Fast Weight Loss Diets

Everyone is familiar with the claims of today’s fast weight loss diets: “Lose three dress sizes in a week!” “Lose weight while you sleep!” and “Cutting all carbohydrates from your diet is the key to weight loss!” Each of these fast weight loss diet claims appeals to the emotions of those with real weight loss goals, because it promises quick results with little or no effort. However, research has continually proven that these types of diets are ineffective at best, and at worst, can actually be detrimental to the health of those who try them.

Why don’t fast weight loss diets work?
Nearly every fast weight loss diet that promises the loss of so many pounds and inches in short periods of time has a built-in failure mechanism. These diets usually rely on severe calorie restriction, which may initially bring about rapid weight loss, but which are not sustainable over time. As soon as the diet is “over,” and the dieter resumes a normal eating pattern, all the weight comes back.

Why are fast weight loss diets dangerous?
While fast weight loss diets may result in some short-term weight loss, you will likely gain back the weight you lost on the diet, plus some additional weight. Over time, this continual cycle of losing and gaining weight (known as the “yo-yo effect”) can cause a powerful detrimental outcome:

• The once-earnest, now-discouraged dieter may be disillusioned when the weight comes back, and fear of failure may prevent him or her from trying a more realistic approach in the future.
• Or, perhaps worse, the dieter may place the blame solely on his/her self-control, and not on the faulty diet which is really the culprit. This makes the person susceptible to the next fad, expert, or rapid weight loss diet that promises a new body overnight, thus perpetuating the yo-yo cycles.
• Fast weight loss diets also have a negative impact on overall health: losing and gaining weight over and over is dangerous because research has shown that with each yo-yo cycle, the body’s metabolism is altered in such a way that subsequent weight loss becomes even more difficult.
• There is special news regarding women: Several reputable studies have linked the fast weight loss diet and its up/down effect on weight to heart disease and circulatory problems.

Are fast weight loss diets ever OK?
Many experts agree that, when used correctly, there may be a place for the rapid weight loss diet. When combined with a healthy, long-term weight loss plan, it may be instrumental in creating motivation through the initial rapid weight loss period. Following initial weight loss, the dieter then must shift gears, and be committed to making lifestyle changes in terms of better eating habits and increased physical activity: this is the only way to achieve healthy, long-term weight loss.

How can I discern between a fast weight loss diet and the real thing?
As stated above, the only answer to healthy, sustainable weight loss is through positive lifestyle changes toward diet and exercise. Here are a few characteristics to help you discern fast weight loss diets from the real thing:

• Requires you to cut out an entire food group – such as carbohydrates or fats.
• Relies on one key food to spark weight loss – like grapefruit or cabbage.
• Claims are based on unproven theories with no scientific evidence.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• The diet’s explanation is overly simplified; promoters may say that the complete explanation is too complex for the consumer to understand.

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