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According to NPR, the average human consumes about one ton of food per year.

That is over 140,000 pounds of food in a lifetime. How does one decide which foods to eat? That’s where a person’s diet comes in. Dictionary.com defines diet as “a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person’s physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease.”

There are many kinds of foods and diets to consider; the opportunities are endless. Most people have a reason behind what kinds of diet they follow. Those reasons can be health benefits, moral obligations or just plain preference.

Most diets are backed by science. For example, draxe.com reports that the alkaline diet is based on the pH levels in our bodies. In hopes of  preventing disease and disorder, alkaline dieters try to maintain a pH level of 7.365 to 7.4 by purging themselves of acidic foods such as juice and fruit.

Many less scientific diets turn out to be fads, running their course quickly through consumers. A fad diet is a popular weight-loss plan that promises dramatic results. Typically these diets are not healthy, don’t result in long-term weight loss and are difficult to maintain permanently.

One example of a fad diet is the military diet, which has apparently produced weight loss results of 10 pounds per week, according to Reader’s Digest. A meal eaten on this diet may include one hard-boiled egg, a cup of cottage cheese and five saltine crackers. This is a diet that is not regularly followed by the general population and is considered a fad diet because of its lack of nutrition.

There are also diets that can be essential to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Three popular diets include ketogenic, paleogenic and vegan.

The ketogenic diet, “keto” for short, is one popular weight-loss diet. It’s made up of 75 percent fats, 20 percent protein and 5 percent carbohydrates. It is known as a fad diet in the health industry because of its tight restrictions on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy foods and whole grains. This diet has shown results according to Forbes, but it is still considered a fad diet rather than one to create a sustainable lifestyle around.

James Plummer is a Grand View track and field athlete who transferred from the University of Clemson. He is an All-American athlete and an NAIA champion discus thrower. Plummer recently went on the keto diet.

“I tried to stick to as much whole food as possible — chicken, beef, and some fish options,” Plummer said. “Also a lot of good fats like legumes, tree nuts and coconut oil.”

This diet is a low-carb diet, but it happens to match most of the training Plummer was doing for his sport.

“We want to generate as much power as possible within short bursts of time,” Plummer said. “While throwing is 80 percent of my training, the other 20 percent is lifting.”

Plummer was able to use this diet to his advantage when it came to his sport, but it didn’t help his lifting.

“It was difficult to raise my max on this diet,” Plummer said. His weight workouts on the diet involved more reps and lower weight knowing he wasn’t getting the carbs he needed to do more intense, heavy lifting.

Although this diet did not contribute to his success in the weight room, he knew the diet was going to help him when it mattered most. Plummer recorded some of his greatest throws while on the keto diet.

Plummer said he will definitely be going on the keto diet again.

“By going on the keto diet, I can avoid eating these foods while consuming the same amount of calories I usually would without doing a more traditional diet,” Plummer said. “It allows me to train better and with that, as a side effect, I lose fat and use that as energy, and it’s a perpetual energy.”

While this diet works for Plummer and his goals as a thrower, the general population should not use this diet as a long-term lifestyle choice. By cutting down on carbohydrates, your body does not get the nutrients it needs to be healthy. According to Forbes, you need to keep carbs in your diet “consistently.”

For those that aren’t willing to make the changes fit for a keto diet, the paleo diet is another option.

“The paleo diet is great way for someone to start out eating more plant-based foods which is something that most Americans do not get enough of in their daily intake for fruits and vegetables,” said Anne Hyrek, a certified Hy-Vee dietician. “Plant-based foods offer more in antioxidants, minerals and fiber.”

Additionally, while the keto diet restricts fruits, the paleo diet highlights them. According to Sanitarium, the paleo diet claims to be based on eating principles from the Palaeolithic period, which was approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. Foods eaten during this time and in this diet include vegetables, fruit, nuts and an emphasis on meat. It is a high-protein and high-fat diet and like the keto diet, it is low in carbs.

“One of the limitations is that the diet restricts legumes, which are plant-based and full of lean protein as well as fiber,” Hyrek said.

Without legumes and carbs, like the keto diet, the paleo diet is also considered a fad diet, meaning it is not something to build a long-term healthy lifestyle around.

While the paleo and keto diets are made as more of a gateway to adding healthier  foods back into a person’s life, the vegan diet is more realistic to pursue long-term.

“The vegan diet can be part of a healthy lifestyle if it is well balanced in getting enough protein through plant sources,” Hyrek said. “It takes some planning, but including proper amounts of protein-based foods and supplementation can help keep muscles as well as iron and Vitamin B12 levels normal. In fact, there are several research studies that show it can be helpful for overall weight control as well as decreased heart disease risk.”

According to U.S. News, vegetarians and vegans are the same when it comes to not eating meat, fish and poultry. However, vegans go farther by excluding all animal products from their diets, including dairy and eggs. The vegan diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.

There are many different reasons to go vegan. Some people do it for the health benefits and weight loss, while others make the decision based on moral views.

What all three of these fad diets have in common is that they restrict certain food groups or types. The reason they are considered fads is because they are not meant to be followed for life due to their restrictions. Essentially, when it comes to going on a diet, you must assess your needs and make sure you plan accordingly. Before pursuing any restrictive diet, you should be in contact with a dietitian so that you can meet your needs while also maintaining a healthy physical state.