Recently, my cousins came back from a cruise, and –no surprise– all of them were packing a couple of more pounds. Hélas, that trip marks the end of their summer and the beginning of the hunt for the failproof diet that promises to clue them in on the secret tips of shedding off the extra weight.

Sounds familiar?

Now that the hot season is over, I suppose many of you are also having a “How could this be?” moment when you finally found the time to weight yourself and let the numbers on the scale seep into your mind. “It is just too bad to be true,” you might think.

Before you start to press the panic button and carelessly dive into the current (but soon to be usurped by another) best weight loss program, do not let desperation blind your judgment. Take a step back and ask yourself: Is this too good to be true? If your answer is yes, there is a high chance that you are right.

Are you interested in how you can spot a bad diet?

Here is a checklist of eight items that can help you to determine if the weight loss program is worthwhile or if it just sees you as a cash bank.

1. Customized Program

Is it one diet for all or is it catered to each?

2. The Health Experts

Are there reliable and trustworthy heath experts (doctor, dietitian, kinesiologist) on the team? (Because who wants to receive counseling from part-time students with only a 2-week training under their belt, right?)

3. Exercise

Even the best nutrition advice goes down the drain if you just lay on the couch all day.

4. Weight loss

You should be losing roughly one to two pounds per week, and maximum three. Beyond that, you can be sure that it’s not fat that you are losing but rather water. It is pretty hard to shed off more than three pounds of fat in a week.

5. Cost

6. Products Sale

If pills, injections, meal replacements, and gimmicky gadgets can “melt your fat away” and provide you with “all the essential nutrients you need,” why the heck are we facing an obesity crisis? Oh yeah, that’s right. They’ll only share their secrets with you if you show them the green stuff.

7. Calorie

Anything less than 1200 calories per day should make you raise your eyebrows.

8. Food restriction

Portion control, guys. It’s time we stop ostracizing Mr. Potato head.

This checklist is far from being foolproof, but it will help you to filter out some of the fad diets.

What are the trendy diets have you heard of? Let us know in the comment box below.