This is a guest post by Nancy Parker.
While health and fitness trends are ever-changing one thing always stays the same: there are always new diet trends entering the market that fluctuate throughout each year. Some of these trends are based off of healthy recommendations and others are fad diets that try to reel you in with “lose the weight in one month!” gimmicks, however each offers their own unique approach to what they claim is a healthy lifestyle. Here are five popular diet trends that made their rounds during 2012:
Paleo – The Paleo diet really took flight at the same time that the workout phenomenon known as Crossfit did, and Crossfitters have become huge advocates of following the Paleo diet. Also known as the “caveman” diet, Paleo focuses on eating the same foods that our ancestors ate that can be found in nature, such as fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, and eliminates processed foods such as dairy products, grains, processed foods and sugars, alcohol, starches, and legumes.
Gluten-free – There’s a lot of buzz right now about going “gluten-free”, which was originally intended to treat people suffering from wheat allergies and intolerances or Celiac disease. It has since become a way of life for people that don’t suffer from any gluten allergies as well. Gluten-free diets eliminate grains such as wheat, rye, and barley, which can be hard on the intestines of those suffering from gluten intolerances. It focuses more on eating whole foods such as eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits, dairy, and meats that are prepared without any breading. Since it’s become such a popular diet more and more companies are providing processed foods that are gluten-free as well, hoping to capitalize on this ever-increasing trend.
The blood type diet – Another popular diet trend is eating for your blood type, with the thought being that each blood type requires different nutrients to help your body perform at its highest capacity. It also follows the idea that the way you exercise should also take your blood type into account, and that certain exercise methods that may be good for one person aren’t acceptable for those who have a different blood type. There isn’t, however, a whole lot of solid evidence to back up the claims substantiated by this type of diet.
hCG diet – The hCG diet is another big buzzword in the diet world right now, and stands for “Human Chorionic Gonadotropin”, which is a hormone that is produced during pregnancy by the placenta. The diet focuses on taking an hCG injection or placing drops of an hCG serum under the tongue while only consuming 500 calories each day. By maintaining this type of lifestyle for 45 days you will “reset” your metabolism, curb cravings, and lose a significant amount of weight. The FDA and Federal Trade Commission, however, have issued several warnings around following this type of diet, reiterating that is has not been approved.
Commercial Weight Loss Programs – Commercial weight loss programs will likely always be popular, and are the types of diet programs that you see celebrities touting on TV. Many focus on meal plans delivered to your door, diet pills to help suppress hunger, or using a point system to track your food intake. Some commercial weight loss programs have seen wild success while others are only around for a few months at a time, usually depending on if they offer true weight loss solutions or if they are just quick-fixes that don’t actually work.
Each of these diets focuses on a different aspect of weight loss, and some give their followers real, healthy solutions while others can end up being quite dangerous to those who use them. If you’re trying to lose weight by changing your eating habits, follow one tried and true rule: fuel your body with healthy foods that are as close to their natural form as possible and eat in moderation. It may not be a fad diet, but it’s one that you can sustain for a lifetime.
Like This Post? Give me the thumbs up 
