Good sense, healthy habits are the keys to losing weight

By Collin Searle

May 6, 2005 | Is there a quick fix for weight loss? Unfortunately no. However, there are many cleverly disguised diets that are offering instant weight loss with only eating certain foods. You might be familiar with diets such as the Atkins diet, sugar busters, and the grapefruit diet. None of these diets have shown constant weight loss over a long period of time. They are just well marketed dazzle diets that offer people a quick fix to keep the multi-billion dollar industry growing.

The weight loss industry is a 40 billion dollar industry and is cashing in on the obesity epidemic by creating a low calorie diet then handing it over to a marketing team to create testimonials and exploit the program. These programs usual point the finger at a certain food that is able to promote weight loss such as eating no carbs or no sugar. The science of weight loss is relatively basic when you burn more calories than you intake weight loss will occur. While fad diets may initially offer rapid weight loss, the result is too often temporary.

"These fad diets alter your metabolism, causing it to decrease , so when you go back to your regular eating habits weight gain back will occur because your metabolism is to slow," said Nick Smith a personal trainer at the Sports Academy.

The best selling Atkins diet and sugar busters forbids dieters from eating carbohydrates and sugar.These diets blame these two elements for the obesity in America. The low-carb, high-protein plan consists of between 1,200 and 1,800 calories. This calorie range would result in weight loss no matter what combination of foods the dieter was to eat. The advantage of this diet is it's simple by eliminating carbs, sugar, and calories to lose weight. The downside is high-protein diets put the body into a state of ketosis, causing headaches, bad breath, nausea and carbohydrate cravings due to depleted glycogen stores. The plan is too high in saturated fats and too low in fruits, whole grains, calcium and fiber. In the long term when carbohydrate intake resumes weight increase will begin at a faster rate than usual.

The grapefruit diet only offers dieters 800 calories a day which is far below the recommended caloric intake. The good part of this diet is it's a great source of vitamin C and high in fiber. The downside is far greater because of its elimination vital nutrients and vitamins. The plan simply has too few calories to be safe.

"The initial loss is muscle mass that you need to have. Not fat. The body takes minerals that it needs from your muscles because the diet is depriving the body of them," said Dan Smith, manager at the Sports Academy.

According to Apex and the American Heart Association both encourage a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat dairy products, along with regular physical activity. Some tips for healthy weight loss are limiting your daily intake of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Limit the amount of sugar in your diet, watch portion sizes, limit liquid calories such as soft drinks alcohol, and exercise on a regular basis.

Most of these diets are of little value to a person trying to lose weight permanently. Many of these diets can harm your body and, in some cases, are extremely dangerous to some people. The nutrients that your body is missing out on will be taken from the healthiest part of your body; your muscle cells not your fat storage. Healthy weight loss comes from eating properly from all areas of the food pyramid in rational portion sizes with consistent physical activity. In doing this you are cutting back on your calorie intake as well as changing fat cells into usable muscle cells without damaging your body over time. This also will increase your energy and productivity. You can seek information to aid you at the doctor's office or at any of the health facilities around the valley.

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