Towards Living A Healthy Lifestyle
Things To Know About Fad Diets

Things To Know About Fad Diets

Let’s face it… You’re tired of reading and watching washed up weight-loss advice and hearing “theories” from these so called “Experts”. It’s time to pull back the curtains and share with you exactly what the experts don’t want you to know…

U.S. Stories & World Report has recently conducted an evaluation of some of the most popular diets on the market today. The diets were broken down into 2 specific categories, “heart-healthy” and “weight-loss.” And, in addition to consulting with more than 20 specialists in diet and nutrition, analysts conducted a reader survey of each diet plan’s efficiency.

Not surprisingly, when it came to weight-loss diets, the overwhelming reply from readers was “no!” they do not work. And that appeared to be true for even the top ranked ones.

As of Jan 5, 2012, the Atkins Diet had 21,958 responses, and of those 84% (18,539) were negative, claiming that it hadn’t worked. The Raw Food Diet had 1,369 responses, 335 were positive and 1,034 were negative.

So what’s the problem? Why don’t these weight-loss diets work?  Let’s take a look at a few of those reasons now.

Fad Diets Can Be Restrictive

The  vast majority of the weight-loss diets seem to work initially, but are found to be short lived. That is the reason why many experts say the issue isn’t losing weight, the issue is keeping weight off. So why do we have such a hard time keeping the weight off once we’ve lost it?

Well, there are various reasons that explain why, and one of them is that weight-loss diets have a tendency to be too restrictive. Let’s use the Atkins Diet as an example, it removes carbohydrate calories and replaces them with a large quantity of protein. If you’re going to eat a lot of protein and do not wish to feel hungry all the time, you’re likely going to end up consuming mainly meat products, particularly red meat.

This may sound good at first, but after a few weeks, it becomes old and most people simply burn out. The cravings for carbohydrates increase and the temptation to cheat with freshly baked breads and pasta becomes really hard to resist.

The following is a list of some of the top ranked weight-loss diets that have been found to be too restrictive for the great majority of people trying to lose weight. No one is saying that these diets don’t work, they just don’t work long term.

Atkins Diet – Results in intense carbohydrate cravings for most individuals. It can also increase uric acid in the blood stream that can increase the risk of gout or make gout symptoms significantly worse. The high cholesterol and high overall fat content is believed to raise the risk of heart disease and related conditions. Also people can enter ketoacidosis of varying degrees, which can make the person feel headachy and lackluster.

Eco-Atkins – Needs protein to come from plants, you either stay or become hungry faster. Tough on the liver and kidneys. Increased uric acid in the blood stream that can lead to gout. Ketoacidosis can make people feel headachy and lackluster.

Raw Food Diet – Requires a major lifestyle change for the great majority of people. Many times the raw food diet also misses other necessary nutrients such as B12, therefore it is critical that people carefully plan their meals and monitor the nutritional value of what they eat. The lack of heating certain foods such as eggs, milk, honey, shellfish and meats can place participants who eat these foods at a higher risk for food borne illnesses.

Volumetric Diet – Requires less dense foods and doesn’t satisfy hunger. The bulk of the work is trying to figure out how to structure one’s meals to meet all dietary needs, accommodate any dietary restrictions and keep one full with lower energy density foods remains with the dieter.

South Beach Diet – Ketosis might occur due to the lack of carbs resulting in fat burn, which in turn could lead to weakness, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, dizziness, glucose body depletion, and dehydration.

Apparently all of the diets above have a tendency to have a weight rebound effect where individuals gain back more weight than they lost. Reducing calories, which is basically what all weight-loss diets do, forces a metabolic shift toward energy storage a.k.a. fat accumulation. For instance, decreasing calories functions is a signal to the gene that produces an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase or LPL. When activated, LPL stores fat.

The Vegan Diet gathered a lot of positive responses. Out of 17,217 replies, 90% said yes the diet had worked for them. But it’s fascinating that for the majority, this particular weight-loss diet would require a major nutritional change that could be too restrictive. But if you make it through the change and stick with it, then you may see results.

Now, some of these diets can cost up to $1200, and that’s just for the food that they provide. The dirty little secret they don’t tell you is that you still have to buy supermarket food in addition to the food you bought from them! And some of them charge you by how much weight you lose! How crazy is that?

You see I’ve been there, I know what it’s like to be overweight. It’s not your fault that those so called popular diets have failed you.  If you’re ready to make 2013 the year you finally shed those unwanted pounds while improving your overall health the natural way, then I suggest you check out these weight-loss plans that are gaining popularity all over the Internet …  The Fat Loss Factor, The Diet Solution Program, and The Primal Burn System.