Maybe we knew it all along that our diet was destined to failure because of its sheer ridiculousness: The Subway Diet, the Cookie Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet. But in a recently published article, 25 of the most popular diets are analyzed for their nutritional content, staying-power and promised results to show just how far we diet-obsessed Americans will go to lose a few pounds. For many of us, I’m sure we can check a few or even more of these 25 diets as “Yep, I’ve tried that one. And that one too.” For some, maybe they worked, even if just temporarily.
Some clearly require the will-power of a military general (the Master Cleanser) and some promise a cancer-free life (the Macrobiotic Diet). But all of them have one thing in common: They all strive to be the one end-all-be-all way for you to lose weight. Maybe I could eat three Subway sandwiches every day for the next 6 weeks to lose weight, but once that 6 weeks is up, what do I eat? More sandwiches?
Interestingly enough, the one diet that research shows to have long-lasting success stories is Weight Watchers, because it lays out a way of eating for life and it forces you to look at some of the underlying issues in your own personal life that may be thwarting your health goals.
Check out the 25 Diets article and tell us what you think. If you have tried one of these diets, let us know what your experience was with it.