Fad Diets

If you only need to lose a few pounds, you may be tempted to try a 'fad' diet for reducing your calorie consumption. These diets can work, but you should be aware of their associated problems:


1. Studies have shown that the majority of people who use these diets, will gain the weight back. Often times, they will gain back more than they lost. This is a consequence that most people do not consider. They drink a weight loss shake, or eat a special food for a few months and lose a large amount of weight, but what happens when it's time to go back to regular food? Most people usually start gaining weight again.

2. Without effective behaviour modification, after completing a diet, you will most likely go back to your old eating habits. You cannot remain on fad diets forever, and sooner or later you have to face real food again.

3. Any successful weight loss will require a permanent change in eating habits. A good program should not only help you lose fat, it should also help you to develop the correct eating habits necessary to maintain your new body.
4. You will lose more muscle mass than body fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat - this helps to keep your metabolism elevated. Muscle also gives you a shapely, firm and more defined physique.

5. If you end up with less muscle than when you started, you can bet that your metabolism has been slowed a great deal, which, in the long run, means your body will be burning fewer calories and storing more fat.

6. Although you may get down to the weight that you desire, you will have more body fat, less muscle mass and no muscle tone. People who have a history of dieting off and on (yo-yo dieting), will lose weight and look thinner, but still remain very soft or "jiggly". This type of dieting is notorious for weakening the immune system.