The weight loss market is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. You are most likely constantly bombarded with powders, pills and plans that all claim to be the ingredient that you have been missing in reaching your weight loss goal. Avoid spending your hard-earned money on something that does not work, or that may even be dangerous, no matter how enticing it sounds.
Can You Follow This Diet For the Rest of Your Life?
The word "diet" refers to a temporary activity in which many people participate to lose weight. When the diet is over, you tend to go back to your normal way of eating and sadly watch the pounds come back on. The trick to a successful diet is making it permanent. The only way to succeed in a diet of this length is by ensuring that you can live with it for the rest of your life. No temporary, quick weight loss program is going to help you lose the weight permanently.
Does This Diet Promote Well-Balanced Nutrition?
Many fad diets offer quick weight loss at the expense of your overall nutritional intake. Any diet that cuts out entire food groups or limits your diet to one or two food items fits into this category. These diets also tend to be extremely calorie-restrictive. Not only is this type of diet impossible to live with the rest of your life, but it is nutritionally unsound. A varied diet, including all of the food groups, is key in successful, healthy weight loss.
Does This Diet Promote Physical Activity?
Thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least three times per week is recommended for you to supplement your diet during your attempt to lose weight. Adding strength training into the mix will raise your metabolism. Exercise not only burns extra calories and helps you keep your excess weight off permanently, it also improves your health by reducing your risk for developing diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and some types of cancer.
Does This Diet Promote Healthy Weight Loss?
According to most experts, a healthy rate of weight loss is one to two pounds per week. Losing one pound per week is equivalent to a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day through diet and exercise. Two pounds per week would equal a caloric deficit of 1,000 calories per day. A temporary starvation diet simply causes your body to lose excess water weight, and not necessarily burn fat. Plus, once you resume your normal eating habits, the weight will come back.
Is This Diet Free of Pills and Powders?
Since nutritional supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, you really have no idea what you are purchasing when you buy a weight loss supplement. Some of these products contain diuretics or laxatives that help your body drop its water weight. Other weight loss products may claim to burn fat, suppress your appetite or block the absorption of carbohydrates or fat, yet there is no scientific evidence to back these claims up.
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