9 Unhealthy Fad Diets You Should Never Try

One thing that many people are in pursuit of on a constant basis is weight loss. But losing weight can be one of the most grueling processes you will ever go through. Moving that scale up and down is no easy feat, and this is why the method you use to drop the pounds is so important. Even though we’d all like to speed up the process of losing weight, getting caught up in quick tricks can be a major setup for failure. Experts say that trends like fad diets are definitely not the right route to take. “Fad diets tend to gain popularity due to promises of quick weight loss and unrealistic results,” says Mary Manning, RDN. “But they’re often grounded in little to no science. While the claims can be appealing, these diets are often not sustainable long term because of how restrictive they are.”

So what is the big deal with losing weight through fad diets, and how bad can it really be for your progress? The hard part is knowing whether or not you are actually on a fad diet. Sometimes the logic behind these trends can seem plausible. But one of the biggest red flags is a one-size-fits-all stance on weight loss, which is never really realistic. To learn more about the most popular ones, check out these 9 unhealthy fad diets you should never try.

Orange, Food, Liquid, Food storage containers, Ingredient, Mason jar, Fluid, Orange

Baby Food Diet

This diet requires replacing meals with baby food, and even snacks too. This is supposed to be effective for weight loss because baby food portions are much smaller than the standard adult meal, and thus will limit calorie intake. But our needs as adults are much more complex than that of an infant, so this diet can lead up to being malnourished.

Cloud, Blue, Azure, Sky

Cotton Ball Diet

The cotton ball diet may be one of the most dangerous fads around. This diet entails eating cotton balls that have been soaked in juice or smoothies. Not only does it deprive you of basically all needed nutrients, but stuffing your body with cotton balls can cause seriously dangerous blockages in your digestive tract.

Baked Goods, Food, Ingredient, Recipe, Baked goods

Cookie Diet

The cookie diet is all about skipping meals and eating cookies all day. But not just any cookie — you are required to eat special cookies by Dr. Sanford Siegal, and you eat them every two hours. But this will only give you about 1200 calories a day, max — which is way too low.

Lime, Food, Plant, Rangpur, Fruit, Ingredient, Lime, Green, Natural foods, Sweet lemon, Meyer lemon

Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet has become popular recently for its ability to reduce the acidity in one’s body. The less acidity in your body, the less disease, and sickness you are at risk for developing. The main issue with this diet is that it is restrictive and has not been properly researched.

Vegetarian Food, Food, Ingredient, Tableware, Recipe, Cuisine, Soup

Cabbage Soup Diet

This diet sounds neither appetizing nor effective. For seven days, you only eat cabbage soup in addition to a few things like baked potatoes and fruit. This may make you drop weight fast, but the results will not last long. And this much restriction is not healthy for your body.

Ear, Nose, Hair, Eyelash, Ear, Vision care, Gesture

Ear Stapling Diet

This diet follows logic similar to acupuncture. The staple through specific areas of the ear is supposed to stimulate decreased appetite and thus, initiate weight loss. There is no real evidence that this diet actually works.

Lime, Tableware, Food, Liquid, Lime juice, Lime, Juice, Cocktail, Fruit, Ingredient, Lemon peel

HCG Diet

Human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, is a hormone made while pregnant. This is supposed to support weight loss, but many experts say that this diet — which also requires consumption of only a meager 500 calories a day — is very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

9 Unhealthy Fad Diets You Should Never Try

Boiled Egg Diet

This diet has participants eat nothing but hard-boiled eggs, starchy veggies, and low-carb fruits. You may be getting enough protein with this diet, but you will be eliminating whole other food groups. And that is never a good idea in the long run.

Juice, Food, Tableware, Ingredient, Cocktail, Juice, Fruit, Red russian

Juice Cleanse

Juice cleanses have become one of the more mainstream and accepted diets currently. Detoxing the body through consuming nothing but fresh juice is supposed to detox the body. But the issue with this diet is little clinical evidence to prove its effectiveness of this method.