Articles
What do You Gain from a Fad Diet?
Fad diets are those that offer weight loss without any scientific basis. Many of these diets make you cut out an entire food group, or tell you to eat from only one food group, leaving you hungry and lacking in important vitamins and minerals. Australian women spend over $400 million per year on fad diet products, and 83% of them regain all of their lost weight, plus more, within 2 years.
The reason why fad diets don't tend to work long term is simple, they are just too hard to stick too! Eliminating whole food groups, such as carbohydrates, is difficult, and people inevitably ditch the diet and overindulge in what they have been missing.. Another reason they don't work is because they tend to have little effect on the bodies fat stores. The achieved weight loss is usually attributed to losses in water and lean muscle mass.
When we restrict food intake, particularly to the extent expected on a fad diet, the body has to get energy from elsewhere. The easiest way is to break down lean muscle tissue, which is much easier for the body to do than break down fat stores. Breaking down lean muscle leads to overall decreased muscle mass, which in turn leads to a decrease in metabolic rate. When you stop dieting, your metabolism is still at this sluggish pace, making it much easier to gain body fat than before you started the fad diet.
When it comes to weight loss there is no easy way out. Nothing beats a healthy, well balanced diet and exercise, and this does not have to be as hard as it sounds. Any positive changes to diet and lifestyle, no matter how small to start, will have a positive impact on weight loss. All you need is the determination, and a little expert help. Make the decision to change, and get the ball rolling. Keep a three day food and exercise diary and bring it in to one of our expert Dietitians who can help you get your diet on track and help you reach a healthy weight goal. Our Dietitians can give you practical advice you need to make small changes to your diet and lifestyle, or can tailor diets to suit your needs if you prefer.
Added to site on : Tuesday, 21 June 2011