subject: Sorting Through Diets for Weight Loss [print this page] Diets for weight loss come a dime a dozenDiets for weight loss come a dime a dozen. You have calorie-counting programs, such as Weight Watchers. You have low fat diets like Jenny Craig. Then you have pill and powder supported diets like Jillian Michaels' plan. Finally, you also have the various low carb diets. Which one is "the best one" is a different question for everyone.
The Scoop on Calorie-Counting Diets
Calorie-counting diets operate on the idea that calories equal potential fat. You keep track of how many calories you take in, either counting them directly or using a point system. Maybe you do some exercise. Now, does it work?
In reality, calories are a measure of potential energy. Simply put, it's a measure of how much heat it takes to break down pretty much anything. Does this mean you'll get fat from eating more calories?
A sirloin steak has 212 calories. A tuna steak has 180. One cup of steel cut oatmeal has 600 calories. If one cup of oatmeal being almost three times as fattening as a sirloin steak makes sense to you, then go for it. It does work, but it's a longer process than it has to be.
What About Low-Fat Diets?
Low-fat diets work on a basic idea. If you eat less fat, you lose fat. It seems like sound advice, and it does have some benefits. The problem is that it doesn't usually address all food sources that can make you fat. In fact, carbohydrates make you fatter more quickly than a glob of butter.
Much like the calorie-counting diets, low-fat diets have a limited level of effectiveness. Many of them are created and marketed as ways to get around the fact that you should exercise to lose fat. In all cases, you're likely to hit plateaus as you try to lose weight, which often require exercise to get through.
Diet Plans with Pill and Powder Supplements
To address the shortcomings of low-fat and low-calorie diets, various plans have come out adding exercise and pill and powder supplements to the mix. Diets like Jillian Michaels' plan are often simply low-calorie diets with "metabolism boosting" pills and shake mixes.
These plans are moderately better than the previous two diets insofar as they emphasize the need for exercise. Artificial supplementation by pills and shakes is often dangerous territory. In some cases, "supplements" is a nice way of saying "stimulants," which can be bad for your cardiovascular and nervous system. They can even make you physically ill and nauseous.
With the evidence you've seen so far, you might be able to surmise a different kind of weight loss plan. Carbohydrates were identified as a problem that typically isn't addressed. Exercise was identified as a necessity.
Essentially, the problem with most diets for weight loss is that they try to circumvent exercise. They try to allow you to continue to live a sedentary, unnatural lifestyle that isn't conducive to your overall health, much less to natural weight loss. What you need is an all natural, honest approach to burning fat--one that keeps the fat off.
Sorting Through Diets for Weight Loss
By: Isabel De Los Rios
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