While dieters may be attracted to diet plans promoted by celebrities, they should be careful of taking the word of individuals who probably have no nutritional or medical training and who are likely to be just good salespeople. Consumers are advised to question celebrity-inspired diet books, say Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin, authors of Get Skinny the Smart Way. These books may be based on nutritional fictions, and while the diets described in such books may provide weight loss in the short term, they may be unhealthy when followed for any significant length of time. Dieters should choose to follow plans established by nutritional experts.

Diet fads aren't limited to programs sponsored by celebrities. The so-called grapefruit diet, which requires eating a grapefruit before each meal, has been a popular fad diet for some time. Other fad diets include the cabbage soup diet in which unlimited amounts of cabbage soup may be consumed, or the raw egg diet in which dieters eat all the raw eggs they can handle. Fad diets may recommend eating only raw foods or fasting every other day. These diets are based on misinformation and may even be dangerous. The cabbage soup diet, for example, has not been endorsed by any major health organization, and it could actually cause harm. The diet claims to provide losses as high as 15 pounds per week, but does not mention that most of this is water. The American Heart Association notes that this diet can be dangerous, and once dieters eat normally again, they will regain their lost weight. Side-effects associated with this diet include weakness, pains in the stomach, and diarrhea.

Another fad diet approach is food combining. The rationale behind this diet states that people are overweight because they do not consume the appropriate combination of foods. The diet may require its followers to do arbitrary things, like eat a banana only in the morning. This is nonsense, since the stomach can handle a variety of foods at one time. The diet does promote eating low-calorie foods, but there are better methods available that will accomplish the same thing.

Some weight-loss companies claim that weight can be lost by dreaming. By using their product before bed, dieters will lose weight. This claim is totally incredible. It is impossible to lose any significant number of calories while sleeping. Other questionable diets promote the loss of weight through eating special candy bars or milkshakes. These products generally consist of milk and candy to which vitamins and minerals have been added. They rarely satisfy the appetite and may actually encourage dieters to eat more throughout the day.

The truth is that there is a lot of money to be made in the marketing and sale of diet products. As long as there are overweight people, companies will try to profit from them. Dieters must become wise enough to recognize a fad diet for what it is. There are no short cuts to weight loss. A successful program requires commitment, patience, and determination, as well as a willingness to alter eating patterns.