A diet that is written only to be followed for a short time is called categorized as one of the fad diets.

Another popular culture meaning for the term is a diet that becomes wildly popular for a period of a few months to a few years, and then fades into obscurity. The Hollywood diet, the Atkins diet, and Jenny Craig are just three examples.

Fad diets are sometimes known as food fad-ism. This refers to any form of food that becomes popular for a short period of time. These generally have some common elements, including:

- The food is attributed with miraculous powers.
- Other foods are removed from the diet because they have negative properties that should be avoided.

The Atkins diet displays the characteristics of one of these fad diets. In Atkins carbohydrates must be avoided because of their negative characteristics. Low carbohydrates are extremely desirous in Atkins, because then the body enters a super fat burning condition. This diet had a number of short periods of extreme carbohydrate avoidance, followed by long periods of sustainable low carbohydrate eating. However, many people are able to continue the Atkins diet for years.

As with many fad diets Atkins rose quickly and fell just as quickly. It lasted a few years during which it seemed everyone you talked to was on the diet .

Every movie star, singer, and sports figure claimed to use the Atkins diet when they needed to lose weight. When Dr. Atkins died to superstardom of his diet died with him.

Fad diets can be unhealthy. The Subway diet made popular in television commercials wasn't exempt. At its center was a young man named Jared who had lost hundreds of pounds in only a year by eating Subway sandwiches. Jared’s diet was severe -- going down to 900 calories a day from over 10,000.

Doctors agree that weight loss on that scale isn't healthy. The diet did include many positive aspects such as exercise, like walking.

Approach fad diets with caution. A healthy combination of reasonable diet and exercise in the long-term can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.