I would think that people by now would realize how gimmicky fad diets tend to be. Surprisingly enough, people STILL follow these diets with fancy names promoted by charismatic salespeople who are selling the "next big thing".
It seems easy enough to understand how dieting REALLY works. But yet, it's still very difficult to convince some people of this simple concept that dieting is merely a numbers game. It is even more difficult to make that statement into something that is marketable.
Many a sleazy businessman or businesswoman will have you believe that it's much more complicated than that. There are many people who may even mean well - and they just want to help - but have no clue what the hell they are talking about.
Those people possibly have not taken the time to understand the concepts and basic principles behind fat loss themselves.
Or maybe the guy trying to sell you this bullshit was trying to win a set of steak knives at work because he just got a tongue lashing from Alec Baldwin who was possibly going to fire him if he got third prize in the monthly sales contest.
Maybe YOU even started listening to some of these people. $149.95 later, and you've got yourself a bag of useless supplements, useless juice cleanse packets, and a book filled with 'magic fat burning foods" that will 'boost your metabolism.' Maybe you even had complete adherence this time with your diet, and you listened to everything this person or diet guru told you to do - but the diet still didn't work. Because this person who sold you all these pills and packets was full of shit the whole time.
Let me tell you a little secret about fat loss plans...if the person selling you on a fat loss program doesn't mention anything about HOW MUCH food you are supposed to be eating, then kindly get up and hit the ole' dusty trail. It is the HOW MUCH that matters on a fat loss diet - plain and simple.
What Diet Should You Do?
Diets are so individualized, and trying to have a one size fits all approach for everyone doesn't end well. Not everyone should eat the same exact daily diet. There are various reasons for this including cultural backgrounds, individualized digestive enzymes, stress levels caused from socioeconomic or employment factors, and many other reasons. From a health perspective, one should not tell you what YOU should eat just the same as someone shouldn't tell you:
who to date
what music you should choose to listen to
or what clothes you decide to wear.
It's none of their damned business. Also, not everyone has the same goals. If your goal is to lose fat, and your fat intake is already high, I wouldn't advise you to eat more avocados or almonds because they are "healthy". If they cause you to overeat your daily allotment of calories, the healthy factor has gone out the window.
I really do feel that overeating "clean" foods (such as too many bananas, avocados, cashews, rice, and organic nut butters) is more unhealthy than eating a moderate diet of fruits, veggies, lean protein with a little bit of ice cream mixed in to satisfy the sweet tooth. The clean eating camp and Paleo movement missed the boat on this, though they have gotten some things right. Eating wholesome foods is great, but not when you eat too much of them. Overeating calories is what causes fat gain, and holding excess body fat causes many negative health effects.
Eating whole foods is important, but if your diet is strictly fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, meats (or meat substitutes), oils and simple starches - that is going to be a pretty boring diet. You need to enjoy your diet or you just won't stick to it.
In 1906, the Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto discovered that 20% of the pea pods in his garden produced approximately 80% of the peas. When you start to delve into personal and inner development, you start to see this 80/20 ratio pop up in various aspects of life. As for diet purposes, a good rule of thumb is to have 80% of your diet consisting of wholesome foods (fruit, veggies, lean protein, legumes, etc...), and the remaining 20% should be left for foods you enjoy that keep you within your goals. (a piece of chocolate, a little ice cream, a small bowl of popcorn)
Sidenote: Another useful 80/20 ratio in fitness would be achieving your caloric deficit 80% through the diet, and 20% through exercise.
Restrictive Diets
Restrictive diets cause people to cave eventually. Also, restrictive diets can cause unnecessary stress because:
Following a set of strict rules can set you up for failure by causing undue stress
Many people do not have the financial means to buy everything organic
Sometimes buying organic isn't the best choice when you factor in shipping costs, the fuzzy standards of organic foods. Also, organic foods don't make you lose weight any faster than non-organic if they have the same amount of calories. Check out this article on this very subject.
Depriving yourself of the things you really enjoy almost never works in the long run.
Many times, just knowing that you can include something that is considered "junk" will keep you more adherent. You may not even want to have that food on a regular basis anymore, and may only want to indulge when the cravings are strong.
For myself, I use to be this way with pizza. I would try to fit pizza into my diet more frequently, but eventually it wasn't worth the sacrifice of what else I would have to forego. If a more nutritious choice presented itself such as a bowl of oatmeal or an omelette, that started to win out on a much more regular basis. Eventually, when I had the cravings for pizza again, and let myself indulge - it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be because I realized other foods made me feel better.
Conclusion
It's not what you eat that makes your diet work in terms of fat loss. It's HOW MUCH you eat. If you take only one thing away from this post, please let this be it.
References:
http://www.fnic.nal.usda.gov/dietary-guidance
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2012/09/little-evidence-of-health-benefits-from-organic-foods-study-finds.html