Disclaimer: I am not certified or qualified to be talking about this. Anything stated is my personal opinions and beliefs. Continue this with caution.
Cleanses. Keto. Intermittent fasting. Certain calories. No carbs. No sugar.
My problem with these diets, and many others, is that they are not good for you physically or mentally. If you break the diet or give yourself a cheat day, you feel guilt. This could lead to you eating less or just even feeling worse about your body
Most of these diets take away essential nutrients your body needs to survive and function properly. Once you stop a diet, your body has to figure out how to function again without the diet. Doctors have found that with cleanses, you are restricting your calories heavily. You may lose weight fast, but you will put it back on even faster. You can also do irreversible damage.
The Keto diet is a process that replaces carbs with fat. High fat intake is needed and low carb intake is needed for this diet to work. The physical problems with this diet include low blood pressure, kidney stones, increase risk of heart disease and nutrient deficiency. On another note, it also causes bad breath.
The No-Carb diet can make you have low energy because it changes your metabolism. This also makes your mental health poorer and causes your sleep to be disrupted. This diet can also make you lack certain nutrients you need such as potassium and vitamin B.
The No-Sugar diet is different depending on the person. Some cut out artificial sugars, which are found in fruits, and some do not. I do not see a huge problem with cutting down your sugar intake, but I do not believe it should be done cold turkey. I believe that natural sugars should stay in the diet because this makes fruits and vegetables still an option for meals and snacks. This is one diet that is not terrible for you but should be done gradually.
When you start a diet, your body has to adjust to it. Although intermittent fasting may not be a diet, it is still a way to affect your eating pattern. Intermittent fasting is set eating patterns, they can be daily or even weekly. It may not have any negative physical effects yet found, but it is found to make you more stressed. This is because you are so worried about eating at the right time and not cheating on it. There are different patterns that can be down in case the first one you choose is not the right fit. This process can work for people as long as it does not increase their anxiety or stress levels drastically.
My least favorite diet is calorie-based diets. These diets restrict the number of calories people can eat throughout the day. The problem with this is, once you eat all the calories you are allowed, you can not eat more. This can be problematic not only physically, but mentally. There’s more stress put on you because you have to plan out your calories and meals so you do not use all the calories allowed in one meal. Also, you could be making yourself sick if you start consuming too little. I personally do not like these diets because along with this, you need to exercise more than you eat. You can not solely rely on eating less.
Also, people like seeing fast results. Most of these diets take a while to show results. But, if they show fast results, they are probably not the best for you. Also in some cases, long term use can be bad for your body. For example, the juice cleanse should not be used for long term purposes. This is because of how drastically they impact your metabolism and calorie intake as well.
The reason I am vocal about this is because I had a minor incident with counting my calories and intake. A couple of summers ago, I was having body issues. I was playing soccer and being active, but I was still not happy. One memory from this time that has stuck with me is one day I was eating a snack. It was Goldfish and I remember my mom seeing me count out individual Goldfish. I limited myself to the serving size and only one serving size. I was trying to lose weight and I thought limiting myself would help. But guess what? It did not and I was just left hungry. Luckily I broke this habit fast that it did not leave irreversible habits or damage. This story may sound silly but, some people do not get that lucky. These diets can be a gateway to eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
The only diets that I fully support are those revolving around an allergy, religious or personal beliefs. Being gluten-free can restrain what you can eat, but luckily there are many gluten-free alternatives. For a religious example: Ramadan. Muslims fast between the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 p.m, this includes drinking water as well. A personal belief would be being a vegetarian. It is against your belief to eat meat. These are valid to me.
Again, please note these are my personal beliefs and not everyone will feel the same.