Resisting the Lure of Fad Diets

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When New Year’s rolls around people swarm into gyms and salad sections of grocery stores. Self-improvement is a respectable thing, but it’s easy to get bogged down with gimmicks and false advertising about “weight loss”. Articles on magazines contradict each other, one saying exercise is the only way to a healthy lifestyle and the other claiming all you need is their new diet plan. Fad diets are everywhere these days with attention getting advertisements, trying to inspire you to buy their products. Money is the main motivation behind this, and these companies are getting paid for potentially dangerous diet plans. Fad diets claim to reward you with rapidly making you slimmer without exercise. The problem is that people will believe this the …show more content…

Rosalyn DeWitt from The Gale Encyclopedia of Fitness says that fad diets “are newer, as yet unproven, approaches to weight loss. These include: carbohydrates with a low glycemic index that may help suppress appetite, and green tea extract that may increase the body 's energy expenditure.” (DeWitt 623). It sounds promising at first, but with the lack of evidence of any positive impact on the body it’s hard to get on board with it. Marjorie Freedman adds to the subject, claiming that “the one thing most fad diets have in common is that they seldom promote safe and/or long-term weight loss efforts. More importantly, fad diets that do not incorporate healthful eating and exercise fall short in incorporating the needed behavior changes for long-term weight maintenance.” (Freedman 398). Additional popular things on the market right now is labeling foods with “Organic” and “All Natural”. It has become a marketing catchword to get people to buy their food, but they do not mean the same thing. If you are careful to read up about what you are purchasing, you can find some food that actually is what it claims to be – healthy. They are …show more content…

Chemicals such as Norepinephrine keeps stress away, and dopamine can make a person feel happier and relaxed. This dopamine release can also benefit drug addicts getting over their dependence by consistent exercise. Other benefits of exercise include improved heart and lung health, increased metabolism, improved muscle strength, plus a boost to an individual’s self-esteem and feeling of accomplishment. Exercise can even help achieve deeper sleep at night, so long as the activity was done in the middle of the day. If an individual is currently not overweight, exercise can help prevent weight gain. “Prevention is far superior to any available treatment for obesity. Obesity can be prevented by eating a healthy diet, being physically active, and making lifestyle changes that help maintain a normal weight.” (DeWitt 625). Just an hour and a half of exercise in a week can greatly boost a person’s endurance. Including cardio in a routine is very important to keep blood flowing and the heart rate

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