The Best and the Worst Fad Diets of the Decade

When I was a teenager, I thought l was fat like many teen girls. It was the 70s and Twiggy was still the rage. For those who don't remember Twiggy she was probably the skinniest girl in my generation. We all wanted to be like her. Thin was so "in" we wanted to look like a coat hanger with the mini dress hanging on us. Every decade since I was 14 I've tried at least one or two fad diets to emulate that chic, starving European look.

I'd see a Ruben's painting at a museum and wished I had lived in the days were women's belly rolls and "back fat" and dimply butts were objects of affection. But I live in a world where just about every third person is overweight and still have dreams of becoming a coat hanger, rather than a Ruben's because we are programmed to reach for thinness.

Every year we tip the scales yet a bit more, and as the weight piles on, our creative imagination goes into overdrive and we come up with a new magic potion, the lastest and greatest fad diet.

American Dietetic Association put together a detailed time line of fad diets. Fads to losing weight have been around since the 1800s when Lord Byron swore that vinegar and water was the secret to permanent weight loss.

The Cigarette diet of 1925 may worked for those who chose to smoke instead of eat candy, mainly because one was so coughing so much after chain smoking Lucky strikes there was no time to eat.

The only real memory of the popular Scarsdale Diet back in the 80s was when Dr. Scarsdale was murdered by his ex lover Jean Harris. (No she didn't kill him because the diet didn't work, it was more because he was unfaithful.) I was on this diet for a week. I lost three pounds and had broke down after the third day to eat some bread. Bread is the food of life folks, and you know that if you've been on the Atkins or Scarsdale diet.

The Dolly Pardon diet or Cabbage soup diet of the 1990 was so popular the female teenage population fainted everyday from the lack of protein. I was on that diet for seven days. I lost 12 pounds and gained it right back with a double cheeseburger, fries and shake I ate on the eighth day.

No matter how many diets I've been on throughout the decades, I, along with many of my fellow Americans, have managed to gain 10 pounds per decade. But we are brave, no matter, how much weight we gain are always willing to fight it with the latest and greatest magic potion, or silver bullet to lose weight.

The following diets are 10 that I've either tried and someone I've known has tried and we can look at ourselves now and see nothing has changed, we still look like Ruben paintings, back fat and all.

1. The Lemonade Diet was first mentioned to me by a lady at the barber shop who swore by it. This diet consists of a person drinking a lemonade concoction for 10 days. It is guaranteed to help you lose at least 10-15 pounds. The lady at the shop had lost 20 pounds and looked great. One week later she was back to her old weight and eating a Subway with a bag of chips. One can only fast so much.

2. The Maple Syrup Diet may work because it worked for Beyonce. She lost 20 pounds in 10 days while doing Dream Girls. This is another "cleansing" diet like the lemonade one, but you have to pour a cup of maple syrup into the lemonade concoction. I don't know anyone personally who as tried this, but the only way I could think of having any maple syrup is with pancakes.

3. The Coconut Diet. I love coconuts and when I read that the way to combat the fat is to replace it with "good fat" I thought, what the heck? All you had to do was take a couple of coconut oil pills before every meal and your sweet-tooth would go away and you'd be WAY full before the meal was over. The only problem with that one is that you had to follow a 'sensible" diet. I couldn't stick to this because I couldn't stick to the "sensible diet" part. The whole idea of the fad diet is the magic bullet remember?

4. The Mediterranean diet. What do the French, Italians, Greeks and Spaniards have in common? They don't drop dead of heart disease like Americans do. So early on in the decade this diet became popular because it focused on the healthy and great foods and fats that you could have rather than focusing on what you can't have. The idea makes a lot of sense, you eat less meat more vegetables and legumes, grains, perfect and you have portion control! But this is America and it's hard to pass by the 2 for 1 Quarter Pounder sale on the way to Wal-mart. Let's face it, we try these foreign diets, but they can only last so long on the way to a bucket of fried chicken.

5. The Chicken Soup diet. It's good for the cold, it's good for the waistline, it's good for the soul, and some folks think it's the cure for cancer. The idea is to eat bread and dairy in the morning for breakfast, and all the chicken soup you can eat for the rest of the day. All you can eat is a good thing, but one can only eat so much chicken soup. Sooner or later dreams of a rib eye steak and baked potato with trimmings soon come drifting into your mind and one falls into temptation.

6. Acai berry diet. This may be the worst fad diet I'd ever been on! The ad said Oprah endorsed the product, so like a lot of middle-aged American women I fell for the pitch. Hey dude if Oprah said it, it must be so! Some Acai berry diets in pill form may work but I have my doubts. I got scammed with promises of a thinner me in less than three months if I take Acai powder in my water. I was charged $68 for a month's supply of the powdered stuff to put in my drink. I poured it into my water bottle. I proceeded to drink the concoction as quickly as possible, but it didn't matter. The brew was the worst tasting filth I'd ever put in my mouth. Thankfully I bought this miracle diet through PayPal and I got my money back.

7. Medifast is a program like Nutrisystem. They send you something they call food and you eat it instead of real food. It costs a fortune and to be honest I haven't tried it. But a friend of mine did, she tired both Nutrisystem and Medifast. She lost 30 pounds! But you have to get past the need for real food and past the bad breath. She said it works if you stick to it. Which is how most diets work.

8. French women don't get fat. I saw the author, Mireille Guiliano on the Today Show a few years ago and her advice reminded me of my grandmother's. If you want to lose weight, eat less and move more. The premise of this diet is not to be on a diet, but to eat to live life more fully. Her philosophy is that you eat what you want, but balance it out. For example if you eat a chocolate donut for breakfast, eat vegetables for lunch, cut back but don't deprive yourself, walk a little extra if you over indulge. I like this diet because it's not really a diet it's a lifestyle change, so I can lose weight and have my chocolate too!

9. The Chocolate Diet: Anyone who loves chocolate has got to love this diet. At least I thought I'd love it when I heard about it. But it's not what you think. This diet is based on 1000 to 1200 calories a day and works to BREAK your addiction to chocolate. I don't think so. I like my chocolate addiction, thank you very much. I didn't lose any weight here. I pretty much read the book and walked away from this one.

10. The belly fat diet. I got interested in checking out this diet when I realized my belly had fallen into my lap while sitting. It was another reminder to lose weight. One would think that belly fat is a few rolls on the abdomen where the "six pack" used to be, but there are all kinds of belly fat out there! The Belly Fat diet explains it all. You could have liver type of belly fat or ovary type of belly fat. This is all based on what kind of belly fat you have. I'll have to let you know how that one worked out. I'm pretty sure it's another one of those diets where you have to eat right and work out.

I think the best approach to losing weight is what my grandmother said, "put that donut down, no wonder you are crying about a few pounds, you can't stop eating!" But honestly the best way is to not worry about it, just be conscious of what you eat, work out every day in some form and enjoy life. Be grateful that your body is as healthy as it can be in the present moment. Those thoughts generate more good health. Bon Appétit!

Sources: American Dietetic Association

The Belly Fat diet