Weight-reduction plan developments have come and gone through the years. Some have been quirky, others had harmful restrictions.
Who hasn’t heard of a celebrity-backed liquid cleanse or the promise of fast weight reduction after adhering to unusual meals mixtures?
However which of those fads truly labored, and which do vitamin consultants in 2025 firmly discredit?
To assist kickstart your New Yr’s well being objectives, MyFitnessPal dietitians took a deep dive into the evolving historical past of fad diets to see if any had benefit.
In addition they supplied evidence-based suggestions for constructing a sustainable, wholesome way of life, targeted on vitamin for actual life.
Right here’s a decade-by-decade breakdown of essentially the most iconic eating regimen fads over the previous 100 years and their affect on well being, based on consultants.
Twenties–Nineteen Thirties: The Grapefruit Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
Also called the “Hollywood Weight-reduction plan,” this in style method concerned consuming half a grapefruit earlier than each meal. The declare? Grapefruit contained enzymes that would “burn fats,” turning the fruit right into a shortcut for weight reduction.
Dietitian Verdict
“Including fruit to your eating regimen can truly be an effective way to assist with weight reduction! It provides fiber that can assist you really feel full. It’s usually low in energy however excessive in quantity,” says Stephanie Nelson, MyFitnessPal’s Senior Lead Vitamin Scientist (1).
However she emphasizes that grapefruit doesn’t burn fats.
Including grapefruit to meals “with out making some other adjustments to your eating regimen received’t truly lead to weight reduction,” says Nelson.
Melissa Jaeger, RD, LD, Head of Vitamin at MyFitnessPal, agrees. She notes that grapefruit has a wide range of nutritional vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C, which helps our immune techniques (2).
“However there merely isn’t any scientific proof to help fat-burning claims about grapefruit,” she concludes.
Jaeger additionally notes that some variations of this eating regimen restricted every day energy to 800. That isn’t sufficient to fulfill every day power wants (3).
She additionally warned that grapefruit and its juice work together with some drugs (4). So, this eating regimen could also be dangerous for some folks. At all times speak to your physician about meals you could have to keep away from if you happen to take drugs.
Professional Takeaway
Get pleasure from grapefruit as a part of a balanced eating regimen, however overlook the fat-burning claims. Wholesome, sustainable weight reduction requires an affordable calorie deficit and a deal with nutrient-rich meals (5).
Nineteen Forties–Nineteen Fifties: The Grasp Cleanse
The Pattern
Trending within the Nineteen Forties and in style once more within the early 2000s, The Grasp Cleanse, also referred to as the Lemonade Weight-reduction plan, concerned a largely liquid eating regimen routine.
Throughout the primary cleanse section, dieters drank a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water for a number of days. They aimed to “detox” and shed weight.
In addition they drank a cup of laxative tea within the night to encourage bowel actions.
Dietitian Verdict
“Juice cleanses trigger weight reduction as a result of individuals who do that primarily starve themselves,” says Nelson (6).
Notably, a lot of the load misplaced throughout cleanses is probably going as a result of lack of water and muscle mass quite than precise physique fats (7).
She provides that “individuals who do that method are inclined to achieve the load again after the “cleanse” is over until they alter their eating regimen habits long-term (6).”
Nelson explains that individuals should change their eating regimen to shed weight long-term, so this cleanse is ineffective.
Professional Takeaway
A liquid cleanse isn’t needed, and doing one could decrease your metabolism (8). Your physique already has efficient built-in detox techniques—the liver and kidneys (9, 10)!
Taking laxatives if you don’t want them also can result in problems like dehydration, as you lose fluid in your stools (11).
Total, Nelson advises, “it’s finest to skip this one!”
Sixties: The Sleeping Magnificence Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
Probably the most excessive model of this eating regimen suggested dieters to sedate themselves for as much as 20 hours a day. This was to keep away from consuming solely throughout these hours.
Dietitian Verdict
This can be a very harmful eating regimen pattern, cautions Emily Sullivan, RD, Meals Knowledge curator at MyFitnessPal.
Amongst critical well being problems, she warns that this eating regimen may result in malnutrition from not consuming sufficient, together with danger of dependancy to sleeping tablets (12, 13).
As a substitute, Sullivan advises getting the correct quantity of sleep, which is essential for weight administration and total well being.
She means that 7-9 hours of sleep per day is right, and in reality, some analysis exhibits that sleeping lower than 6 hours per night time can result in weight achieve (14).
Then again, she notes that oversleeping, similar to 9-10 hours nightly, has additionally been linked to weight achieve when in comparison with sleeping 7-8 hours (15).
Professional Takeaway
Prioritize high quality sleep, however stick with the beneficial every day vary. Over-sleeping or utilizing sedatives to keep away from consuming has no place in a wholesome way of life. When you’ve got disordered consuming or hassle sleeping, attain out to a physician or psychological well being skilled for help.
Nineteen Seventies: The Egg & Wine Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
This three-day eating regimen concerned consuming eggs, black espresso, and wine for breakfast and lunch. Then, steak and wine for dinner.
The concept was to cut back calorie consumption drastically however make weight-reduction plan extra “tolerable” by together with alcohol.
Dietitian Verdict
Jaeger says, “this eating regimen is low in nutrient-dense energy with a excessive focus of energy from alcohol — not the makings of a secure, balanced, nutrient-rich eating regimen.”
She notes that it lacks fruits, greens, entire grains, and wholesome fat. So following this eating regimen for a very long time could danger dietary deficiencies resulting from its excessive restrictions (16).
Additionally, the eating regimen’s reliance on alcohol raises well being issues, from dehydration to impaired judgment (17, 18).
Alcohol has empty energy and promotes irritation (19, 20). This negatively impacts well being and weight objectives.
Total, Jaeger says that “fast fixes” and really restrictive diets don’t result in secure, efficient weight reduction or wholesome habits.
Professional Takeaway
This eating regimen displays the worst of quick-fix fads. It’s restrictive, promotes dangerous ingesting behaviors, and does nothing for long-term well being or sustainability.
Eighties: The Cabbage Soup Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
This week-long eating regimen allowed limitless cabbage soup. It paired the soup with modest parts of particular meals, like skim milk or fruit, on sure days. Like many fad diets, it promised fast weight reduction.
Dietitian Verdict
“Whereas recipes discovered on-line for making selfmade cabbage soup for this eating regimen comprise a wide range of greens, this singular recipe doesn’t make for a balanced eating regimen,” says Jaeger.
This eating regimen is extraordinarily low in energy and lacks protein, fats, and different very important vitamins. Any fast weight reduction is probably going largely water and lean muscle, not fats, and isn’t a long-term resolution (7).
Jaeger additionally emphasizes that this eating regimen doesn’t have scientific proof to help its weight reduction claims or to overview its security.
She advises us to construct sustainable diets, avoiding fads that declare to assist us quickly meet our objectives.
Professional Takeaway
Goal for selection in your eating regimen quite than specializing in one meals or sort of meal. Addressing whole consuming patterns makes sustainable weight reduction extra profitable.
Nineties: The Blood Kind Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
This eating regimen claimed an individual’s blood sort (A, B, AB, or O) dictated which meals have been healthiest for them.
For instance, sort O people have been suggested to eat a high-protein, meat-heavy eating regimen, limiting vegetarian proteins (21). In distinction, sort A people have been inspired to keep away from meat and as a substitute select extra seafood and vegetarian protein sources (21).
Dietitian Verdict
“The idea behind these diets is that a person’s blood sort is theorized to be their ancestral blood group,” says Brookell White, MS, RD, a Meals Knowledge Curator at MyFitnessPal.
Although the thought of this eating regimen appealed to many, there’s a lack of analysis to help its claims.
One research of this consuming fashion discovered potential advantages for physique weight and a few well being markers, like blood stress and ldl cholesterol (22).
However White factors out that the well being advantages in followers have been seemingly resulting from higher consuming habits (extra vegetarian meals) quite than blood sort (22).
“This appears to be the consensus for many research which were achieved,” she says (23, 22).
Professional Takeaway
There’s no want to find out your blood sort to eat healthfully. Deal with evidence-based dietary patterns with loads of selection, such because the Mediterranean eating regimen.
2000s: The Uncooked Meals Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
One of many extra lasting developments, the Uncooked Meals Weight-reduction plan, promotes consuming raw, unprocessed meals to retain pure vitamins and enzymes. Often, folks following a uncooked meals eating regimen solely eat vegan, plant-based meals.
Dietitian Verdict
Daisy Mercer, RD, a Meals Knowledge Curator at MyFitnessPal says consuming uncooked meals like fruit and veggies can have advantages. These meals present essential vitamins like fiber, antioxidants, nutritional vitamins, and minerals (24).
Mercer additionally says that consuming uncooked usually means consuming much less processed meals. It can usually present us with extra fiber, and our our bodies will work tougher to digest them. That can result in higher satiety and fewer need to overeat.
Consuming a uncooked meals eating regimen may additionally assist scale back consumption of sodium and saturated fat, she notes.
Moreover, uncooked plant-based meals could comprise extra nutritional vitamins and minerals (25). Some vitamins might be misplaced in cooking, Mercer factors out (25).
For instance, sure cooking strategies, like boiling, can significantly scale back the water-soluble vitamin content material, like vitamin C, in fruit and veggies (26). It could be finest to cook dinner high-vitamin C meals extra rapidly, with much less warmth and water, similar to by steaming (26).
However analysis means that a mixture of uncooked and cooked meals within the eating regimen could also be finest for our well being (25).
A uncooked vegan eating regimen, with over 90% uncooked meals, won’t be secure long-term (25). It could trigger micronutrient deficiencies and different well being points (25).
Mercer cautioned {that a} uncooked meals eating regimen also can turn out to be harmful when uncooked or undercooked meats are concerned, posing a danger of foodborne sickness (27).
Professional Takeaway
Consuming extra fruit and veggies is an effective way to help your well being. As a substitute of worrying about whether or not they’re cooked or uncooked, deal with consuming a wide range of plant-based meals as a part of a balanced eating regimen.
2010s: Juice Cleanses
The Pattern
Juice cleanses are if you eat nothing however juice from fruit and veggies for a time period, usually from sooner or later to 1 week. It turned stylish as a “detox” technique, with supporters claiming it “resets” the physique.
Dietitian Verdict
Like all liquid fad eating regimen, juice cleanses could cause fast weight reduction (28).
“That is largely resulting from not consuming sufficient energy,” Mercer factors out, quite than any particular impact of the juice cleanse on weight reduction (28).
And, as soon as once more, if you happen to don’t make wholesome, sustainable adjustments to your eating regimen, you’ll seemingly achieve the load proper again (28).
Mercer notes that ingesting unsweetened, 100% fruit and vegetable juices carefully can increase your vitamin and mineral consumption (29).
Simply take into account that juice lacks fiber. This results in fast absorption of pure sugars, which might act like refined sugar and trigger short-term blood sugar spikes (30).
Moreover, we frequently eat extra juice than we might entire meals, leading to further energy (31).
Juices with decrease pure sugars and energy, like celery or cucumber juice, could also be higher for managing physique weight.
Professional Takeaway
Unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices might be a part of a balanced eating regimen in small quantities. Simply don’t depend on them for vitamin or pointless “cleaning” of the physique. For wholesome weight reduction, select entire fruits and veggies most frequently, and use juice splashes to taste your water!
2020s: The Carnivore Weight-reduction plan
The Pattern
This eating regimen promotes consuming like some early ancestors who solely consumed animal merchandise, together with meat, eggs, and a few dairy. It goals for weight reduction and claims to have anti-inflammatory results.
Dietitian Verdict
Proponents of this eating regimen declare it improves illnesses and aids in weight reduction, says White.
However, she provides, “there isn’t any proof that means that is true. In reality, proof appears to counsel {that a} diversified eating regimen is finest most often (32).”
She warns that the Carnivore Weight-reduction plan lacks fiber and key nutritional vitamins, particularly C and E.
These vitamins are discovered nearly solely in crops (33, 34). They’re essential for the whole lot from intestine well being to immunity and most cancers prevention, she says (35, 36, 37).
Plus, White says that “animal merchandise are excessive in saturated fats, which can improve your danger of coronary heart illness (38).”
“Pink and processed meats are one other concern,” she says, noting that the Worldwide Company for Analysis on Most cancers considers processed meats carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and purple meats ‘most likely carcinogenic’ (39).”
Professional Takeaway
Whereas the carnivore eating regimen could result in weight reduction, it’s restrictive and lacks important vitamins and scientific help. For the very best long-term well being and weight outcomes, keep on with a balanced eating regimen wealthy in plant-based meals.
Learn how to Strategy “Fad Diets” of the Future (Spoiler: Don’t)
Trying again at 100 years of weight-reduction plan fads, one factor is obvious—essentially the most sustainable weight reduction methods don’t minimize corners or depend on “miracle” options.
Moderately, they promote nutrient-rich, balanced consuming mixed with train and different wholesome habits.
“We encourage striving for progress, not the idea of perfection,” says Jaeger.
So, she advises, as a substitute of making an attempt the most recent fad or revisiting an previous pattern, attempt:
Monitoring your meals
Constructing consciousness of your vitamin habits
Know the place you stand together with your well being
And Jaeger concludes, “most significantly, don’t let any eating regimen get in the way in which of actual life.”
“You may select to get pleasure from a facet of fries when eating out with buddies or have a slice of cake at a celebration, and skip the meals guilt,” she says.
Research present that individuals who monitor their meals usually tend to obtain their weight objectives.
MyFitnessPal empowers you with vitamin information that that you must succeed.
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