A fad means an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something. When it comes to nutrition, fads tend to stick around a lot longer than the usual and a lot of cunning marketeers make a lot of money out of people's ignorance. Let's look at 3 of the most popular nutrition fads right now that most supposed dieticians use to rob people off their money. 

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This dietary fad has picked up steam in the recent times mainly due to a lot of ignorant celebrities endorsing them for a quick buck. These diets usually recommend substituting your meals with juices or some shakes. The resulting sudden huge decrease in caloric intake makes you lose a lot of weight very quickly. Most of this is not fat but water weight. These clever marketeers claim this to be some sort of a cleanse or detox, when in reality your liver does the detox for you, not some fancy herbal drink. Also, when you go back to your normal eating routine after a “detox/cleanse”, you gain all of that lost weight back again.

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The good old macronutrient carbohydrate has taken a lot of battering in the recent times from social media diet gurus. Claims range from stupid to scandalous. Some claim that carbs cause anything and everything from inflammation to cancer. Obesity is almost entirely blamed on carbs too. While in reality, the truth cannot be further. Obesity is on the rise due to socio-economic factors rather than carbs. In this day and age where food is delivered to your door at the click of a button, blaming obesity on carbs is utter stupidity. The reason behind this ever-growing obesity epidemic is actually overeating hyper-palatable calorie-dense mixtures of carbs and fats like chocolates, donuts, ice cream, etc. Carbs being the primary source of energy for your body, has a very important place in your diet and should never be cut out completely, unless there is a medical reason. If you are looking to lose weight, eat in a caloric deficit and you WILL lose weight.

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Now we are moving on from somewhat stupid to absolutely ridiculous. The idea that a drink or recipe can make you lose fat is beyond idiotic. You can only lose weight if you eat less food than what your body needs to maintain its weight. Drinking exotically named drinks won't even come close to helping you lose weight. These are just fads which are pushed by clever marketing Gurus with the help of your favorite social media fitness model.

Conclusion:

If you are looking to lose weight

1. Eat less food than with what you maintain your weight i.e eat in a caloric deficit. 

2. Prioritize protein, eat at least 1.6-1.8 gram protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

3. Start incorporating some sort of resistance training in your schedule, be it weight training, Crossfit or calisthenics.

4. Have patience as you would not lose all the extra fat in a week or two or even a month. Losing fat takes some time, so don't be impatient and start stressing if you do not lose 5 kgs in a month.

5. Be consistent with your diet and training.