).
Plus, White says that “animal merchandise are excessive in saturated fats, which can enhance your danger of coronary heart illness (38).”
“Pink and processed meats are one other concern,” she says, noting that the Worldwide Company for Analysis on Most cancers considers processed meats carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and purple meats ‘in all probability carcinogenic’ (39).”
Knowledgeable Takeaway
Whereas the carnivore weight loss plan might result in weight reduction, it’s restrictive and lacks important vitamins and scientific help. For the very best long-term well being and weight outcomes, keep on with a balanced weight loss plan wealthy in plant-based meals.
Methods to Method “Fad Diets” of the Future (Spoiler: Don’t)
Trying again at 100 years of weight-reduction plan fads, one factor is obvious—probably the most sustainable weight reduction methods don’t lower corners or depend on “miracle” options.
Quite, they promote nutrient-rich, balanced consuming mixed with train and different wholesome habits.
“We encourage striving for progress, not the idea of perfection,” says Jaeger.
So, she advises, as an alternative of making an attempt the most recent fad or revisiting an previous development, strive:
- Tracking your meals
- Constructing consciousness of your nutrition habits
- Know the place you stand together with your well being
And Jaeger concludes, “most significantly, don’t let any weight loss plan get in the best way of actual life.”
“You may select to get pleasure from a aspect of fries when eating out with associates or have a slice of cake at a party, and skip the food guilt,” she says.
Research present that individuals who monitor their meals usually tend to obtain their weight objectives.
MyFitnessPal empowers you with vitamin data that you could succeed.
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