Don’t eat this, eat a lot, watch your weight go down. Familiar? If you’ve been investigating how to lose weight, I’m sure you’ve digested an enormous amount of conflicting advice on the subject of weight loss. You may also have heard of a quick weight loss solution, a ‘magic’ pill or other such rubbish.
With so much conflicting weight loss advice, it’s often hard to tell which diet or eating pattern will work, is healthy, and will achieve long-term fat loss. Many diets in particular will demonstrate initial weight loss (through fluid loss), even unhealthy diets that you should stay away from.
So. How do you tell a legitimate dietary option versus an unhealthy and potentially dangerous fad diet? Below we detail our thoughts on the worst types of diets.
diets that focus on avoiding certain food groups or focusing on one or two food groups
Examples of these types of diets are the Atkins Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Vegan Diet, or other low-carbohydrate options.
A healthy diet requires a variety of macronutrients including carbohydrates, proteins and… believe it or not… fats. A diet that focuses on only one food group will not provide your body with essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
What’s more – this type of diet is extremely difficult to maintain. Imagine eating a particular food group for a long time (take cabbage, for example). Your palate will quickly tire of the taste and the temptation to binge will develop. You may also experience extreme hunger and any initial fat loss you may experience will be short-lived as the diet begins to take a huge mental and physical toll.
cleansing or detox diets
Within a few days your body will be cleansed, ridding itself of toxins and you will lose weight too… Sorry but this is pure bullshit.
Diets that focus on flushing and cleansing the body are nonsense. The body is designed with major organs – liver, kidney, immune system etc… and the role of these organs is to rid the body of toxins without the need to flush. The key is to eat healthy and reduce your intake of bad foods. Get it and the body itself will be purified. Examples of cleansing or detox diets are the Lemon Detox and the Master Cleanse.
fasting or calorie restriction diets
While this would seem logical to many people… fasting for weight loss (as the Hollywood Diet recommends) is actually counterproductive. If you eat too few calories, instead of losing weight – your body will actually think you’re starving and slow down your metabolism.
Go back to eating normally after fasting and the metabolism doesn’t adjust. Result. You tend to eat more and will gain fat more easily.
What’s more… these diets are extremely difficult, both physically and mentally. You may initially see results (mainly fluid loss) but you’ll binge and you’ll put the weight back on…and some more.
OK then. what should you do?
First and foremost – you really shouldn’t aim to lose more than a pound or so per week. You may notice more initially — especially if you’re significantly overweight — although your weight loss goal should be 1 pound a week over time.
how to find a diet that works
1. The best ‘diet’ may not be a diet at all.
2. It should be flexible enough to fit into your lifestyle – for the long term.
3. It should encourage healthy eating and balance, variety and moderation.
4. It enables you to manage your hunger effectively.
Source by Aaron D Stone
