There are few people who look in the mirror and are content with their appearance, it seems we are always wanting to be fitter, thinner, or alter some other aspect of our look. This is why fad diets are appealing to so many people, they view them as a quick way to shed a few extra pounds (and usually it sounds too good to be true), and an opportunity to fit into the dress that’s been hanging up in their cupboard, unworn, for months.

But fad diets are extremely unhealthy because they are unbalanced. Their aim to lose fat, but more often than not, the weight that you lose will be water weight and you’ll put it all back on as soon as you start eating normally. Over the years there have been a lot of eye-rolling fad diets that are so ridiculous you have to wonder why they became so popular in the first place. Below are seven of those diets.

The Grapefruit Juice Diet

This is one of the most common fad diets and expects dieters to live on a calorie-deficient diet of only grapefruit. The goal is to lose weight after 12 days of basically starving the body, and you cannot live on grapefruit forever, so as soon as you resume your normal eating habits the weight starts piling back on.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

While slightly more appealing than just eating grapefruit because at least it’s warm, the cabbage soup diet is another fad diet that is designed for weight loss. Those considering this plan had to eat cabbage soup for seven days. Not only is this incredibly boring but it’s also bland and low in calories.

The Lemonade Diet

This diet is one of the oldest fad diets and it’s very limited, consisting of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. According to Health, with this diet, you are only shedding water weight and once you start eating solid foods again, all of the weight that you lost will come back. You may also feel tired, nauseous and dizzy.

The Baby Food Diet

This is a diet that was rumored to be loved by celebs, who ate 14 jars of baby food a day, followed by one normal meal. Not only is this diet incredibly expensive (baby food doesn’t come cheap) it also lacks fiber and is not sustainable.

Juice Fast

One of the most recent fad diets disguises itself as a detox and promises to rid you of your bad eating habits while helping you feel renewed. The problem is this is not a long-term fix and as with all low-calorie diets, this can lower your metabolic rate. You may also find you feel dizzy and hungry.

The Raw Food Diet

The pro of this diet is you will be eating more fruit and vegetables, the con is it's incredibly hard to maintain and can be very bland and boring. Some also argue that there is not enough nutrition in a diet such as this.

The Twinkie Diet

I know what you’re thinking, what could be better than eating twinkies all day? But this diet is one you should never try. According to WebMD, this diet was created by a Kansas State University nutrition professor who lost weight by just eating twinkies and other junk food, but there is no magic health solution in junk food. Instead, what he was doing was eating fewer calories than he was burning each day.

Why should you not follow in his footsteps? Because junk food is bad for your arteries and lacks nutrition.

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