You've spent a year exercising regularly and cutting back on ultra-processed foods. Then came the holidays: a time of sedentary lifestyle.
“You're eating outside of your comfort zone and you're probably not working out,” Maddie Pasquariello, a registered dietitian in New York City, told Business Insider. “These things combined cause people to spiral.”
Pasquariello, who follows The 80/20 Diet Rule about eating mostly whole foods and having an occasional treat, said that as long as you've been consistent for the better part of a year, a week or two of pure enjoyment won't derail the long-term progress you've made. But that doesn't make it any easier to avoid bad weight loss advice disguised as ambitious New Year's resolutions.
“My number one piece of advice is to just get off social media,” she said. “I think a big part of the reason why people become overly conscious of their nutrition or go on extreme diets is because they follow all these different health influencers and wellness creators, and there's a lot of noise.”
Pasquariello shared some of the most common diet trends she sees online every year that she tries to avoid.
Intermittent fasting for fast weight loss
Intermittent fasting encourages skipping meals or limiting the amount you eat. Kseniya Ovchinnikova/Getty Images
Intermittent fasting is trendy year round among celebrities and tech CEOs. Whether it's fasting for 12 hours a day or eating within an eight-hour window, fans of intermittent fasting believe that time-restricted eating is an easier way to limit calories than counting them in a tracker.
That makes it especially popular this time of year, said Pasquariello, who always sees it “widely advertised around the holidays.”
While intermittent fasting may help some people and has other benefits, such as reducing acid reflux, others won't see much benefit. In fact, one of the first researchers behind intermittent fasting quit the diet in 2020 after finding the evidence wasn't strong enough to say it worked.
“Skipping breakfast or lunch completely usually makes you hungrier throughout the day and potentially increases your likelihood of overeating,” Pasquariello said.
Instead of skipping breakfast, she recommended choosing a small, protein- and fiber-rich meal in the morning combined with movement such as a long walk, jog, strength training or HIIT workouts. Light exercise, such as walking, can help digestion and regulate blood sugar without making you feel hungry.
“I believe this helps people avoid the all-or-nothing approach that can become a spiral of unhelpful thoughts and eating habits during the holidays,” Pasquariello said.
Stocking up on promotional supplements
Many supplement claims are greatly exaggerated, especially when it comes to weight loss. Evgenia Siyankovskaya/Getty Images
With the shopping season in full swing, supplement makers and wellness companies are making their biggest deals yet: from “healthy” hot cocoa life hacks for weight loss.
“Beware of anyone who tells you there is a magic pill or supplement that can curb food cravings, boost metabolism or naturally promote weight loss,” Pasquariello said. “Nutrition science doesn’t work that way, and 99.99% of these supplements are just a waste of your money.”
If you're deficient in vitamins like magnesium or zinc, supplements—with your doctor's approval—may benefit your overall health, Pasquariello says. Correcting deficiencies can support overall metabolic health, which can indirectly increase energy levels and regulate appetite.
But it's potentially unsafe take supplements without conducting a blood test and identifying real deficiencies. Excess vitamins, such as iron or vitamin A, can cause potentially serious health side effects.
Trends such as the “alkaline diet”
The alkaline diet, which involves avoiding acidic foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy and grains, is based on junk science. Tanya Ivanova/Getty Images
During the holidays, people tend to eat more dairy and acidic foods, including alcohol. Diets like alkaline dietwhich claims that eating alkaline foods such as fruits and vegetables can change your body's pH and promote weight loss.
It's all junk science, Pasquariello said: “Your body regulates its pH on its own. Anyone who preaches that you can change your pH through supplements, a hydration pack, or diet doesn't know what they're talking about.”
She said some people feel better on an alkaline diet, which encourages restriction or even reducing acidic foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, grains and alcohol – either because they reduce the amount ultra-processed foods they eat or have sensitivities to gluten or dairy.
However, this super-restrictive diet means you're missing out on other beneficial nutrients, such as the omega-3s found in salmon. Avoiding protein-rich foods such as meat, fish and eggs can also make weight loss more difficult, since protein fills the body and is critical for muscle growth.
For those who want to give up sweets and booze, Mediterranean diet — focused on lean proteins and whole foods — is actually research-based. It's also a lot less sad.
