You know fad diets don’t work when it comes to reaching long-term weight loss goals. But did you also know they can actually make you fatter?

Doctors now warn that celebrity diets are contributing to the obesity epidemic. Think Lemonade, Grapefruit, Tiger, Mayo Clinic, Apple and Cabbage Soup. All of these so-called diets may help you lose weight in the beginning, but can you really stick with them? Only if you don’t like food.

Most of these diets have the same thing in common — they place heavy restrictions on what you can eat. Take the Lemonade Diet (also known as the Master Cleanse) for instance. You mix up a batch of “lemonade” with lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. With six to 12 glasses allowed each day (no other food), this diet is likely to leave you a little sour. The Cabbage Soup Diet allows you to eat as much of its soup that you want each day along with fruits and vegetables, but it neglects other important food groups which can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

Even if you can withstand one of these diets for a few days or weeks, the major issue is their lack of slimming power over the long haul. “Eating should be enjoyable. These diets are so monotonous and boring that it’s almost impossible to stay on them for long periods,” states the American Heart Association.

In addition to dishing out very little food, some of these fad diets can have you dishing out a lot of hard-earned cash. For example, the Hollywood Diet charges $12.95 for a 16-ounce bottle of juice which contains seemingly inexpensive ingredients like fruit and tea. The sad part is, Americans spend an average of $46 billion a year on diet products and self-help books and 97 percent of them regain the weight within five years.

In a speech at the Gastro 2009 Conference, Professor Chris Hawkey, President of The British Society of Gastroenterology suggested avoiding popular fad diets, such as the Tiger Diet, which promotes eating only uncooked food (Mel Gibson is reportedly a fan), and the Hallelujah Diet, which only allows eating from fruit and seed bearing trees depicted in the Bible. “What’s important is to recognize that despite the popularity of fad diets, we are losing a grip on the fight with obesity. We need to do away with quirky diets and get people to realize what will keep them healthy in the long run.”

SUMMARY

In the end, crash diets will only cause you to crash and burn. Eating less and exercising more are the only tried and true methods.

PUCKA NEWS

It was not exactly pukka news when, last week, some ready-made pasta sauces were revealed to be laden with heart-damaging salt.

Among the worst, according to health campaigners Consensus Action on Salt and Health, was Jamie Oliver’s Spicy Olive, Garlic and Tomato Pasta Sauce which, in a single portion, contained 5.3g of salt – the equivalent of ten packets of crisps.

Yet many supermarket pasta sauces come in at under 1.5g of salt per serving – that is a quarter of a daily goal intake of 6g – which is fine for a main meal.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that pasta itself is low-calorie, low-fat, high in fibre and good for gut health, so here are my choices of the healthiest sauces to go with it.

Any sauce you like in moderation

 REAL WOMEN GAIN WEIGHT
The latest victim of the tabloid fat attack is striking back, regaining control and finding humor in her pain.
Nicole Eggert takes on critics who have been calling her fat, in a Funny or Die video.

The former “Baywatch” babe has taken heat from the tabloids for putting on weight since her stint as a television lifeguard

Nicole Eggert jumpstarted her career on the hit 80’s show Charles in Charge (TV) staring Scott Baio before owning the sandy beaches of Baywatch (TV).  The red bathing suit fit perfectly and in 1992, Baywatch fans embraced the new star on the worldwide television sensation.  For two years, Nicole Eggert transformed into Summer Quinn, the Northeastern beauty that moved from cold Pittsburg to sunny California.

Nicole went on to guest star in a slew of television shows, movies, and along the way became a proud mother.  The young mother and former Baywatch babe always enjoyed working out and staying in shape, however at the death of her father, she turned to food for comfort.  During the difficult grieving time, Eggert put on weight and the tabloids started attacking.

Instead of ignoring the nasty press, Eggert did something so commendable the media world stopped and took notice.  Teaming up with Funny or Die, the beautiful Nicole Eggert slapped on her old red Baywatch bikini and sent out a message, “real women gain weight!”  Kudos to Nicole!