Why Fad Diets Don't Work and Why the Sierra Approach Does

This is one in a series of articles based on a new book about the Academy of the Sierras, the first weight-loss boarding school for teens. This book will be published in October 2007.

Most teens that come to the Academy of the Sierras are familiar with fad diets because they have tried and failed at them. Here are a few of their experiences in their own words:

I tried everything. I did Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach all of them. I did Atkins and actually lost 40 pounds. But then I slowly gained it back and then some. (Henry)

I tried Weight Watchers, Atkins (couldn't stay on that very long), the grapefruit diet and I even tried eating only dinner and nothing else. That was the most unhealthy thing I ever tried and I couldn't keep that up for very long. (Allison)

We went to this place that's like Jenny Craig called Healthy Way. It's a really stupid weight loss place where you buy all your food there. It didn't work at all. I also did Nutri System, Weight Watchers and Atkins. I think I did okay on Nutri System, but then I hit a bump in the road. I went off track and then I felt like "screw that." I stopped losing weight and I got frustrated. (Hillary)

The scientists who made up the Sierras Advisory Board designed the Sierras solution using articles and studies printed in peer-reviewed journals. They were interested in finding a plan based on knowledge gained through research under controlled situations so that they could use only what has been proven effective. They wanted a diet that represented the best current knowledge as to how to lose weight and keep it off in the most comfortable way possible. The Sierras nutritionists finally came up with the principle of KISS'S or "Keep it scientific, sustainable, and simple." Diets do not work unless they have all three qualities, which is why fad diets fail.

Fad diets are not scientific. People with degrees and backgrounds in nutrition may design fad diets, but they are not scientific. They do not have a scientific basis because they contradict each other. For example, one cuts out fat. The next one cuts out protein. Another cuts out carbohydrates. The next one makes you arrange the foods on your plate in a certain way. Yet another says eat according to your body type. They are based on unproven, untested theories. They all promise quick and easy results, even though scientists tell us that losing weight is one of the most difficult physical challenges a person can face.

Fad diets are not simple. With approaches such as Jenny Craig or Healthy Way, the dieter has to purchase prepackaged food from a company. No one can eat for a lifetime this way: eventually, you must return to cooking at home and having occasional meals at restaurants. Weight Watchers involves a complicated system of weighing and measuring everything you eat, and then counting every mouthful under a point system. Diets like Atkins and South Beach involve cutting out entire groups of food such as pasta or fruits. This is too difficult to do, especially for teenagers and especially in situations such as restaurants and school cafeterias. For example, it is very hard for a teenager to go to a burger place with his peer group and be the only person who throws away his order of fries and the bun on his sandwich.

Fad diets are not sustainable. Dr. Alan Marlatt of the University of Washington was one of the first psychologists to write about the Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE) that occurs with fad dieting. This effect occurs when the dieter either abandons the entire diet or tells herself she is taking a break from it to avoid feeling bad about herself after she violates the principles of the plan. In other words, if she eats just one bagel on a no-carbohydrate diet, she will give up this weight control plan either temporarily or permanently. If she gives up completely and moves on to the next fad diet, she avoids feeling ashamed and embarrassed for failure on the first one. The other version of the Abstinence Violation Effect occurs when a dieter tells himself that a violation means he is only taking a "break" from the diet. However, because he allows himself "breaks," the diet fails.

The Sierras solution avoids the Abstinence Violation Effect by focusing on daily goals. If a weight controller misses a goal for the day, Sierras instructors teach the person to start fresh the next day and not look back. There are no "violations" because the Sierras approach allows for eating every kind of food with an emphasis on low-fat choices.

The Sierras solution is a healthy simple way of eating designed to work over a lifetime. It is about enjoying the taste, smell, appearance and texture of foods. Instructors at the Academy of the Sierras talk about finding "lovable" foods that "love you back." They say if it's not simple, scientific and sustainable, it's not Sierra and it's not going to work.