Popular Diet Fads of the 2000's

From 2000-2009, Americans became obsessed with the rising "obesity epidemic" and how they could stop it from reaching their doorstep. With so many overweight Americans, it's no wonder that fad diets took off this decade. A quick fit to a lifelong problem? Sign us up!

Unfortunately, fad diets rarely work, since the best method for weight loss is a change in lifestyle (preferably one that involves a balanced diet and regular exercise). If we're unwilling to leave the couch, no amount of grapefruit, lettuce, or beef is going to make us skinny.

In no particular order, here are my top ten favorites for the failed diet fads of the decade.

The Atkins Diet

This diet totes carb-free eating, heavy on the meat, as the key to weight-loss success. Dieters are told to eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates to "trick" the body into burning off more calories. It works (I've seen it work) until an Atkins dieter starts to eat regularly again. Even a balanced diet, including those hateful carbs, can send the scale tipping the other way again. Besides, while you're on the diet, you're missing all the healthy nutrients that come from many of the forbidden vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Slim Fast Diet

So, yes, this one has been around for longer than a decade. I've included it because, for some reason, people are still trying it. Heck, I even tried it once... for three days. The basic premise is that a Slim Fast shake for breakfast and then for lunch, plus a healthy "sensible" dinner, will lead to weight loss results. While this might work initially, since the lowered caloric intake will shock the body into losing some poundage, no one can keep it up that long. There's also not enough vitamins and protein to round out a healthy diet.

The Cookie Diet

Another meal-replacement diet, this could get tedious and expensive. The cookies aren't bad, and now there are appetite-suppressing shakes and soups too. Still, the diet centers opened by the Cookie Diet founder lasted only four years (2002-2006) before failing miserably.

The Grapefruit Diet

This diet promises that eating a half-grapefruit with every (small) meal will help you lose 10 lbs in 12 days. After that, you must take two days off and then start again (if you'd like to). The theory is that the metabolism is boosted by enzymes in the grapefruit and the reduced calorie intake will lead to the loss of excess body fluids (water-retention). Of course, the calorie intake can be so low that you'll end up dizzy... and you'll be protein-starved. I'm not sure how many people could keep this up for 12 days.

The Chicken Soup Diet

Eat breakfast every day, then commence as much chicken soup eating as you want! Of course, you have to make the chicken soup from their specific recipe (sorry, Campbell's fans). And I can imagine that this would get boring after a couple of days.

South Beach Diet

The secret diet of bikini-clad Florida? Sign me up! This diet I tried, so I can honestly say that the premise makes sense. It's similar to Atkins, but allows you to add carbs slowly back into your diet, week by week, until your metabolism is running fast enough to burn them off. If I hadn't ended up with (ahem) digestive issues, I might have continued. The challenge here is remembering what's allowed, what's not, and trying to love the idea of ricotta cheese for dessert.

Six-Week Body Makeover

Based on the premise that everyone needs a different approach to weight loss, this diet involves a body-typing exam and then gives you a special eating plan. I tried this one, losing a whopping 32 lbs in just six weeks. The trouble, as with many fad diets, was keeping it off. The meals were tedious (pineapple and fresh tuna as a snack, chicken and broccoli for lunch and dinner) and eventually, I got bored. It was too difficult to maintain for long-term success.

The Lemonade Diet

It's not really lemonade, first of all. This is an intestinal flush diet that cleans out the body in 10 days. You'll drink a mix of lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper; a "salt water flush"; and an herbal laxative tea. That's all you get. You'll be dizzy, starving, and have diarrhea, but hey, you'll clean out your system!

The Hollywood Diet

For $25 a bottle, you can buy specially packaged "Hollywood" juice and drink it four times a day with some water. That's it - no eating. At a whopping 400 calories a day, it's not surprising that you'll lose weight. But what happens when you try to eat again?

The Three-Day Diet

For three days, follow a very strict diet (as outlined by the diet's creator). Then eat normally for 4-5 days and repeat 3-day cycle. It requires discipline but it will work fast, for those who want to shed a couple of pounds quickly. For long-term weight loss, this isn't feasible. There's no proven metabolic benefit to these foods and the diet spikes and lowers calorie intake too often to lead to permanent weight loss.

The best way to lose weight is always with sensible eating and regular exercising. Shedding weight quickly can be dangerous and is often just fluid-depletion, rather than actual weight loss. Don't fall for these gimmicks and stick to the hard work - that's what will pay off in the end.