so what mades a diet a "fad" diet

[katinthehat]

just choosing diet here as an example.  or we could say "fad" sport/workout.

Was WW a fad when it came out?  Is it no longer a fad because it's been around for 40+ years?

[wambam]

To me, it's like porn - I know it when I see it.

But if eating whole foods, including butter, is a fad - then it's the most awesome fad diet ever.

[pixy0stix]

I think there are a couple of things that make a diet a fad diet:

1. The ability to sustain the diet long term.

2. Promises of quick weight loss without exercise.

3. Severely restricting elements.

I would say that WW doesn't fall into those categories as the premise is to teach people what they can eat without severely restricting their diet. It's more portion control and learning what you're eating.

If you look at Nutrisystem, that is a fad. You can only eat their foods, and once you're off those foods the weight will creep back on again.

[robin]

Anything claiming to be a quick fix.

[gummybear]

For me a fad diet is something that usually starts with good intentions, but picks up steam amongst the masses and somehow becomes skewed as it gets bigger and bigger and more popular and more popular until it blows up and is basically ruined. I think back to things like Atkins and SB and how at their roots, there was science and medical evidence to back them up. Somewhere along the way, they got overcommercialized and the basics got messed up. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon without really knowing what they were doing.

I think about The Diet That Shall Not Be Named and I am putting that in the fad category myself because I feel like the message of the original program is getting lost. I've read books on it and like SB etc. it makes sense. But then I go to Pinterest and see 4,000 recipes for Paleo pancakes and Paleo bread and Paleo cake and Paleo muffins and subbing this and that etc. and I feel like the basic fundamentals of the diet are being lost. It's being ruined by misinformation and people who want a quick fix, who want to literally have their cake and eat it too.

As for WW, I feel like it has some faddish components. I had (temporary) success with it before they changed it for the free veggies. I feel the way they hawk all that chemical-laden, fat free WW branded food goes against everything they declare they stand for - clean eating, healthy choices and portion control. People like Hungry Girl etc. who basically teach people to sub out real ingredients for fake chemicals just so you can eat MORE instead of a sensible portion, yeah, that is faddish. Why not learn to eat one small slice of regular cake rather than half a box cake made with Diet Coke topped with ff/sf Cool Whip?

[wambam]

Apr 30, 2013 13:30:33 GMT -5 gummybear said:

I think about The Diet That Shall Not Be Named and I am putting that in the fad category myself because I feel like the message of the original program is getting lost. I've read books on it and like SB etc. it makes sense. But then I go to Pinterest and see 4,000 recipes for Paleo pancakes and Paleo bread and Paleo cake and Paleo muffins and subbing this and that etc. and I feel like the basic fundamentals of the diet are being lost. It's being ruined by misinformation and people who want a quick fix, who want to literally have their cake and eat it too.

Totally get this. When people use paleo as an excuse to eat cake/muffins/etc, the meaning has been lost. When you explain it to someone as "I eat meat, fish, lots of vegetables, fruit, and nuts" people seem to think that's reasonable. If you say "I eat like a caveman" they tend to think it's a fad diet not worthy of any further thought.

[Wines Not Whines]

I agree with pixy. The main thing I think of with "fad" anything is the ability to do it long-term and how it affects your health long-term. If it's a quick fix, it's probably a fad diet. If it's a lifestyle change, then less likely to be a fad. I also agree with pp who said people bastardize perfectly good diet/lifestyle plans until they become faddish.

[pixy0stix]

Apr 30, 2013 14:31:48 GMT -5 mr+ms said:

Today, everyone seems to get their panties in a wad over Paleo. Similar to low carb, the idea of using evolutionary biology and ancestral life ways as a foundation for our understanding of human health has a much longer history than the interwebz. 

Except that most of the assumption on which Paleo is based are false. Several evolutionary biologists have refuted the Paleo claims, but keep getting drowned out by all the blogs that have a vested interest in keeping it going. Paleofantasy is just the latest book tackling the false assumptions.

I really don't have a problem with the paleo diet itself, just the propaganda tied to it.

[wambam]

I think if paleo didn't have the name paleo, we wouldn't even be debating whether it was a fad or not.

[pixy0stix]

Apr 30, 2013 15:33:44 GMT -5 wambam said:

I think if paleo didn't have the name paleo, we wouldn't even be debating whether it was a fad or not.

As I said before, it's not the name nor the diet. It's the underlying assumptions that it's based on. If it didn't have that as "proof" then yes, I don't think there would be such an issue.

Or the bastardization of the diet that people are doing which is all fat, all meat, all the time. Y'know, basically the typical American diet.

[gummybear]

Apr 30, 2013 15:33:44 GMT -5 wambam said:

I think if paleo didn't have the name paleo, we wouldn't even be debating whether it was a fad or not.

As I mentioned before, it's been made into a big joke by idiots who are willing to jump on the next big thing and twist it until it barely resembles what it what meant to be. It doesn't matter what it's called. Type in "paleo" on Pinterest. Just on the first page, I have recipes for cookies, muffins, waffles, pizza, Nutella popsicles, scones, pasta (and NOT the kind made from squash), toffee, cupcakes, Oreos, cinnamon rolls, and marshmallows. And I haven't even scrolled halfway down.

I simply cannot take this seriously. If someone is a proponent of a low sugar, grain free, clean way of eating, yes. But it's getting ridiculous. 

[wambam]

Apr 30, 2013 15:45:57 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Apr 30, 2013 15:33:44 GMT -5 wambam said:

I think if paleo didn't have the name paleo, we wouldn't even be debating whether it was a fad or not.

As I mentioned before, it's been made into a big joke by idiots who are willing to jump on the next big thing and twist it until it barely resembles what it what meant to be. It doesn't matter what it's called. Type in "paleo" on Pinterest. Just on the first page, I have recipes for cookies, muffins, waffles, pizza, Nutella popsicles, scones, pasta (and NOT the kind made from squash), toffee, cupcakes, Oreos, cinnamon rolls, and marshmallows. And I haven't even scrolled halfway down.

I simply cannot take this seriously. If someone is a proponent of a low sugar, grain free, clean way of eating, yes. But it's getting ridiculous. 

Totally agree with you. 

[IIOY]

Apr 30, 2013 15:45:57 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Apr 30, 2013 15:33:44 GMT -5 wambam said:

I think if paleo didn't have the name paleo, we wouldn't even be debating whether it was a fad or not.

As I mentioned before, it's been made into a big joke by idiots who are willing to jump on the next big thing and twist it until it barely resembles what it what meant to be. It doesn't matter what it's called. Type in "paleo" on Pinterest. Just on the first page, I have recipes for cookies, muffins, waffles, pizza, Nutella popsicles, scones, pasta (and NOT the kind made from squash), toffee, cupcakes, Oreos, cinnamon rolls, and marshmallows. And I haven't even scrolled halfway down.

I simply cannot take this seriously. If someone is a proponent of a low sugar, grain free, clean way of eating, yes. But it's getting ridiculous. 

This is exactly what happened to Atkins.  If you actually read his book (not the new one that was revamped after he passed away, but HIS book), it is full of solid nutritional advice that almost everyone agrees is good, including focusing on veggies and avoiding all processed foods, including processed meats.  The problem is that it gained in popularity and suddenly got warped into the bacon cheeseburger and fake dessert diet.  When someone uses the term "Atkins" derogatorily, it makes me want to scream because it tells me they don't actually understand what it is.

[wambam]

May 1, 2013 8:59:49 GMT -5 mr+ms said:

Apr 30, 2013 15:24:56 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Except that most of the assumption on which Paleo is based are false. Several evolutionary biologists have refuted the Paleo claims, but keep getting drowned out by all the blogs that have a vested interest in keeping it going. Paleofantasy is just the latest book tackling the false assumptions.

I really don't have a problem with the paleo diet itself, just the propaganda tied to it.

"most of the assumptions" such as...? That is quite a sweeping statement. I don't think that you can put together much of an argument that says many of our health problems aren't tied to modern environments that little resemble the ones we evolved in: the ways in which we move, how much sun and sleep we get, exposure to blue light at inappropriate times, exposure to novel man-made chemicals, food processing which doesn't enhance the foods' nutritional profile but removes and degrades nutrients instead, etc. 

The latest debunking I watched seemed like more of an endorsement for a paleo-like diet by the end. (http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Debunking-the-Paleo-Diet-Christ) It looks like she spent about 10 minutes googling paleo diet and ran with that. Perhaps that's part of the problem. Unfortunately, people who haven't really dug around see it as a diet of steaks, bacon and almond flour muffins.

Robb Wolf did a response to this TED talk on his podcast a week or two ago and it was really interesting. If you haven't checked it out, I recommend it.