Many Approaches to Fat Loss
Most of the fat loss plans that are receiving media attention and gaining popularity these days can be classified in two main categories. They either promote a low fat approach to eating, or they recommend a low carbohydrate diet. There are articles on this site that explain the theory behind both of these types of plans, but what about the many hundreds of diets that do not promote either a low fat or low carb lifestyle? The truth is that there are so-called "diet plans" that are based on any and every theory ever conceived in order to lose weight.
Because the desire to be slim is a nearly universal wish in our society, people are prone to succumbing to the hype written by any slick marketer that promises to help them reach their goal. Whether these diets are based on any kind of science, or not, most of them acquire a large number of followers who believe that they have found the tool that will help them loose fat once and for all. Like most cultural phenomena, fad diets like this enjoy great enthusiasm for a time, and then fade from popularity.
What follows is a look at just a few of the approaches to fat loss that have come and gone in the last few years. Some may be effective ways to lose weight, but may produce negative health consequences. Some may actually cause your weight to balloon. All should be approached with caution.
Relying on Pre-Packaged Foods
Some of the most popular diets on the market today provide all the food that the dieter is to eat for a week. The meals are shipped directly to the user's home, which eliminates the need for grocery shopping or meal planning. The theory is that if you only have healthy and low-calorie foods in the house, that is what you will eat. One of the most widely used plans of this type is Nutrisystem, and its meals are well balanced and include a good variety of nutrients.
Jenny Craig is another plan that uses pre-packaged foods, but unlike Nutrisystem, you must visit an actual weight-loss center each week to pick up your food and submit to a weigh-in. You will also visit with a counselor at each visit whose mission it is to help you in your quest.
There are several other plans that require their followers to purchase specific diet foods, but they all have similar drawbacks. The first would be that the plans quickly get expensive. It is convenient and quick to prepare the meals, but it's much more costly than buying the same items at your local supermarket. When you add in the costs of counseling, diet books, videos and other add-ons, the price is often prohibitive.
Another big downside to these plans is the fact that they are not sustainable in the long term. No one can eat specific pre-planned foods indefinitely. What about an occasional restaurant meal? What happens when you go on vacation? All users will eventually need to be "weaned" off such diet plans, and most users regain any weight that was lost.
Liquid Diets
A slight variation of a pre-packaged food plan is found in diets like Medifast, SlimFast and Optifast. These are centered on "shakes" that are purchased by the user and consumed instead of regular meals. Some of them allow one "regular" meal per day. Some like Medifast are designed to be followed only under a doctor's supervision. Some offer bars, cereals, and other foods in addition to the shakes, which are to be used as meal replacements.
While some of these plans may lead to some short-term fat loss, all of them have the same drawbacks as their pre-packaged cousins. The also have the added problem of dietary boredom. Most people would find consuming a shake 14 or more times every week to be completely monotonous. Such boredom often leads to loss of motivation and binge eating.
Online Diets
There are a variety of Internet sites that provide nutrition plans for dieters. While they may promote many differing eating plans, they all have the theory that online support via chat rooms or email is a good motivator and may help users stick to whatever plan they have chosen. Most of the sites, like eDiets offer individualized menus and services such as computer generated shopping lists, recipes, and consultations with an online advisor. In most cases, the user pays a monthly or quarterly fee for this support.
These plans may be helpful to folks who do not have a support group around them that will encourage them in their fat loss efforts. Sometimes people find that being accountable to someone else for the food choices that they make, even if that person is only known in cyber-space, can be very beneficial.
Other Approaches
A little research uncovers literally hundreds of other eating plans that claim to help you lose pounds and inches. Some are based on consuming lots of one kind of food like the Grapefruit Diet, the Bread for Life Diet, and the Apple Cider Vinegar Diet. Some, like the Abs Diet, claim that you must do specific exercises and workouts to achieve your goals. Others, such as the Cardio-Free Diet, state that no exercise is necessary at all.
There are several plans developed by psychologists or psychiatrists like Dr. Phil that focus more on the emotional and mental reasons for over-eating than on specific foods or menus. Others have been created by medical doctors (Dr. Dean Ornish), nutritionists (Jay Robb) and athletic trainers (Harvey Pasternak).
In short, the number of different methods of achieving fat loss is huge, and it continues to grow. If you really want to drop some pounds yourself, you need to do your research and use a sensible approach. In my opinion, the guidelines set out in Fat Loss 4 Idiots are the most effective way to burn fat. This plan allows the user to consume lots of different foods, but in controlled combinations that help to keep the body burning the calories that are consumed. When your food is burned for energy, it is not stored as fat, and that is a good thing. Check out this plan here that has been so successful for many.
More Dieting Tips:
Just How Good is the Best Life Diet?
Atkins: The Low-Carb Diet That Started it All
Bread for Life? And It's a Diet?
Can the South Beach Diet Really Get You Ready for Swimsuit Season?
Can Psychology Really Help With Fat Loss?
What's the Deal With the Eat-Clean Diet?
Do You Lose Fat if You "Eat To Live?"
Foolish Fads and Preposterous Plans That Can Derail Your Fat Loss
Goals
Hoodia Gordonii
How Weight Watchers Has Stood the Test of Time
Are Low Carb Diets the Answer?
Many Approaches to Fat Loss
The "Fast" in Medifast: Quick Results or Slow Starvation?
What's the Truth About Nutrisystem?
Should You "Call Jenny?"
What's So Hot About the Sonoma Diet?
Does Sugar Busters Really Produce Fat Loss?
The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet: Could YOU be Addicted to Carbs?
The Problem With a "Low Fat" Approach to Fat Loss
The Skinny on the Zone Diet
What Kind of Diet Lasts Just Four Days?
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