Lose 15 pounds in 1 week!

Eat all you want, never exercise and still lose weight!

Both of these are examples of fad diets that many Americans buy into. On television and all over the web there advertisements claiming you can lose an drastic amount of weight in a short time. Many people are surprised to learn that these fad diets aren’t actually good for you because many people have lost a lot of weight using fad diets.

While some fad diets are not actually crash diets they are over restrictive diet plans. These diets tend to be fashionable for awhile and make the inventors millions of dollars. The best diet plan you can ever get is from your doctor. The question I know many of you are still asking is: why are fad diets so bad?

Why Fad Diets Are Not Good:

The weight that is lost with fad diets are not permanent. You usually just lose about 90% of water weight which will be put right back on in a couple of weeks. So if you want to lose weight and keep it off than fad diets are not for you.

Fad diets, or diets that promise quick and easy weight loss is unhealthy. Most of the time, these diets require you to eat one type of food and even take supplements. After some time you can develop nutritional deficiencies.

After the first day or two on a fad diet you will hate it. They are excessively boring and too restrictive. You will start craving your favorite foods and end up breaking your diet and going on an eating binge.

Fad diets are not healthy weight loss programs. Most of these diets do not incorporate any or enough fruits and vegetables.

Diets are supposed to help you develop healthy eating habits so that you can always maintain a healthy weight. Fad diets will not help you do that all. Fad diets push diet binges and fast weight loss and also fast weight gain

Are fad diets for you? If you are like me and you want to lose weight permanently and develop healthy eating habits so you can always maintain your weight than the answer is NO!

Many Americans today suffer from obesity. Being obese means being extremely overweight. Dietitians quantify obesity as being more than 20% over the desired weight. This physical state should be seriously considered as it will lead to a broad spectrum of medical disorders like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, gallstones, cancer, stroke, osteoarthritis, back pains, breathlessness, varicose veins and skin problems.

People become obese when they continually confuse appetite as hunger. Needing to eat to sustain healthy bodily functions is entirely different from ‘wanting’ to eat in order to satisfy a physiological craving. This craving may be triggered by several factors like unusual personal experiences, such as a new job, an upcoming exam, death in the family or a romantic break-up.

When left out of control, satisfying appetite cravings will naturally lead to weight gain. The extent of weight gain, of course, depends on the gravity of the person’s indulgence. It is the extreme uncontrolled appetite that will consequently lead to obesity.

Initial discomforts experienced by overweight people include breathlessness because of constriction of the diaphragm and increased workload of the heart. Skin problems, such as chafing and skin irritations between skin folds, is another one. In addition, overweight individuals may also experience back pain as their lower back takes on the pressure of the upper body because of the lack of abdominal muscle tone.

Over and above the discomforts listed above, there is the serious issue of deaths among the extremely obese. Mortality of obese patients is largely due to circulatory diseases.

Obesity among men and women normally result to significantly high blood pressure. This is a common cause of complications in bodily functions. High blood cholesterol is also evident among the severely overweight as a result of an excessive appetite for food types containing high levels of the unhealthy saturated fat. This type of fat is then transformed into cholesterol in the liver, therefore, causing an upsurge in cholesterol levels in the blood.

A higher risk of heart stroke is also noted among over-eaters. A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is hampered. Important to note is that a heart stroke normally occurs as a result of high levels of blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. So, as you can clearly see, there is a chain reaction that occurs as a result of uncontrolled appetite satiation.

So, if there three things you should remember after reading this material, it should be: Extreme appetites can kill. Learn to deal with hunger and appetite and listen to your body.

Sometimes I feel that the world is made up of two kinds of people: one who is on a weight loss diet and the other who is about to. Every year, ever since I can remember the most popular New Year resolution for many is to lose those extra inches. The essence of losing weight is to consume lesser calories than you are able to burn. This can be achieved by a blend of regulated diet combined with some measure of physical exercise.

There are plenty of weight loss programs available for handling any type of obesity and over weight issues. The need for weight loss can be of two types: for health reasons and for beauty or looks enhancement purposes. Depending on your own specific needs, you can choose from any of the three types of weight loss programs which are do-it-yourself, non-clinical and clinical programs.

The first type, as the name suggests is completely self-regulated where you are in full control of the diet as well as the physical workouts. Your diet plan can be worked out with the help of diet books, online assistance or videos. Similarly, physical work out routines can also be chalked out with the help of such aids.

Then there are gyms and aerobic classes who can provide the help you need. Overeaters Anonymous is a social support group from where you could obtain valuable guidance. Such groups offer excellent support services for those weight watchers who do not need any counseling or physical guidance but simply some sort of psychological hand-holding.

The non-clinical weight loss programs are available when you join any private or commercial programs like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss. These programs usually involve a trained counselor who guides you through the process and monitors your progress on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

They also do the regular weighing to keep you motivated to remain on track. The counselors are normally accompanied by trained dieticians who would chalk out the right diet for you. Though the dieticians might be trained professionals the counselors are not. They are usually past successful members. These programs usually insist on customers buying their nutrition bars or pre-packed meals.

In case you decide to join such programs it is always wiser to discuss the ingredients of such food packages with your doctor. Some of these programs may advise you to go on their recommended diet whereby you would have rapid weight loss without having to do any physical exercise. You need to exercise caution before you join such programs as the process might prove dangerous in the long run. These programs are good for people who are in constant need for motivation and counseling during their weight loss schedule.

The clinical weight loss program takes place in a clinical environment where a qualified medical practitioner would take your weight and past medical history and then chalk out a special diet and exercise regimen, which would suit your specific purpose. These doctors often prescribe weight loss medications as well as design a low calorie diet plan for their clients. Sometimes for morbidly obese patients doctors in these clinics also recommend surgery. This type of program is good for obese people where their weight problem is interfering with their health or when they are victims of hereditary obesity factors.

Whichever weight loss program you choose, you must choose it after consultation with your doctor. Be careful of the various hidden costs in non-clinical programs. Any weight loss program is deemed successful when the desired weight goals are not only reached but maintained as well, through the right diet and exercise.

Enrolling yourself in a proven and tested weight loss program is easier than working through the process till the time that you have achieved your weight loss goals. Many people find it extremely difficult to stay motivate through out the program. Motivation would usually take a dip when either your weight loss has reached a plateau or you have experienced some kind of weight gain.

Eating those special diets and working out those exercise modules may seem attractive in the first few weeks but it requires a lot of self discipline and focus to stay tuned to what you have started and watching it through its logical end. So can any thing be done so that we do not lose interest in the weight loss program midway?

One of the biggest tumbling blocks for many embarking on a weight loss program is setting unrealistic goals. If you set weight loss goals which are difficult to attain, you would naturally get frustrated midway, as you do not see the face of success despite putting your best efforts.

Remember, success breeds success. On the other hand, if you set yourself smaller and more achievable goals, you would witness positive results sooner than you expected. Seeing fruits of your labor right in front of you when you stand on the weighing scale would surely motivate you to continue with the program. Success in these types of personal endeavors usually does wonders to one’s level of confidence and self-esteem.

In psychology there is a concept called ‘auto suggestion’. This is nothing but repeatedly telling yourself about something you believe would happen and it surely does. Though this may sound a bit far-fetched with regard to weight loss, but to keep you on track this can be put to great use.

Think continuously the benefits of the weight loss program and the reasons why got there in the first place. If it is for health reasons, then think about the million health benefits and the improved quality of life you can experience if you lost so many pounds. If your participation in the weight loss program is for cosmetic reasons, think of the admiring smiles that your new slim and trim body would invite. You could be a role model for several others in your community where people would talk highly about your determination and sense of focus in life. Needless to mention, a slim and well-maintained body enjoys an improved quality of life both inside and outsider his or her home.

They say to give up smoking you need to have non-smoking people who can encourage you to do better. Similar situation can happen in your weight loss program too. Try to surround yourself with people who mean good and who will encourage you to stick to your schedules and diet. Even if you have lost a few inches round your hips or waistline, share the exciting news with them and let them enjoy with you to positive developments. Do not forget to reward yourself too. Start keeping some money away for every pound lost, so that later you could buy yourself a nice well-fitting dress that you so wanted but could not fit into. Or you could do some other activity of your preference with that saved money.

Try to do the physical workouts with the help of your favorite music either on TV, DVD or even the iPod. The music can break the monotony of walking or jogging alone. Keep a weight chart in front of your where you record your weight everyday. The loss which it shows would motivate you visually. All these steps would keep you happy and motivated till you have achieved your ultimate weight loss goals.