Worst fitness or diet fad?

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by runwithme

I like to run so I do not really see that as a fad. I do feel that Akkins is a fad. And so is weight watchers. I would never do them because it is much better just to eat healthier.

WeightWatchers is actually just a simplified or "ready made" form of calorie counting which works well for some people; it's not really a fad as much as a means to an end.

[bruteforce]

Originally Posted by runwithme

I like to run so I do not really see that as a fad. I do feel that Akkins is a fad. And so is weight watchers. I would never do them because it is much better just to eat healthier.

Atkins, when done properly, is not a fad. People are stupid. Remember this. I used Dr. Atkins approach to drop 140 pounds in a year, reduce my cholesterol and blood sugar to normal healthy levels, get off my blood pressure medication, and be healthy for the first time since high school. Its really not that different from the Paleo approach I follow now.

For that Atkins haters, give his book a read. The research is solid, and so is the eating plan. Idiots who jump on induction, then jump off 2 months later and gain the weight back are just that. Idiots. Its no different than when people decide to "eat healthier", except that their idea of healthier food destroys their metabolism, blood work, and hormone panels.

I'm not gunning at you RWM, just defending the idea of low carb, high fat, high protein. If you get your carbs from fresh veggies, your fats from good meats, olives, avocados, butter, and your protein from healthy animals, its a very healthy lifestyle. Using Atkins as a diet, is a fad. Using it to adjust your lifestyle can be lifesaving.

[Soldier]

One thing to think about is that almost anything can be a fad if people treat it as such. Jogging can be a great part of a training plan, but it was a fad at one point when people treated it like it was the greatest fitness invention ever and the only thing you needed to be healthy. Same with Atkins. Hell, I bet the shake weight would be good for a warm up if you wanted to use it that way. Almost anything can be useful in certain ways.

[BendtheBar]

In our niche I see a fad as something exercise or nutrition related that is embraced by the public at large, generally not used properly, not used in context, or perhaps not the best way to reach their goals.

[bruteforce]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

In our niche I see a fad as something exercise or nutrition related that is embraced by the public at large, generally not used properly, not used in context, or perhaps not the best way to reach their goals.

I couldn't agree more. For example, rest pause training is great for advanced lifters who know how to use it correctly. The 19 year old kid who weighs 115 pounds and is half benching with elbows flared isn't going to get much out of it.

When I think of fad diets, I think back to that awful cabbage soup diet. Cabbage soup for 2 weeks straight. Nothing else. I lost weight, but it wasn't remotely healthy.

[angie828]

I have tried weight watchers and it did not work for me. I was always hungry all the time. I did not think that it helped me out at all.

[_J_]

Not sure if it's a fad or just a trend, but I hated the 80's/90's diet of counting fat grams. It seemed like everything in the grocery store prominently said "Only 3 grams of fat!", like that somehow made it healthy despite the product having 30 grams of sugar in it. Naturally, people ate all the "low fat" food, blissfully ignorant that it was loaded with garbage calories....hmmm, not much weight loss. Not to mention that 5-10 years later, there is a national diabetes and obesity epidemic.