The Newest Fad Diets to Steer Clear Of: From Ice Cubes to Noodles - Part 1 - Women Campus
As spring break quickly approaches, college campuses are littered with girls trying to quickly and easily take off a few pounds to look fabulous in their bikinis on the beach. While eating healthy and hitting the gym are the obvious solutions, fad diets have been a popular trend on campuses for years to help collegiettes™ slim down. But while Weight Watchers, the Atkins Diet, and the Zone Diet have been huge in the past, new forms of fad diets are creeping up and taking their place, leading many college girls to jump on the dieting bandwagon without knowing all the facts. Many of these fad diets use unhealthy methods to guarantee unrealistic results, and many of these diets are not approved by the FDA,. We've put together a list of the current most popular fad diets so you have all the facts before you start something that could be detrimental to your health.
Quick Trim: The Kardashian sisters have a reality television show, a trendy store, and now—their own diet supplement. Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe introduced Quick Trim Products back in 2009, and are now kicking the advertising up a notch on Twitter, Facebook, and their own personal websites to get the word out. The supplement contains laxatives, diuretics, and caffeine, along with other powerful stimulants that are supposed to boost the metabolism to increase weight loss. While the FDA doesn't approve of the product, Kim swears by the supplement and has said that she uses it as part of her daily diet routine.
What We Say: Sure, it's tempting to use a supplement because a celebrity uses it, but laxatives and diuretics are a dangerous way to drop some pounds. "Quick weight loss can be achieved, but at what cost for the consumer?" says Keri Gans, a nutrition consultant and speaker and author of The Small Change Diet. "If you are looking to lose weight safely and that you will keep off, the best kept secret is a well-balanced diet with exercise." If you want a healthy way to speed up your metabolism, try adding some green tea to your diet.
NoOodle: The NoOodle is a new gluten-free product that is made up of soluble fiber and water, and expands in your stomach to keep you feeling full. The noodles are made from the shirataki yam—an ancient Japanese yam that has been used for centuries. The noodles have no calories, carbohydrates, or soy, and therefore have no taste, but dieters can flavor them with sauces or spices. The creator offers the noodles as a prepared meal in various different flavors, including Ultra-Lite Primavera and Terri-yaki Chicken.
What We Say: The NoOodle diet is great for people who have Celiac Disease (a disease that disrupts the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine) and can't have gluten, but Gans says that many people who do not have Celiac Disease will take on a gluten-free diet in hopes of losing weight. "Gluten avoiders may end up short on vitamins and many gluten-free products are high in calories," she says. If eating gluten isn't possible, NoOodle may be a great way to have a satisfying meal – just keep the calories in your sauces down. Make sure you also eat a variety of foods, including veggies, fruits, legumes, and nuts, to ensure that you get all the vitamins you need. If you can eat gluten, enjoy NoOodle as a low-cal meal once in a while, but be sure to get your fix of vitamins and minerals elsewhere.
