Can I Do [Insert Name of Extreme Diet Here]?

I have been asked by patients if they can go on all sorts of extreme diets. These diets go by many names, and more pop up every year. OMAD, single food diets, raw diets, juicing...I for sure haven't heard of them all.

People who are unhappy about the quality of their usual eating pattern may consider an extreme diet to solve their perceived dietary indiscretions. I have three main concerns about trying an extreme diet: they seem like a punishment, they often don't last long, and the solution does not have to be extreme.

You Don't Need to Punish Yourself for Non-Ideal Diet

We often associate morality with a "good" diet, and being bad with a less healthy diet. People may say, "I was good, I only took salad," or, "I was bad and I ate chocolate." We may feel that we need to punish ourselves for how we have eaten. An extreme diet can be a great punishment--we'll suffer, and it will seemingly solve the problem of the bad diet. Although you may prefer a healthier pattern of eating to promote good health, not following that eating pattern is not a moral failing. A punishment is not necessary to improve your diet! An eating pattern that won't make you feel deprived or make you suffer can improve your health more than whatever extreme diet you had considered.

Extreme Diets Don't Last Long

Most of us know someone who tried an extreme diet. The common outcome is that they stopped at some point--after a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months for the more persistent. There is a reason almost every person on an extreme diet does not stay on that diet for life: these diets are not sustainable. Celebrations, life changes, boredom, and hunger are common reasons people stop their extreme diets. I remain unconvinced of any long-term health benefits of temporary extreme diets.

You Don't Need to go to the Opposite Extreme to Improve Your Health

When I ask my patients about their current eating patterns, the responses often mirror the standard American diet: high in refined carbohydrates, low in fruits and vegetables, high in processed foods, and low in healthy fats. An extreme diet is often better than that. But so is just about any dietary change. The response to rare fiber intake does not have to be the cabbage soup diet. It can be to eat any vegetable every day. The antidote to a daily takeout order of a burger an fries does not have to be the ketogenic diet. It can be to get a takeout bean and whole grain bowl with chicken or fish.

Can I Do an Extreme Diet?

Whether you can or can't actually do the diet is less relevant than if it is going to be a useful effort. I tend to see my patients have success with sustainable changes that can become routine. These changes still many be effortful or challenging. They require an open mind, willingness to try new foods, time, and work. Yet, if the goal is good health, then the method to get there better be realistic.