Fuel, Don’t Fad: How to Eat for Health, Not Hype

If you’ve ever fallen for a fad diet, you’re not alone. They promise quick results, make bold claims, and usually leave you hungry, cranky, and disappointed. But here’s the truth: fad diets don’t work in the long run. What does work? Fueling your body with the right foods. In this blog, we’ll break down why fad diets fail, how to rebuild your relationship with food, and the best way to fuel your body for health, happiness, and energy.

Why Fad Diets Fail (Every Single Time)

Fad diets sound tempting. They promise you’ll drop 10 pounds in a week, detox your body, or gain endless energy. But they always have a catch—and that catch is why they fail so miserably.

1. Fad Diets Demonize Food

Carbs are evil. Fats are the enemy. Fruits have too much sugar. If you’ve heard any of these, you’ve encountered a fad diet. These diets love to turn food into the villain, leaving you afraid to eat the things your body actually needs.

2. They Set You Up for Yo-Yo Dieting

You lose weight quickly at first, but as soon as you eat normally, the weight comes rushing back. This cycle is not just frustrating—it’s harmful to your health and metabolism.

3. They Ignore Science

Many fad diets rely on gimmicks instead of facts. For example, “Don’t eat after 7 PM because your metabolism goes to sleep.” Spoiler alert: your metabolism doesn’t have a bedtime.

Unhealthy Relationships with Food

Fad diets don’t just fail—they mess with your mind. They teach you to fear food, label meals as “good” or “bad,” and disconnect you from your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues.

Stop Labeling Food as the Enemy

Food isn’t good or bad. It’s just food. Sure, a salad has more nutrients than a slice of cake, but both can fit into a balanced diet. When you stop assigning moral value to food, you’ll stop feeling guilty about what you eat.

Trust Your Body’s Hunger Signals

Your body knows when it’s hungry and when it’s full. Fad diets train you to ignore these signals, but you can retrain yourself. Start listening to your body—it’s smarter than any diet app.

How to Fuel Your Body the Right Way

Now that we’ve covered what doesn’t work, let’s talk about what does. Fueling your body means giving it the energy and nutrients it needs to thrive. Forget restriction—focus on addition.

Fruits: Nature’s Candy

Aim for 9 ounces of fruit per day or about two servings. Fruits provide vitamins, antioxidants, and natural sweetness. Plus, they’re portable and easy to snack on.

• Snack idea: Slice an apple and pair it with peanut butter.
• Breakfast tip: Add berries to your oatmeal or yogurt.

Vegetables: The Foundation of Your Plate

Like fruits, aim for 9 ounces of vegetables per day. Vegetables are low in calories but high in nutrients, fiber, and flavor.

• Quick tip: Roast a tray of veggies with olive oil, garlic, and herbs.
• Sneaky trick: Add spinach to your smoothies—you won’t taste it, but your body will love it.

Whole Grains: Your Sturdy Sidekick

Whole grains give you the energy that lasts. They’re rich in fiber, which keeps you full and your digestion happy. Aim for 9 ounces of whole grains per day.

• Breakfast idea: Enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and nuts.
• Dinner option: Serve quinoa, brown rice, or whole-grain pasta as a base for your meals.

Fish: Brain Food

 Fish provides protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart and brain health. Try to eat fish twice a week, focusing on fatty fish like salmon or mackerel.

• Easy dinner: Grill salmon with a squeeze of lemon and fresh dill.
• Lunch idea: Make a tuna salad with olive oil, not mayo, and pile it onto whole-grain toast.

Olive Oil: Liquid Gold

Forget butter. Olive oil is your new go-to fat. It’s rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and enhances the flavor of almost anything. Use 2-4 tablespoons per day for cooking, drizzling, or dipping.

• Salad idea: Drizzle olive oil with lemon juice and a pinch of salt for a quick dressing.
• Snack tip: Dip whole-grain bread into olive oil mixed with herbs.

Legumes: The Underrated Powerhouse

Legumes like chickpeas, lentils, and beans are full of fiber, protein, and nutrients. They’re also budget-friendly and incredibly versatile. Best of all, you can enjoy them in unlimited amounts.

• Snack idea: Roast chickpeas with paprika for a crunchy treat.
• Meal tip: Make a hearty chickpea stew with tomatoes and spices.

Why Fad Diets Like the Carnivore Diet Are a Hard No

We can’t talk about fueling your body without addressing the Carnivore Diet. This trendy diet eliminates plant-based foods entirely, focusing only on meat. Here’s why it’s a bad idea:

• They are Nutrient-Deficient: You’re missing out on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, and grains.
• It’s Risky: Diets high in red and processed meats increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.
• Carnivore, like keto, is Unsustainable: Unless you love the idea of a lifetime without bread, this diet won’t last.

In short, the Carnivore Diet is a fad at best and dangerous at worst. Stick to balanced, science-backed eating instead.

Practical Tips to Get Started

Fueling your body doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with these simple steps:

1. Focus on what to add, not what to cut out.
2. Plan meals around fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
3. Include fish in your weekly routine.
4. Stock your pantry with staples like legumes and olive oil.
5. Allow yourself treats—balance is key.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Today's topic is one we all need

to fuel.

Don't fad. Let's face

it. Fad diets are like the one friend who promises

to help you move, but ghosts you. When the truck shows

up, they make big promises, but the second

you try to follow them, they become unsustainable.

And you're stressed and you're hungry

and you're wondering where you went wrong.

We've all been subject to some food fad, whether it be to

lose a bit of weight or hearing about some new

superfood. Sometimes when you've had

success losing weight on a fad diet, you

develop the belief that the fad and

its strange rules are what helped you

lose weight without the basic biology of

you are in a calorie deficit, or you'll be

getting the belief that some food is evil. I mean, who

really, seriously thinks that a, uh, rhesus cup is

evil? Today, we will

uncover why fueling your body is better

than falling for the hype. And how to build a

sustainable way of eating. And why

chickpeas could be your new best friend.

I'm Dr. Terri Simpson, your chief medical

explanationist, and this is for

Q Fork University, where we

bust myths, make sense of the madness, and

teach a little bit about food and medicine.

You know how those junk emails scream

you've won a million dollars? Or here's

some new secret to losing weight. And you open

it and you find a list of impossible things to jump

through. Those are basically like fad

diets. They promise a quick fix,

losing lots of weight, feeling better,

sleeping better, making your

genitals work better. But instead,

they often leave you hangry,

frustrating, and regretting every

kale smoothie you've ever tasted.

Here's why fad diets fail harder than a

souffle in a windstorm. They make you fear

food, like carbs are evil or. Or

fat is the enemy, or fruits have too much

sugar. Fad diets love turning food

into the bad guy, the villain in a superhero

movie. But food isn't the enemy.

It's your hero. Well,

maybe, maybe not. Gas station nachos, but

that's a whole other story. Fad

diets are kind of like Sisyphus trying to push

that boulder uphill. You might lose weight

at first, but. But as soon as you stop, that

boulder comes crashing back down. And no

one has time for yo yos unless you're a professional

juggler. And most fad diets simply

ignore science. It's almost like they were

invented by people who failed high school biology.

Things like, don't eat after 7pm because your metabolism

takes a nap. Please. Your metabolism

doesn't even have a bedtime. And the fad

diets are the bad influencers of nutrition.

We need to stop following

them. Instead,

let's focus on the good stuff,

fueling your body and building a

healthy relationship with food.

Think of food as a reliable friend. Not one who

ditches you, but one who shows up when you need them

the most. Food doesn't need to be

feared, avoided, or treated like a, uh,

guilty pleasure. Every bite you take,

even that slice of pizza, can serve a purpose.

And your body will make it serve a purpose.

It's not about perfection. It's about giving

your body the energy and the nutrients it needs to

thrive. Fad diets love the

extremes. Cut out all the carbs, eat only

grapefruit, drink cabbage juice. But

truly, what you need in your life is balance.

It's okay to have cake at your friend's birthday.

It's okay to have a hearty salad. It's

about patterns, not individual meals.

Life is way too short to skip the cake.

Unless it's tres leches. I have tried

about 100 tres leches cakes in my life, and I have

found two that I love, but I

keep trying. So your body does have

hunger and fullness cues for a reason.

The problem? Well,

sometimes we abuse it, and sometimes

what happens is we lose the ability to

get those cues right.

Fad diets are like trying to drive

with your gps screaming, recalculating.

Instead, we want to start listening to what

your body needs from a more

healthy perspective. I mean, your

body's not going to ask you for a triple cheeseburger every meal.

Speaking of fad shaming, let's talk about how

to actually fuel your body in a manner that has been

based in science, based on years and years

of data of science. So I want you to think of

these foods as the avengers of nutrition,

not the Justice League, each one

playing a key role in keeping you strong and

healthy. You don't need to take a lot

of extra stuff. Let's talk about

fruit. Fruits are like the sweet friend that always

makes you smile. They're packed with vitamins,

antioxidants, fiber,

and sugar just to keep you energized.

So kind of a minimum amount we like to aim for is about 9

ounces or 250 grams. So take a

couple ideas here. Pair an apple with

nut butter or peanut butter. It's like PB and

J. Toss some berries into your oatmeal,

and boom, instant upgrade.

One of my latest favorites today are

figs. They're filled with fiber.

They really don't disturb your blood sugar that much, and

they are delicious. Eat a couple of those and your

sweet tooth is satisfied. Now,

vegetables I always have a hard time with because I

grew up in an era where the only vegetables we could get

in Ketchikan, Alaska, came in a can.

You can imagine. In the 1960s, canned vegetables

weren't exactly something that you would look forward to.

My mother tried hard to hide them in spaghetti sauce

or chilies. But vegetables truly are the most

valuable player of your plate. They're low in calories, high in

nutrients, versus old enough to keep things interesting.

One of the things that I have found as someone who doesn't like

vegetables is roasting them

in olive oil and garlic and sometimes taking

those root vegetables and roasting them and then putting

them into a sauce.

Spinach is one of those funny things that you can add to

like a dal, which is a great lentil

soup, and you don't know what's there. And it

adds that bit of goodness to things.

Here's one that's a little easier. It used to

be white bread and white pasta were about the

only thing you could find. And I

remember zoodles and all these people on these low

carb diets trying to find some excuse for a

noodle or make legume noodles. And they're all out there.

But what has happened is whole grains are

now available in pastas and breads.

And whole grains are like that friend who helps you move.

They give you steady, reliable energy. They're full

of fiber, they're full of thiamine. They keep you

full and your digestion working like a

well oiled machine. Maybe I shouldn't say well

oiled machine with digestion that just may not work.

Well, let me give you an example.

A bowl of oatmeal. Remember the oatmeal

with the, uh, fruit? Add some

nuts. What a great breakfast. How about

dinner? You know, the other day there

was this quinoa brown rice

bowl made with a curry sauce that was

absolutely delicious. I am going to try and reproduce

that fish twice a week. Now, some

of you don't like fish, and I can understand that because most of you

have had rotten fish. And once you've had rotten fish, it kind of puts you off.

But believe me, fresh fish, there's nothing like it. And

fresh fish can be bought today at the grocery store because

we have FedEx and UPS and

great tracking fish are the undisputed

king of Omega 3. Fatty acids, keeping your

brain sharp, keeping your kids brain sharp.

And it tastes a lot better than any supplement.

It's pretty easy. Making a dinner of grilled salmon with a little bit

of lemon roasted vegetables. And I like

baking my salmon at about 400 degrees.

Takes about 10 minutes. And how do I bake it?

Salt, pepper. I throw on either

maple syrup and, um, olive

oil and a squeeze of lemon. Tuna

salad is great for lunch. I make it with olive

oil instead of mayonnaise, and I pile it on a whole

grain toast. Works great. Olive

oil, as we said many times, is kind of that liquid

gold. It's far better than butter.

It's the fat you wanted your life in the

old days. And I'm meaning 80,

90 years ago, if you

had heart disease and lived in the Mediterranean,

the pharmacist would give you some olive oil. Why?

We don't know. Does it work? We don't know. But

clearly people who add olive oil to their

diet have less problems with second heart

attacks. But olive oil works well. Drizzle

on salads, roasted vegetables,

even that great whole grain bread. And

making your own dressing is easy because once you have your salad

assembled, put the olive oil on first. You don't have to try and

make up a, uh, vinaigrette. Put the olive oil first,

then drizzle on some lemon juice or

maybe some balsamic vinegar. And then add

something like za'atar, a little bit of salt and

mix it up. You can even put a spoonful or two of

honey or maple syrup to make it a little bit sweeter.

Legumes unlimited and

amazing chickpeas.

Lentils. They are something that

the vegans and the vegetarians found, and I don't know why

they kept them a secret for so long. But clearly us

omnivores discovered hummus. But roasted

chickpeas are probably one of the greatest

treats that you can make, whether you air fry them, whether you bake

them. You know what, you can even deep fry chickpeas,

and they're frigging amazing. Hummus

is like the dip that brought

America into the world of legumes. Now,

legumes are still beans. Typically, my Saturday

morning breakfast consists of some beans with

a little great hot sauce with it. I

find that beans are a wonderful accompaniment. Uh,

so you need to sort of

put away the fads and start with

the fuels.

Okay, Speaking of fads, I need

to pick on the carnivore diet again. The carnivore

diet. Who says? No fruits, no veggies, just meat. That's

like trying to survive on coffee and memes. It

sounds fun until you crash. Here's why. The carnivore diet is

about as sustainable as a paper straw and hot coffee.

It lacks the essential nutrients. It lacks fiber. It

lacks antioxidants. Diets high in red meat

and processed meats increase your risk of heart disease and

colon cancer. It's restrictive, it's boring,

and let's face it, your colon deserves better.

If you're looking for a long term healthy way to eat the

Mediterranean diet, the Dash diet, or simply

focusing on this, fuel don't

fad is the way to go.

So here's a few tips to get started.

I want you to plan meals around fruits and vegetables and whole

grains. I want you to stock up on pantry

staples like legumes and olive oil. I want you to

think and give fish a try a couple times a week. Even if it's tuna

fish or shrimp or lobster, I don't

care. And stop stressing about perfection.

A slice of pizza isn't going to ruin you.

Some might say that pineapple on pizza might ruin

you. I say you're adding fruit and how bad is

fruit? Eating well doesn't have to be a

chore or a punishment.

And focusing on refueling your body with nutrient

dense foods like fruits and vegetables and whole grains and

legumes, you'll feel better, you'll

look better, and you're going to laugh about how you

used to stress about carbs. Remember

fuel? Don't fad. Life's too short

to follow a diet that makes you miserable. Instead, focus

on balance and variety and food that makes you feel

good and happy. Please

check out our blog associated with this

podcast@yourdoctorsorders.com

this podcast was researched and written

by me, Dr. Terry Simpson. And while I am a

doctor, I am not your

doctor. Please consult a board certified doctor

and a registered dietitian before making any dietary

changes because they know your health conditions best.

Please don't go to a life coach or to a

chiropractor. Getting advice about nutrition

from them is kind of like, oh,

I don't even know what it's like. It's terrible.

The podcast was produced with Producer Girl

Productions and distributed by her friends at Simpler Media

and my good friend the pod God, Mr.

Evo Terra. Have a good week everybody.

Remember fuel don't

fad.

Hey Evo, what's in your fuel

today? I think

our fuel is going to be.

I don't know. I do miss

Tarbels there in Phoenix.

Have a good week, buddy. Hi to the missus.

Yeesh.

>> Speaker B: My fuel. This day is,

uh, rough. I've had nothing

but coffee. Yeah, coffee. That's

not enough. I know, I know, I know. So, uh, I

probably should figure out something to do for lunch. And I guess

it needs to be healthy or you're gonna yell at me.