Articles: Weight Loss

Loosing weight can be a difficult process and many people turn to fad diets to help them lose weight. They turn to these diets because they offer a ton of appealing promises. Unfortunately, however, they are empty promises.

We recommend that you should always try to achieve a balance in your dieting efforts and not rely on Fads.
How Can I Spot a Fad Diet?

A basic rule of thumb in spotting a fad diet is if it sounds too good to be true, it is, and it's probably a fad diet. Fad diets tend to contradict the basic knowledge you have of weight loss. You have probably heard that the best and healthiest way to lose weight, and keep it off, is with exercise and a healthy and balanced diet. If a diet contradicts this basic information, it is most definitely a fad diet.

What are the risks of Fad Diets?

Look out for the following:

* Losing two pounds per week is considered healthy. If a diet claims that you can lose more than two pounds per week, it is a fad diet.
* Instead of showing scientific proof, fad diets show dramatic "before" and "after" photos.
* Any diet that limits food groups, or eliminates food groups, is a fad diet.
* A diet that encourages you to purchase expensive products and/or seminars is a fad diet.
* Any diet that dismisses the importance of exercise is most definitely a fad diet. For example, a diet that claims you do not have to exercise if you follow a particular meal plan.


Do Fad Diets Work?

If you are asking, "Will I lose weight on a fad diet," the answer is yes. However, with fad diets you do not lose fat, you actually just lose water weight. As soon as you return to your regular eating habits, you will regain the weight you lost, and most often gain more. Fad diets are not designed for long term weight loss, therefore most users fall into yo-yo dieting.

They try a fad diet, lose weight, go off the diet, regain the weight, and then start the process over. They continue the process of losing weight and then regaining the weight back. Unfortunately, each time they go through this process it becomes harder and harder to lose weight. Each time weight is lost more slowly and then is regained more quickly. Part of the reason this happens, is because when a person is on a fad diet, they usually are drastically restricting the amount of calories they are consuming. When this occurs, the person's metabolism slows down, and therefore losing weight becomes a much more difficult task.

Fad diets usually leave a person feeling tired, dizzy, and irritable. This especially occurs in diets that limit carbohydrates or protein. Fad diets are nutritionally unbalanced; therefore they should not be used for a long period of time. Long term use can lead to severe health issues such as heart attack, kidney failure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, kidney stones, cancer, and an unhealthy metabolic state (also known as ketosis). Children should never use a fad diet, because it is far too dangerous.


What Are the Top Ten Fad Diets? These are the Popular Fad Diets:

There are many diets out there, new and old, that are fad diets. They all offer some kind of unique theory about the key to successful weight loss. Here is a list to look out for:

* Sugar Busters
* The Zone
* The Carbohydrate Addict�s Diet
* The Atkins Diet
* The Good Carbohydrate Revolution
* The Pritkin Principle
* The Cabbage Soup Diet
* The Grapefruit Diet
* The Cambridge Diet
* The Scarsdale Diet
* The 3-day Diet
* The 7-day Diet
* The Coconut Diet
* The Blood Type Diet
* The Bread and Butter Diet
* The Shangri-La Diet

These are examples of fad diets. So you may now be asking yourself:


How Can I Successfully Lose Weight and Keep It Off?

In order to successfully lose weight and keep it off, you should start by talking with your doctor to design a healthy eating and exercise plan. You should also avoid unhealthy fad diets. Successful weight loss requires a lifestyle change. There is no magic pill or magic diet. You can visit mypyramid.gov to calculate the amount of calories you should consume daily, along with the amount of daily servings from each food group. This website will also let you know how much exercise you should do most days of the week.

Please try to always strive to achieve a balance in your dieting efforts and avoid the latest fad diets.