Crashed Diets

Here are 10 diets that may help you lose weight fast but fail to deliver what you nedd most: healthy ways to maintain ideal weight.

1.) The Atkins Diet - The Atkins is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet that involves eating unlimited amounts of meat, poultry, eggs, cheese fats and oils. Because the diet is recommended for life, the odds are againts weight loss or weight maintenance success with Atkins.

2.) The South Beach Diet - The diet begins with Phase 1, a strict 14 day low carbohydrate period. After this, the South Beach develops into a well balanced diet. However, nutritionist and health experts point out that in reality very few move on the healthier maintenace phase. When extra pounds find their way back into a dieters body, he returns to Phase 1, resulting in a dangerous cycle of weight gain and loss.

3.) The Cabbage Soup Diet - It is a seven day diet that allows unlimited consumption of a special cabbage soup that is fat burning. It claims a person can loose up to 10 pounds a week. This works because caloric intake is reduced rapidly. Never claimed to be for long term weight loss, so why bother?

4.) The Three Day Diet - Its a very structured meal plan that involves eating certain food combinations to create a desired reaction in the digestive system. Because the restrictions are tight, its almost impossible to maintain the three day diet for very long.

5.) The grapefruit diet - The basic principal behind the grapefruit diet is eating half a grapefruit or drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice with every meal will enhance the bodys fat burning abilities. The diet is very low calorie, unbalanced and nutritionally unsound.

6.) The Beverly Hills Diet - This diet is achieved by eating specific foods at a particular time or in certain order. The extreme limits on food choices make this diet unsustainable.

7.) The Zone - The solution is an organized diet with exact proportions of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent fats. The major pitfall is its complexity and expensive.

8.) The Sugar Busters diet - This diet discourages eating food with refined sugars such as sweets and cakes. But nutritionist say that the claim sugar is toxic to the body has no scientific basis.

9.) Suzanne Somers Get Skinny On Fabulous Food - The nasic principle in this diet is that sugar and starch are the enemy and fats, even in large amounts are good. However her theories arent backed by studies.

10.) The One Day Diet - Diet one day, eat regularly the next day then return to dieting. Totally unattainable

10 surefire ways to lose weight

The true mark of a good weight loss program is that you can stick to it for the rest of your life.

Too often, people who want to loose weight the quick and easy way end up regaining the lost weight slowly and steadily. Others try the latest fad diets to jump start weight loss then revert to unhealthy and restrictive diets that offer dramatic but temporary results. For most, maintaining the right body weight can be as difficult, if not more so as loosing unwanted pounds.

Weight control is a complex endeavor that involves more than just eating leaves and nuts and every person needs a program that counters the factors that make being in the right weight range elusive. While there is no one formula, there are many strategies that can help increase the ods of hitting your target. In truth, there is no quick and easy way to lose weight; the key is to make simple, practicle and sustainable in your lifestyle.

1.) Think healthy rather than think thin - Change your behaviour towards yourself and your relationship with food, and assess why you want to loose weight.

2.) Dont "diet" - Abandon the idea of dieting and everything associated with it, such as excluding a food group; extreme restrictions; complete abstinence from food that you love; and "magic" food, food group or food combinations. Instead, plan to eat healthy, balanced meals.

3.) Exercise - Although weight loss may be achieved through dieting alone, losses consist mostly water and muscle.

4.) Watch your portions - Understand what "one serving" means. That super sized, side dish laden portion isn't just one serving; there are more calories in there than what you think. You dont want the extra baggage.

5.) Take your time eating - Put back the pleasure in dining. Enjoy the taste, texture and smell of your food.

6.) Set reasonable goals - Write it down and give yourself a deadline. Post your goals in a place you can see everyday.

7.) Eat breakfast - The National Weight Control Registry of The United States shows that those who maintained a loss of atleast 30 pounds for atleast one year, 78 percent reported eating breakfst every day.

8.) Make small changes - Reasonable alterations in lifestyle go a long, long way.

9.) Forgive yourself when you stumble - There can be days when you just cant help yourself. Forgive yourself and get back on track. Do not use a slip-up as reason to give up.

10.) Consult your doctor - No matter how old you are or how healthy you percieve yourself to be, consult your doctor before you begin a weight loss or exercise program.