Better Health Today!

Insider Doctors and Scientists share the Solution for any Health Care Crisis. Easy to follow step by step applications. For Health Care Professionals And Families.

Check it out!

Low Carb diets the truth: part one

Translate Request has too much data
Parameter name: request
Translate Request has too much data
Parameter name: request

Almost everyone knows someone who has used a low carb diet. They have used it themselves had a friend use it or are getting ready to use it . Are these diets magic? Are they safe? Can I really eat all of the cheese and meat I want ? Will I die if I go into ketosis?

These are just a few common questions I hear in regards to questions that concern low carb diets. In this series of articles I will present readers with scientific facts and my practical observations for implications concerning low carb diets. Some low carb supporters will not like what I will have to say. Some low carb haters will not like what I have to say. The objective of these articles are to educate readers on the practical implications of low carb dieting. Some will be offended and some will say how can that be. Either way sit back and enjoy as I attempt to shed light on the highly talked about topic - low carb diets (ketogenic diets)

I have provided a brief overview of some the topics that will be discussed in this series of articles.

What type of changes occur while using low carb diets

Do low carb diets make me mean

Do low carb diets spare muscle

Can I gain weight on a low carb diet

How much weight can I expect to lose

Can this diet help my medical condition

Different types of low carb diets

Why you need to cycle higher days of carbs

Who needs low carb diets

Are they safe for children

Are they beneficial for athletes

The topics mentioned above are just a few that will be addressed in Low Carb Dieting.

Before we move any further let me introduce the word ketogenic. Must of you reading this article are probably familiar with the world as it implies low carb or restriction of carb intake. Simply put for our purposes the words ketogenic and low carb are synonymous. A couple of other comments I would like to make before we move on. This comment is for Low Carb supporters that swear of all vegetables and fruits. Get on medline.com and do some research. Go to the library and look through some journals. A complete diet for long term use needs to incorporate greens and some fruits to be healthy. A short term diet devoid of fruits and vegetables might not be that bad, but rejecting greens and any fruits for life is a bad idea.

This comment is for the low carb haters. One of the number one reasons most of America is fat is because of chronically high insulin levels. Which is primarily contributed to excessive carb intake. Don't get me wrong I am not blaming high carbohydrate intake on all of our obesity problems. I should probably say excessive and the wrong types of carbohydrate at the wrong times are the problem. At the same time the answer is not to eat all of the saturated fat we can find : which can contribute to insulin insensitivity, elevated TG's, increased lipogenesis and digestive problems.

What is a ketogenic diet? A diet that causes ketone bodies to be produced by the liver, and shifts the body's metabolism away from glucose in favor of fat burning. A ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrates below a certain level (generally 100 per day). The ultimate determinant of whether a diet is ketogenic or not is the presence or absence of carbohydrate. Protein and fat intake vary. Contrary to poplar belief eating fat is not what causes ketosis. In the past starvation diets were used often to induce ketosis. I will repeat myself again and say lack of carbohydrate or presence of ultimately determines if the diet is ketogenic.

In most eating plans the body runs on a mixture of protein, fats and carbohydrates. When carbohydrates are severely restricted and glycogen storage (glucose in muscle and liver) is depleted the body begins to utilize other means to provide energy. FFA (free fatty acids) can be used to provide energy, but the brain and nervous system are unable to use FFA's. Although the brain can use ketone bodies for energy.

Ketone bodies are by products of incomplete FFA breakdown in the liver. Once they begin to accumulate fast and reach a certain level they are released , accumulated in the bloodstream and cause a state called ketosis. As this occurs there is a decrease in glucose production and utilization. There is also less reliance on protein to meet energy requirements by the body. Ketogenic diets are often referred to as protein sparing as they help to spare LBM whiled dropping body fat.

In regards to ketogenic diets there are two primary hormones- insulin, glucagon that need to be considered. Insulin can be described as a storage hormone as it's job is to take nutrients out of the bloodstream and carry them to target tissues. Insulin carries glucose from the blood to the liver and muscles, and it carries FFA from the blood into adipose tissue (stored fat triglyceride). On the other hand glucagon breaks down glycogen stores (especially in the liver) and releases them into the blood.

When carbs are restricted or removed insulin levels drop while glucagon levels rise. This causes enhanced FFA release from fat cells, and increased FFA burning in the liver. This accelerated burning of FFA in the liver is what leads to ketosis. There are a number of other hormones involved with this process as well.

In general we refer to three different types of ketogenic diets.

1) STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET- A diet containing l00 or less grams of carbohydrates is referred to as STANDARD KETOGENIC DIET

2)TARGETED KETOGENIC DIET- consuming carbohydrates around exercise, to sustain performance without affecting ketosis.

3)CYCLICAL KETOGENIC DIET- alternates periods of ketogenic dieting with periods of high carbohydrate intake

The Beginning of Ketogenic diets

Originally ketogenic diets were used to treat obesity and epilepsy. In general ketogenic diets are similar to starvation diets in the responses that occur in the body. More specifically these two states can be referred to as starvation ketosis and dietary ketosis. These similarities have led to the development of modern day ketogenic diets.

Ketogenic dieting has been used for years in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. In the early 1900's times of total fasting was used to treat seizures. This caused numerous health problems and could not be sustained indefinitely.

Due to the impracticalities and health problems occurring with starvation ketogenic diets researchers began to look for a way to mimic starvation ketosis while consuming food. They determined that a diet consisting of high fat, low carb and minimal protein could sustain growth and maintain ketosis for a long period of time. This led to the birth of the original ketogenic diet in 1921 by Dr. Wilder. Dr Wilder's diet controlled pediatric epilepsy in many cases where drugs and other treatments failed.

New epilepsy drugs were invented during the 30's, 40's and 50's and ketogenic diets fell to the wayside. These new drugs lead to almost disappearance of ketogenic diets during this time. A few modified ketogenic diets were tried during this time such as the MCT (medium chain triglycerides) diets, but they were not welly accepted.

In 1994 the ketogenic diet as a treatment for epilepsy was re-discovered. This came about in the story of Charlie a 2yr old with seizures that could not be controlled with mediacions or other treatment including brain surgery. Charlie's father had found reference to the diet through his research and ended up at John Hopkins medical center.

Charlie's seizures were completely controlled as long as he was on the diet. The huge success of the diet prompted Charlie's father to start the Charlie foundation. The foundation has produced several videos, and published the book The Epilepsy Diet Treatment: An Introduction to the Ketogenic diet. The foundation has sponsored conferences to train physicians and dietians to implement the diet. The exact mechanisms of how the ketogenic diet works to control epilepsy are still unknown, the diet continues to gain acceptance as an alternative to drug therapy.

Obesity

Ketogenic diets have been used for at least a century for weight loss. Complete starvation was studied often including the research of Hill, who fasted a subject for 60 days to examine the effects. The effects of starvation were very successful in regards to treatment of the morbidly obese as rapid weight loss occurred. Other characteristics attributed to ketosis, such as appetite suppression and sense of well being, made fasting even more attractive for weight loss. Extremely obese patients have been fasted for up to one year and given nothing but vitamins and minerals.

The major problem with complete starvation diets is the loss of body protein, primarily from muscle tissue. Protein losses decrease as starvation contines, but up to one half of the total weight loss can be contributed to muscle and water loss.

In the early 1970's Protein Sparing Modified Fasts were introduced. These diets

allowed the benefits of ketosis to continue while preventing losses of bodily proteins.

They are still used today under medical supervision

In the early 70's Dr. Atkins introduced Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution With millions of

copies Sold the diet generated a great deal of interest. Dr. Atkins suggested a diet limited

in carbohydrate but unlimited in protein and fat. He promoted the diet as it would allow

rapid weight loss, no hunger and unlimited amounts of protein and fat. He offered just

enough research to allow the diet recognition. Although most of the evidence

supporting the diet was questionable.

During the 1980's Michael Zumpano and Dan Duchaine introduced two of the earliest

CKD's THE REBOUND DIET for muscle gain and then the modified version called

THE ULTIMATE DIET for fat loss. Neither diet became very popular. This was likely

due to the difficulty of the diet and the taboo of eating high fat.

In the early 90's Dr. Dipasquale introduced the ANABOLIC DIET . This diet promoted 5

days of high- fat-high protein-low carb consumption whle eating high carbs and virtually

anything you wanted for two days. The diet was proposed to induce a metabolic shift

within the five days of eating low carbs (30 or less). The metabolic shift occurred as your

body switched from being a sugar buring machine to a fat-burning machine.

A few years later Dan Duchaine released the book UNDERGROUND BODYOPUS: MILITIANT WEIGHT LOSS AND RECOMPOSITION . The book included his CKD diet which he called BODYOPUS. The diet was more specified than the Anabolic Diet and gave exercise recommendations as well as the basics concerning exercise physiology. Most bodybuilders found the diet very hard to follow. The carb load phase required eating every 2 hrs and certain foods were prescribed. I personally loved the book, but felt the difficulty of the diet made it less popular. In this author's opinion Ducahine's book is a must read for anyone interested in Nutrition.

Ketogenic Diets have been used for years to treat specific conditions such as obesity and childhodd epilepsy. The effects of these diets have proven beneficial in a number of these well documented cases, but for some reason when we mention any type of low carb diet (ketogenic diet) people begin to tell us about how their doctor or friend told them it would kill them or how that diet was shown to damage the liver or kidneys. Keep in mind epileptic children have been in ketosis for up to three years and shown no negative effects; quiet the opposite. The weight loss in morbidly obese patients has been tremendous and the health benefits numerous. Maybe before coming to the conclusion that all types of ketogenic diets are bad other factors need to be considered such as activity levels, type of ketogenic diet, length of ketogenic diet, past eating experience, purpose of ketogeninc diet, individual body type and response to various eating plans, current physical condition, and quality of food while following ketogenic diet. As you can see there are numerous factors that come into play when saying a diet is good or bad. I think people should take the time look at the research and speak with various authorities in regards to low carb diets before drawing conclusions from the they says.

Relevant research in regards to ketogenic dieting

Efficacy and safety of the ketogenic diet for intractable childhood epilepsy: Korea multicentric experience

Chul Kang H, Joo Kim Y, Wook Kim D, Dong Kim H,

Dept of pediatrics, Epilepsy center, Inje Univ Coll of Med, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul Korea

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the safety of the ketogenic diet, and to evaluate the prognosis of the patients after successful discontinuation of the diet in infants, children and adolescents with refractory epilepsy. The study looked at patients who had been treated with KD during 1995 through 2003 at Korean multicenters. The outcomes of the 199 patients enrolled in the study at 6 and 12 months were as follows: 68% and 46% of patients remained on the diet, 58% and 41% showed a reduction in seizures, including 33% and 25% who became seizure free. The complications were mild during the study, but 5 patients died during the KD. No significant variables were related to the efficacy, but those with symptomatic and partial epilepsies showed more frequent relapse after completion of the diet. The researchers concluded the KD is a safe and effective alternative therapy for intractable epilepsy in Korea, although the customary diet contains substantially less fat than traditional Western diets, but life-threatening complications should be monitored closely during follow up.

Reference

McDoanld, L (1998) The Ketogenic Diet. Lyle McDonald.

Copyright 2005 Jamie Hale

Jamie Hale is a writer for numerous fitness and sports publications. He is also the author of four books and the owner of Maxcondition.com.

Low Glycaemic index diets-the Glycaemic index is The wrong tool?

Is the glycaemic index (GI) the wrong way American the insulin-related effects of food?

The glycaemic index measures blood sugar response per gram of carbohydrate contained in a food, not per gram of the food, and leads to some odd numbers. For example, a parsnip has a glycaemic index of 98, almost as high as pure sugar.If taken at face value, this figure suggests that dieters should avoid like the plague parsnips. In fact, parsnips are mostly indigestible fiber, and you would have to eat a few bushels to trigger a major glucose and insulin response.

This high number results because the glycaemic index rates the effects per gram of carbohydrate rather than rating the effects per gram of total parsnip. The sugar present in minute amounts in a parsnip itself is highly absorbable.The high glycaemic index rating of parsnips is East extremely misleading. Books such as The Glucose Revolution take care of issues like this on a case-by-case basis by saying, for example, that you can consider most vegetables free foods regardless of their glycaemic index. But in fact the same considerations apply to all foods and distort the meaningfulness of the scale as a whole.

This is taken into account by a different measurement, the glycaemic load (GL). The GL is derived by multiplying the glycaemic index by the percent carbohydrate content of a food. Therefore, it measures the glucose/insulin response per gram of food rather than per gram of carbohydrate in that food.The glycaemic load of a parsnip is 10, while glucose has a relative load of 100. And remember our potato problem, that terrible goblin of GI diets? The glycaemic load of a typical serving of potato is only 27, not such a goblin at all. These kind of numbers make a lot more sense.

So is there direct evidence suggesting low GI diets support weight loss? It is certainly possible that focusing on low glycaemic index-Low glycaemic-load foods will help you lose weight, even if the theoretical justification for the idea is weak. There is only preliminary evidence to support this by LSU. The studies commonly cited, although promising, are too preliminary to prove much.

In one of these studies, 107 overweight adolescents were divided into two groups: a low-GI group and a low-fat group. The low-GI group was counseled to follow a diet consisting of 45% to 50% carbohydrates (preferably low-GI carbohydrates), 20% to 25% protein, and 30% to 35% fat.Calorie restriction was not emphasized. The low-fat group received instructions for a standard low-fat, low-calorie diet divided up into 55% to 60% carbohydrates, 15% to 20% protein, and 25% to 30% fat. Over a period of about 4 months, participants on the low-GI diet lost about 4.5 pounds, while those on the standard diet lost just less than 3 pounds.

However, this study does not say as much about the low-GI approach as one might think.The most obvious problem is that the low-GI diet used here was also a high-protein diet. It could be that high-protein diets help weight loss regardless of the glycaemic index of the foods consumed as claimed by the proponents of high-protein diets.

The study was also flawed in that participants were not assigned to the two groups randomly.Instead, researchers consciously picked which group each participant would join. This major flaw makes the volcano unlikely of intentional or unintentional bias.It is quite possible the researchers placed adolescents with greater self-motivation into the low-GI group, based on an unconscious desire to see results from the study. Modern medical studies always use randomization to prevent this kind of bias.

Finally, researchers made no service type to determine if participants followed their diets. It might be that those in the low-fat diet group simply didn't stick to the rules as well as those in the low-GI diet group because they found the rules were more challenging.

In another study, 30 overweight women with excessively high insulin levels were put on either a normal low-calorie diet or a diet that supplied the same amount of calories but used low-GI foods. The results over 12 weeks showed that women following the low-GI diet lost several pounds more than those following the normal diet.

Another small study involved overweight adolescents in a conventional reduced calorie diet was compared against a low glycaemic load calorie diet that with no restrictions. The results showed that simply by sticking to low GI foods, without regard for calories, the participants on the low GI diet were able to lose as much or more weight as those on the low calorie diet.

However, conclusions based on observational studies are notoriously unreliable due to the possible presence of unidentified confusing factors.For example, because there is an approximate correlation between fiber in the diet and glycaemic load, it is possible that benefits, when seen, are really due to fiber intake instead. Factors such as this one may easily obscure the effects of the factor under study, leading to contradictory or misleading results.

Intervention trials (studies in which researchers actually intervene in participants ' lives) are more reliable, and some have been ntalaras to evaluate low-GI diet.One such study followed 30 people with high lipid levels for three months. Low-GI foods were substituted for higher-GI foods during the 2nd month, while other nutrients were kept similar. Improvements were seen in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, but not in HDL. A close analysis of the results showed that only patients who had high triglycerides at the beginning of the study showed benefit.Another controlled trial found that a high carbohydrate diet, low glycaemic load optimized lipid profile as compared to several other diets.

Another approach to the issue involves analysis of effects on insulin resistance.Evidence suggests that increased resistance of the body to its own insulin raises the risk of heart disease.One study found that use of a low-GI diet versus a high-GI diet improved the body's sensitivity to insulin in women at risk for heart disease.Similar results were seen in a group of people with severe heart disease and a group of healthy people.

The evidence that a low-GI diet will help you lose weight is not yet very impressive.Its theoretical foundation is weak, and it appears to be using the wrong method of ranking foods regarding their effects on insulin.There's no evidence showing a low-GI diet causes harm.If you find that you lose weight with a low-GI diet, stick with it.

However, while the most popular low-GI diet books (The Glucose Revolution, Sugar Busters) OK for a diet that is generally reasonable and should be safe, it is easy to design some fairly extreme low-GI diets.For example, a diet consisting of nothing but lard would be a very, very low-GI diet, since the glycaemic index of lard is 0.While it no longer seems that saturated fat is as harmful as once thought, a pure lard diet is probably not a good idea.If you run across a diet book that recommends achieving a low glycaemic index by consuming an extreme diet, approach it with caution.

The diet Craze

That little bikini in the back of your bottom dresser drawer is calling your name. The sun is shining, the kids are begging for a trip to the beach, but the idea of putting on a bathing suit makes you about as excited as the idea of spending the day scrubbing toilets. You are not alone. In 2003, 65% of U.S. citizens tried some form of weight loss or weight control. But the idea of weight-loss is daunting to anyone, especially with the ever-increasing number of weight-loss plans, online diets and magic pills that make the weight vanish while you sleep (wouldn't that be nice?).

To ease your worries and debunk the mysteries, we have taken a close look at three of the most popular diets out there.

Atkins

* What it is

Known predominantly for its low-carb stance on weight-loss, the Atkins diet has been making noise in the media for decades. Dr. Atkins' theory is that a diet high in carbohydrates does not allow the body to produce high levels of energy. By eliminating these carbohydrates from your diet, your body will instead use fat as fuel, ultimately resulting in weight loss. This "fat burning energy," as the plan calls it, claims to shed pounds and diminish your appetite. The drastic exclusion of carbs, while adding in healthy doses of saturated fat is the basic formula of the Atkins' diet supposed magic.

* What you do

The Atkins' diet is broken up into four phases that guide you through the weight-loss process. You may choose to begin your diet at any phase, but it is recommended that you start at Phase 1 to help your body adjust to the drastic diet change.

- Phase 1: Induction

This is essentially a 14-day boot camp for your body in which you eat leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables as the 20 Net Carbs allowed per day.

- Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)

During this time, you are given greater freedom in your diet choices and can eat up to 25 Net Carbs per day. This is a slower-paced phase in which the Atkins people promise the pounds will come off gradually.

- Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance

Nearing your target weight, this phase encourages you to "take ownership of your new Atkins healthy eating habits" and plan to maintain them even after reaching your weight goal.

- Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance

In this final phase, Atkins challenges you to maintain your Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE) and stay within 5 pounds of your final target weight. Using the knowledge and habits learned throughout the diet, you should potentially be able to maintain your weight for the rest of your life.

* What you eat

Your carb intake is determined by which phase you are in, so obviously you'll have more options the longer you stick with the plan. The following are just a few menu options, but click here for more recipes:

Crab and Avocado Salad

Chocolate Pancakes

Pork Chops with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Shrimp and Feta Stew

Chocolate Cream Frosty

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Cheese Omelets

Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas

Italian Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Mahi-Mahi with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Vanilla Mousse with Rhubarb Sauce

Salmon-Stuffed Zucchini

* What you should know

Like any fad, there are always loyal followers and skeptic criticizers. For the Atkins diet, most criticism from the medical profession focuses around a health concern. Because the diet is so high in saturated fats, you may shed the pounds, but your heart may be suffering as well. It has also been found to be as effective or less effective than other diets that include carbohydrates in a more balanced diet. However, to date, there have been no long-term studies of people on the Atkins' diet.

Zone (also see Dr. Sears' website)

* What it is

Unlike the Atkins' diet, the Zone Diet is less about dieting and more about a lifetime of healthy eating. Founded by Dr. Barry Sears in 1984, he believes that achieving hormonal balance through diet is essential to maintaining a healthy weight. According to Sears, hormone insulin will make you fat and keep you fat, so the goal is to regulate that insulin.

* What you do

The Zone Diet is simpler to explain because its foundation is very basic. There are no steps or phases, just the goal to stay within the Zone.

- 3 meals, 2 snacks

In order to maintain your desired insulin level, Sears believes you should eat at specific timed intervals throughout the day, totaling three meals and two snacks. Even if you aren't hungry, you must eat to stay in the Zone. It is essential to plan your meals like you plan the rest of your day to ensure you eat the proper amount at the right time. This controls how your body uses proteins and carbohydrates consistently throughout the day.

- Exercise

Because staying in the Zone promises an increased level of energy, even people who are not normally active will want to add exercise into their daily routine. Sears encourages this activity, but believes that exercise can only get you so far. He says that it should be an 80/20 rule, with 80% diet and 20% exercise.

* What you eat

The possibilities are endless as to what you can create, as long as you stay within the guidelines. The following are some Zone snacks to keep you full between meals(click here for full recipes). Also, check out the Zone food and recipe website for more ideas:

Deviled Eggs with Hummus

Waldorf Salad

Chips and Salsa

Mini Pita Pizza

Spinach Salad

Tuna Salad and Cracker

Hot Dog (soy)

Low-Fat Cottage Cheese & Fruit

Crabmeat Salad Sandwiches

Ham and Fruit

* What you should know

Although the Zone diet shows slightly higher success rates than the Atkins' diet, it is smart to be skeptical of any diet that concentrates on one food group drastically more than the others. Consequently, the American Heart Association does not recommend the Zone diet of its excessive emphasis on high-protein, little nutrients and the lack of long-term studies done on the Zone diet.

South Beach Diet

* What it is

The South Beach Diet was originally created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, who is a cardiologist in Miami, Florida. He wanted to find a way for his heart patients to lose weight in a healthy way. Concentrating on good carbs and good fats rather than bad carbs and bad fats, the idea is to get rid of bad fats and carbs that impair insulin's ability to properly process fats and sugars. Overall, Agatston believes in a healthy balance of food in general, rather than an elimination of carbohydrates.

* What you do

There are three phases in this diet and, like the Atkins' diet, with each new phase you have more options of food.

- Phase 1: Start losing weight

During this phase, your three meals per day will include normal-sized helpings and plenty of choices including meat, seafood, vegetables, eggs and nuts. Part of this phase is eliminating hunger cravings and learning which foods will keep you full the longest. Like the Zone diet, you should eat two snacks per day as well.

- Phase 2: Reach your goal

The key to this phase is balance. You may start adding foods back into your diet that were not allowed before, but in a balanced relation to the other foods in your diet. Whether it be bread, rice, potatoes or cereal, you will learn how to eat them and make them "smart carbs."

- Phase 3: A diet for life

After the first two phases, you will have learned how to eat and prepare meals that include good carbs and good fat to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. The South Beach Diet emphasizes the long-term effects of the diet. In fact, they say that, "you'll notice that this plan feels less like a diet and more like a way of life."

* What you eat

The South Beach Diet has hundreds of recipes for each phase so you can prepare healthy meals at home, but they also have a retail product lines from Kraft and Santa Fe to make staying on the diet that much easier. Here are a few choices:

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Roasted Eggplant with Lemon and Olive Oil

Baked Barbecue Chicken

Whole Wheat Penne with Eggplant and Ricotta

Cannellini Bean Salad

Warm Beef Salad

Mango Smoothie

Pear Bran Muffins

* What you should know

While this diet may seem to be the most flexible, don't be fooled by introductory gimmicks. While the South Beach Diet allows you some leeway, be prepared to make some sacrifices to lose the weight.

Please remember, this is just an overview. If you are seriously thinking of trying these diets or any others, do your research. Read the diet books and talk to people who have tried them. The more you know the better chance you have at being successful.

Want to lose Fat? here are The top 10 reasons to switch to another diet without

Have you ever wondered why it seems impossible to lose weight, no matter which diet you try? The reasons below will help you to understand why your weight loss efforts in the past may not have given you the results you had hoped for.

1. Diets will destroy your metabolism

Calories are not evil. They are not something to be avoided at all costs. Calories are a unit of ENERGY. Your body needs energy every day, and it does its best to stay in a state of balance (calories in = calories out, energy consumed = energy burned). Thus, if you suddenly cut calories in an effort to lose weight, your body will react accordingly. Your body does not know why it is suddenly receiving less energy, but in order to maintain balance, it will immediately begin to slow down your metabolism in order to match your energy burned with your energy consumed. That is why you will eventually see weight loss slow, then stop. This is also the main reason why dieters will gain their weight back, and then some. By dieting, you have programmed your body to burn significantly fewer calories throughout the day, so as soon as the diet ends and calorie intake increases, that extra energy will now be stored as fat.

2. Diets will make you fatter

Muscle is metabolically active tissue, meaning it is burning calories throughout the day, while body fat is basically stored energy. Think of muscle as your metabolism's engine. The bigger the engine (more muscle mass) you have, the faster your metabolism can run. Unfortunately, one of the ways that your body slows down its metabolism in reaction to a diet is by cannibalizing muscle mass, and using it for energy. So, while the scale will be telling you that you are losing weight, your metabolism will be cratering because some of the weight you are losing will be muscle mass. Then, after you quit the diet and go back to your normal way of eating, when you gain the weight back, it does not come back as the muscle you lost, but as fat. So, not long after you quit the diet, not only will you weigh the same, or more, than you did when you started, but you will have more fat, less muscle, and a slower metabolism.

3. Diets leave you with no energy

As we have learned, calories are units of energy, and your body needs energy to get through the day. Did you realize that a 160 lb man, who did nothing for 24 hours but lay in a hammock and breathe, would burn in the neighborhood of 1600 calories? Dieters will often eat as few as 800 to 1000 calories per day, so it is easy to see why they would feel tired and run down. Since carbohydrates provide our main source of fuel (glucose and glycogen), low carb diets zap you even more. Did you know that while your body can burn fat for fuel, your brain and central nervous system can only use glucose for fuel? That is why, especially during the induction phase of low carb fad diets, people often feel sluggish, irritable, and not as sharp mentally as normal. Of course, every low carb dieter will tell you that it is only bad for a few days, then your energy levels pick up again. That is because your body, wonderful machine that it is, can manufacture its own glucose to provide energy for your brain. Unfortunately, it does this by breaking down muscle mass into its component amino acids, which it then converts to glucose. So, while you may be more alert once again, this is a sure sign that your metabolism is now slowing down as you cannibalize muscle mass to make up for the energy deficit the diet is causing.

4. Diet programs are usually unrealistic

Counting calories, points, food exchanges, grams of this and grams of that, is just not a realistic strategy for long term weight loss. We all lead busy lives and being forced to do ridiculous calculations every time you eat is no way to live. Unless you are measuring all of your food, most people will generally underestimate the amount that they eat, often by more than 50% (what you estimate to be 1 cup is probably 1 ½ cups, 4 ounces is probably 6, and so on). This is especially problematic in restaurants or other social settings. So, the calculations will not even be accurate anyway.

5. Diets provide false hope to get you hooked

Anyone who goes on a calorie restricted diet, especially a low carb diet, will generally experience a significant weight loss in the first week or two. Diet programs will often try to hook you in with promises of big weight loss up front. When that promise comes true, the diet guru or diet center or supplement seller has you under their spell. The reality is, it is very easy to lose 5, 6, 7 or more pounds in your first week or two on a diet, and the reason is simple. Most of that weight is water. Of course, the person at the diet center won't tell you that. They will claim that their product or program is the magic behind your success, when the truth is you are just losing water that your body needs. Remember that we said your body's main sources of energy are glucose and glycogen? Glucose, or blood sugar, is the product of carbohydrate digestion. Glycogen is glucose that has been stored in the muscles and liver. When you severely cut back on calories, especially carbohydrates, you do not adequately replenish your muscle glycogen as you use it. Well, each gram of glycogen stored in your muscles holds 1.4 grams of water with it, so when your glycogen levels are depleted, water weight loss results. As soon as you replace your glycogen stores, that weight will come back on.

6. Diets make you feel like a failure

Eventually, everyone will 'cheat' on their diet, or more likely, go off of it all together. When that happens, the inevitable wave of guilt is sure to follow as you tell yourself that you blew it. The diet industry has to be the only industry in this country where nobody gets what they pay for, and then they blame themselves for it. Of course, people will often punish themselves for blowing it by going on a binge, which just makes the guilt worse and compounds the problem. Convinced that this failure was their own fault, the person then often goes off in search of another diet.

7. Fad diets are unhealthy

Any diet that eliminates entire food categories such as carbohydrates or fats robs your body of important nutrients. As discussed above, carbohydrates provide your body with its main source of fuel. And, while trans fats and saturated fats should be avoided, did you realize that your body needs a certain level of fat in the diet in order to function properly? Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are healthy fats and a critical part of your daily nutrition. Also, diets that force you to eat ridiculous foods, such as nothing but cabbage soup, rely on semi-starvation for their temporary weight loss effects, causing many unpleasant side effects in your body.

8. Fad diet marketers lie to you

Promises of fast, effortless weight loss are simply lies designed to make your wallet smaller much faster than your waistline. No infomercial gadget or magic pill or supplement will lead to long term weight loss. If any of these products really worked, don't you think you might hear about in on the news instead of some cheesy late night infomercial? Face it, if any of them really worked, nobody would be fat! The truth is, real long term weight loss takes effort, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.

9. Diets will stress you out

If you are spending your day worrying about how many calories you have eaten, or how many points you have left, or if you have had too many grams of carbs since lunch, it is inevitable that other activities, duties, and responsibilities of yours will suffer. Modern life has enough stress without adding in unnecessary and, in the long run, unproductive stress on top. Food and nutrition are essential parts of life that should be enjoyed, not feared, dreaded, or micromanaged. Committing to simple lifestyle changes instead of regimented diet rules is a more effective approach to weight loss, that will also allow you to keep your sanity intact.

10. Diets do not work

It cannot be said any more simply than that. Diets by themselves do not work. Repeat that to yourself until it sinks in for good. If all of the evidence above is not enough to convince you, just think about it. How many people do you know who have been on one diet? None. They have all been on dozens of different diets, right? Well, if any one of those diets really worked and resulted in healthy, permanent weight loss, why would anyone need another? The reason that there are hundreds of diets out there is because none of them work, and the diet marketers know that. They are just banking that you don't know it yet, and will hopefully give them more money to try one of their other miracle diets.

Yoga Health Secrets

A Complete Guide To Yogic Techniques For Happiness And Good Health.

Check it out!

The Green Book of Health

The Green Book of Health...start using natural healing today. Covering over 60 ailments and bring healing through the use of Acupressure,Acupuncture,Reflexology,Iridology,Home Remedies,Homeopathic Medicine,Aromatherapy,Essential Oils,Magnet/Crystal

Check it out!