Are Google's top-searched diets for 2016 healthy?

[USAF-Larry]

An interesting article on the Top 10 Google Searches for Diets in 2016.  The opening paragraph of the article is insightful:

When I saw Google’s Year in Search 2016, I have to admit I did a double take. When I think back on the nutrition and weight loss questions I’ve received from my clients over the past year, I anticipated seeing terms like gluten-free, vegan, anti-inflammatory, or even Mediterranean on the list of the diets that saw the biggest increase in search interest. Instead, they're overall what I think of as “extreme” approaches. Here’s the list, along with a brief description of each, followed by my take on why these took the top spots, and what to consider if you’re thinking of adopting a diet come January.

Read full article here: Are Google's top-searched diets for 2016 healthy?

[A_Lurker]

Here's my thoughts.  We are a society that prefers instant results and people who are desperate to lose weight have often cycled through multiple promises of easy losses.  Every diet is going to work for a percentage of the people who do them. It feels easier to follow someone else's plan.

Myself, I find the exercise portion of my weight loss harder than the food portion of it.  On the exercise side I'm fighting decades of being sedentary.  I can make myself get up and do the work but there's always the danger that at some point I won't.  On the food side, I'm a pretty decent cook. I'm analytical and detail oriented enough that I do a pretty good job of calorie counting. 

People who aren't decent cooks - well, it's a hard change from eating take-out and processed packaged meals to cooking for themselves.  I can look at a recipe online and evaluate if it's worth the effort but often I know enough to change it up to make it better.  If I didn't have this knowledge I could see the appeal of someone setting out what you should eat with every meal.

Like the article though, I suspect that few people will find what they're looking for in their Google searches.

[WendyB]

I love Taco's but not enough to eat for 30 days straight

[USAF-Larry]

I love Tacos, too, @WendyB, but I couldn't eat vegan tacos for one day, much less than for 30 days.

[WendyB]

I like all tacos. Now you have me thinking about lobster taco's yummmmmm

[SunsetRunner]

They are all rather extreme, I have used the keto-diet and found it worked well for me. Admittedly I haven't stayed on it but I have worked on reducing my carb intake from what it was previously.

When I pay less attention to the carb intake I tend to start to gain weight again, the keto-diet is a bit too extreme for me, although I liked the ability to do long bike rides with minimal food intake and not suffering from "bonking", but I don't do that frequently enough and I am not in competitions where it would truly benefit me so I decided it wasn't the right diet for me.

Instead I now focus on trying to just eat healthier and exercise more, seems to be working just fine, but I did like the fast initial weigh loss I got going keto.

[USAF-Larry]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Instead I now focus on trying to just eat healthier and exercise more,

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To me, @SunsetRunner, that is the key to fitness & weight control - balanced meals with portion control, and exercise. Most people cannot stick with any extreme diet plan for long term eating, but lifestyle changes that include healthy eating, portion control & exercise can last a lifetime.

[SunsetRunner]

I completely agree with you @USAF-Larry, the key to success in getting fit is lifestyle changes. They have to be something you can adhere to for a long time.

My view is that it is a continuous process of self improvement, as we age our bodies don't respond in the same manner as they did 10-15 years earlier, so we have to be able to adapt our lifestyles and eating habits to meet the ever changing requirements of our bodies.

[Dominique]

Speaking of Google searches and health, I like this mug that I saw posted on a doctor’s blog 

[Gershon]

Catchy cup. Unfortunately, doctors don't have a great history of curing disease. They do have a method of ensnaring people into a lifetime of taking medicines without a cure.

My cup would say, "Don't ask your doctor about health care."  They spend little time in medical school learning how to avoid chronic diseases.