The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit diet is not a diet for life. It is a short time diet; it only lasts 2 1/2 months. It is a diet for rapid weight loss and fast weight loss diets are always popular. We have seen popular diets come and go and this dieting program is no exception; we can call it a fad diet. It is also a weight loss diet for real heavy weighters who need to lose lots of pounds. If you follow this diet exactly you should be able to lose 52 pounds during this two and a half month's dieting period. To sustain the weight loss however, you need to change to a long term diet. The usefulness of this diet is to motivate people who are severely overweight towards a flying dieting start. If you look at the diet this way, it might be useful for you.
General Guidelines

• During this diet you should reduce your coffee consumption, it slows down the burning process. Only one cup a day
• Don't eliminate anything from the diet. The combinations of food listed in the diet are important for the fat burning (especially bacon AND salads)
• Drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day which means 64 oz. total daily
• Fry your food in butter and cover your vegetables generously with butter
• If you want you may double or even triple helpings of meat, salad or vegetables
• Never change the amount of grapefruit or juice. This has to do with the diet's fat burning effect
• This diet allows no desserts, breads, white vegetables or sweet potatoes
• The diet does not allow eating between meals. If you follow the diet you will not get hungry
• Stay on the diet 12 days, then stop the diet for 2 days and repeat the dieting cycle for two and a half month (approximately 75 days)..
• On this diet you can eat until you are stuffed
• Never eat less than the minimum listed at each meal in this diet.

The Diet Plan
Breakfast:

• Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. unsweetened juice
• 2 eggs any style
• 2 slices of bacon

Lunch:

• Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. unsweetened juice
• Salad with any dressing
• Meat any style and any amount

Dinner:

• Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. unsweetened juice
• Salad with any dressing OR a red or green vegetable cooked in butter or spices
• Meat or Fish any style cooked any way
• Coffee or Tea (1 cup)

Evening Snack:

• 8 oz. glass of tomato juice or 8 oz cup of skim milk.

This diet is not for everyone but could be right for you. Good Luck!

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet marketer. He runs the website 11-Weight-Loss.net. Terje enjoys to give advice and help people with fast weight loss with the grapefruit diet. fad diets and more balanced diets. Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Terje_Ellingsen

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Can a Fad Diet Ever Be Useful?

What is a fad diet? Walking the less resistant way seems to be a part of our nature. Of course most over-weight people want to get rid of their excessive pounds yesterday, if possible. Many more or less serious weight loss e-diet or online diet makers know this and try to take advantage of a person's various diet needs. The weight loss diet industry is so big and competitive that dietary sensations can seem necessary to stand out from the crowd. This is what we call fad diets.
Fad-diets often promise to bring instant weight loss. Most fad-diets are not diets for life. They are normally short time diets, not balanced at all and are not designed for obtaining a sustainable weight loss. What a crash diet might do for you however, is get you started with your dieting. A fad crash diet might be the flying start of the weight loss proccess that you need. If you only use fad diets as starters, like a catapult for changing your eating and exercise habits permanently, it shouldn't do you any harm. If you decide to start up a fad or any diet for that matter always consult your physician first. I take no responsibility whatsoever for any health damages it may cause you.
Don't over-exert yourself whether it be exercise, working and other things that may require an effort.This might be too stressful on your system even if you're feeling fine during the diet. If you get an acute attack of hunger during the dieting, drink a glass or two of water. It will fill up your stomach and remove the worst hunger feeling. Another tip is to suck on ice when you're dieting.
If you haven't yet built up your will power, stay away from social activities like going out dining with friends, birthday or wedding parties with lots of food and alcohol when dieting. Since the duration of most fad diets are very short, it should be possible to avoid such situations. Try to limit the period of dieting to maximum 7 days at a time. Most of these fad diets are not meant to be kept for longer periods of time. Non balanced diets will not supply you with the nutrition your body need to function normally.
When the diet period is over, don't run to the closest MacDonald and eat 3 Big Macs with triple servings of french fries and a gallon of Coke or sit in front of your TV eating Pizza and Beer. Celebrate the end of your dieting, but not with food.
Now you can start up with a balanced diet. This crash diet hopefully gives you a flying start of a sustainable and healthy weight reduction.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet marketer. He runs the website 11-Weight-Loss.net. Terje enjoys to give advice and help people with fad diets for fast weight loss like negative calorie food as a starter for severe over-weight people. Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Terje_Ellingsen

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Low-Carb Diet - Should I or Shouldn't I?

It's no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the worth and reliability of low-carb diets after all the conflicting studies and confusing interpretation of the information. It seems like debates are popping up everywhere!
No matter if it's Atkins, South Beach or some other low-carb plan, there are approximately 30 million Americans are on a low-carb diet.
Supporters contend that the large amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increased problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health situations. On the other hand, some attribute obesity and related health problems to over eating of calories and lack of physical activity. They also express concern that without grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, and many minerals.
It is already known that any diet, whether high or low in carbohydrates, can produce meaningful weight loss during the early stages of the diet. Keep in mind, the key to a diet being successful is in being able to lose the weight on a permanent basis.
Let's see if we can expose some of the mystery about low-carb diets. Following, is a listing of some related points taken from recent studies and scientific literature.
Point 1 - Some Differences Between Low-Carb Diets
There are many famous diets created to lower carbohydrate consumption. Lowering total carbohydrates in the diet means that protein and fat will take up a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake.
Low carbohydrate diet like the Atkins Diet restrict carbohydrate to a point where the body becomes ketogenic (a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that includes normal amounts of protein). Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less confined. Some, like Sugar Busters announce only
to eliminate sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.
Point 2 - What We Know about Low-Carb Diets
+Close to all of the studies to date have been small with a diversity of research objectives.
Carbohydrate, caloric intake, diet duration and participant characteristics are wide-ranged greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common, none of the research studies had people in the study with a average age over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted more than 90 days.
+The results on older adults and long-term results are scarce. Many diet studies fail to keep track of the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric use, while people in the study are dieting. This helps to explain the variances between studies.
+If you lose weight on a low-carb diet it is a function of the calorie intake and length of the diet, and not with reduced amount of carbohydrates.
+There is very little evidence on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Even though the medical community has concerns, no short-term bad effects have been found with cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels among the people in the study on the diets. Because of the short period of the studies the adverse effects may not show up. Losing weight typically leads to improvement in these levels, and this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet. The over-all weight changes for low-carb and other types of diets are similar.
+Most low-carb diets can cause ketosis. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion are some of the potential consequences. When first starting a low-carb diet some fatigue and constipation may be met and these symptoms usually disappear quickly.
+Some report that you can have more calories when on a low-carb diet. Remember a calorie is a calorie no matter what you intake. When the study is not closely supervised variations will result by people cheating in the study on many factors of the study.
There are three important factors I would like to re-emphasize:
1.- The over-all success rate for low-carb and other types of diets are similar.
2.- Small amount of information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carb diets despite their huge popularity,
3.- Dieters usually experience boredom with a strict version of the low-carb diet and are not able to stay on diets of low carb food.
After observing the subject, a more severe and controlled study are needed on a long-range basis. The ketosis produced is abnormal and stressful metabolic state. The results may cause more problems than it solved.
By picking a reliable diet you will benefit over a lifetime of proper eating and not a weight loss quickie.
An excellent rule of thumb is look at the diet long-range and see if you can see yourself still on that diet after a couple of weeks. However, by following a diet with fat, carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients in moderation may be the best way to go and a little more exercise won't hurt either.

Jim has been interested in health factors for most of his life. Most of his knowledge is from investigating the many faucets for a healthy being. You can learn more of low carb dieting by visiting: http://www.low-carb-dieting-secrets.com/ Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Ellison

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Dieting Strategy -- Stop Diet Drop Out

Diet drop out, a significant problem for all types of diets, requires a new dieting strategy. Exchange it...and watch diet drop out rates plummet.
What is Diet Drop Out?
To stop a diet plan before reaching your goal or before reaching a pre-defined time limit is called diet drop out. Not one diet succeeds at keeping diet drop out rates low. One or more of the following strategies are used by diet plans in attempts to eliminate diet drop out:

1. Shorter Dieting Sessions This is a strategy that more often back fires, setting the stage for weight gain. Subjects placed on shorter dieting sessions experienced weight loss at a faster rate than those following longer sessions. Fast weight loss (over 3-4 pounds/week) is unhealthy and negates any progress made on lowering diet drop out rates.
2. Severe Calorie Restriction This strategy follows the same principle as faster dieting sessions. Allow dieters to lose weight fast, and they won't have time to drop out. Unfortunately, severe calorie restriction also causes weight gain.
3. Diet Holidays This strategy allows dieters to take long breaks or "holidays" from following the diet. However, the opposite result is often observed. Diet drop out rates increase because many dieters never start the diet again.

In order to provide a strategy that works, diet plans should ask dieters why they drop out. Then simply provide a solution for the reason dieters drop out, problem solved.
Why Dieters Drop Out
When dieters are asked what is the hardest part about dieting, the response is surprising. Most dieters say that following strict diet menus, not exercise, is the hardest part.
A good strategy for decreasing diet drop out rates would address the menus. This is exactly what Exchange It accomplishes...giving dieters more control over what they eat.
The exchange process involves substituting healthy food choices for harmful ones. For instance, substitute a healthy fat, like Omega-3, for saturated fats. This allows you to eat more fats, and still remain on your diet.
To learn more about Exchange It! and other new dieting strategies, click...

Exchange & Other Dieting Strategies

To Healthy Living!
Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website

Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for Diet Basics, a content rich website dedicated to your weight loss success. Quickly becoming known as the net's primary resource for weight loss issues, his RSS Feed and News Blog [http://www.weight-loss-professional.com/weight-loss-news.html] are received by thousands of e-zine websites, medical centers, and individuals. The interactive content is original and informative, challenging readers to act and maximize their weight loss efforts. To Healthy Living! Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Michael_Smith,_MD

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Why Isn't My Diet Working?

Have you been on a new diet for a couple of weeks and found that you STILL can't lose weight? Have you actually GAINED a pound or two since you've been on it? Are you just about ready to throw this diet out the window and try something else? Well, hold on a minute. There might be something else going on that's preventing your diet from working.
Getting your diet to work is like planting a seed in a garden. In order for the seed to grow, you have to plant it in good soil. You have to water it, fertilize it, and protect it from weeds. In other words, a seed needs a good environment if it's going to have any chance at all to sprout, take root, and grow.
Similarly, in order for your diet to start showing results for you, it also needs a good environment. Here are 10 "weeds" that will prevent the success of any diet and may actually be the reason that yours isn't working.
1. YOU'RE NOT REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT
For your diet to work, you obviously have to be serious about losing weight. You need to have the right mental attitude about weight loss. In other words, you have to get your "head right." This includes:

a. Making a firm commitment to lose the weight, no matter what.

b. Making sure you're doing this for the right reasons. Trying to lose weight to please someone else never works.

c. Convincing yourself that you CAN lose the weight--and that you WILL! If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not really serious about losing the weight in the first place.
2. YOU'RE CHEATING ON YOUR DIET
Cheating on your diet and cheating on love both end in disappointment. Consistent weight loss requires, well, consistency. Most of us work so hard to stick to our diet during the week that we convince ourselves that we can splurge on the weekend. Or we think that because we skipped breakfast, we can have dessert with lunch. Both are a bad choice.
It's easy to convince yourself that having a small snack won't hurt, or that you'll work it off later. The problem is it does, and you never do. If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not following it consistently.
3. YOU'RE NOT EATING FEWER CALORIES
I heard of someone that started one of those protein shake diets. He actually gained a couple of pounds. When he was asked how often he was drinking the shakes, he said, "I drink one with every meal." It never occurred to him that the shakes were supposed to replace his meals, not supplement them.
Many dieters buy low-cal foods, and then eat twice as much. Don't be one of them! The only way to lose weight is to reduce your total caloric intake. Make sure you reduce the size of your portions and cut out all snacks that are not part of your diet plan. If your diet isn't working--or if you've actually gained a pound or two--it could be because you're not eating fewer total calories.
4. YOU'RE NOT EATING THE RIGHT FOODS
Eating fewer calories is only part of the battle. You need to make sure that the foods you do eat are the right types. A good rule of thumb is to make sure you get plenty of fruits, salads, and dark green vegetables. Stay away from refined foods and starches and eat meat in very small amounts (sorry, I'm not an Atkins fan).
Leafy, green, water-rich vegetables will aid digestion, help keep you healthy, and will actually help your body get rid of excess fat. If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not eating the right foods.
5. YOU'RE NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
When you go on a diet, your body goes into overdrive to get rid of the excess fats and toxins that the diet liberates. Many diets (especially the protein ones) put a strain on your body's organs, especially the kidneys. Because of this, it's vital that you drink plenty of water.
Drinking 8 or so full glasses of water every day helps to flush out the excess fats and toxins your body is trying to eliminate. Drinking plenty of water has other benefits including reducing headaches and improving your hair and skin. If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not drinking enough water.
6. YOU'RE NOT EXERCISING ENOUGH
The best way to increase the number of calories you burn is through exercise. Pick walking, running, playing sports, swimming, or whatever--just make sure that when you exercise, you actually exercise. Some people go to the gym to socialize, not to exercise. Make sure you're not one of them! Get to work and make sure you stay with it long enough to burn off some excess calories.
To lose weight, shoot for 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, every other day. Note that these 20-30 minutes do not include stretching, warm ups, cool downs, or checking yourself out in front of the mirror. Sure, these are an important part of your exercise routine but you're not going to lose any weight by stretching. At least 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, every other day.
If you've reduced the amount of calories you're eating and your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not exercising enough.
7. YOU'RE EXERCISING TOO HARD
This may be counterintuitive but it's true. If you exercise too hard, your body goes into an ANAEROBIC state (without oxygen). This is when you get so out of breath that you can't seem to take in enough air. When the body is in this state, it burns mostly carbohydrates and very little fat. This is why runners "carb up" before a big race--and also why runners have just as much body fat as the rest of us.
Slow your exercise down to no more than 85% of your maximum heart rate (subtract your age from 220 to get your max heart rate). At this pace, your body is in an AEROBIC state (with oxygen) and most of the calories that are burned are from fat, not carbs. An added benefit is that aerobic exercise tends to be low impact making it easy on your joints.
If you already get plenty of exercise and your diet still isn't working, it could be because you're exercising too hard.
8. YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH REST
We all live stressful lives. Dieting typically changes your eating and exercise habits-- two more stressor's your body has to deal with. The only chance your body has to relieve tension, rejuvenate and rebuild itself is during sleep so it's important to get enough when dieting.
Not getting enough sleep can actually slow your metabolism making weight loss difficult. It can also make you feel "groggy," which means you probably won't make the best food choices throughout the day. If your diet isn't working, it could be because you're not getting enough rest.
9. YOU'RE FIGHTING TOO MANY BATTLES AT ONCE
Weight loss requires both consistent effort and focus. You won't have either if you're trying to diet and deal with other "major events" in your life at the same time. Major events include things like changing jobs, moving to new house or city, trying to stop smoking, a death, accident, or sickness in the family, and so on. All of these things create a disruption in our lives and cause us to put everything--including our diets--on hold. To make matters worse, how do most of us deal with the stress caused by these major events? By snacking! Your diet doesn't have a chance.
So don't even try. Give yourself permission to put your diet on hold until you can give it the consistent energy and focus it needs. Choose your battles carefully and fight only one at a time. If your diet isn't working, it may be because you're trying to fight too many at once.
10. YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOAL IS NOT REALISTIC
Like all good things, healthy weight loss takes time. Make sure you're not setting yourself up for disappointment by setting a weight loss goal that is totally unrealistic. This includes not only the amount of weight you want to lose, but also the amount of time you think it will take. If you're doing all the right things and your diet isn't working, it may be because your weight loss goal-or the time required to reach it-isn't realistic.
Once you get all of these issues resolved, you've cleared the way to get your diet back on track. As your diet takes root and begins to work, you should start to see the weight come off easily and naturally.

Hiram Perez has made good health and fitness a lifelong study. Discover other simple and common sense techniques to improve your wellbeing by signing up for a free 5-part mini-course at http://www.balance-your-health.com/ Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Hiram_Perez

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Do Diet Pills Really Work?

You've seen diet pill advertisements... You have read the testimonials claiming diet pills work. You have often wondered - will diet pills work for me?
For fast weight loss, diet pills can work. If you are overweight or obese, using diet pills can help to kick start your weight loss program and help you in attaining your ideal weight.
A word of caution when determining whether diet pills are for you, diet pills are not the final answer to your weight loss concerns. No diet pill will let you eat what you want, not exercise and still lose weight. You many see results short term but the challenge will be keeping it off. You should ensure that your consumption of diet pills is in conjunction with a healthy eating and exercise regime. There is medical evidence that diet pills do work to aid in weight loss, but not as a miracle cure. Researchers stress the use of diet pills along with diet and exercise.
Types of Diet Pills
There is a wide variety of diet pills on the market; prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and herbal supplements. Here is a brief overview of the different types of diet pills available.
Prescription Diet Pills: Only available with a Doctor's prescription, your Physician will monitor your health and weight loss progress while you are taking the diet pills.
Fat Blockers and Carb Blockers: Inhibits the action of the lipase enzyme. When you eat foods containing fat, lipase breaks down the fat in the intestine. Fat blockers remove some of the fat ingested through bowel movements instead of being broken down and absorbed.
Appetite Suppressants: Affects the appetite-regulating region of the brain. These diet pills decrease your appetite by increasing serotonin, a chemical in the brain that affects mood and appetite.
Over-the-counter Diet Pills: Widely available in your local drugstore, supermarket or online, OTC diet pills are monitored by the FDA for efficacy and product claims. Most OTC diet pills work by increasing your energy while boosting metabolism.

Herbal Diet Pills: Also available without a prescription, herbal diet pills found in health food and nutrition stores. Some of the ingredients in herbal diet pills are very powerful when engineered correctly. Some work better than prescription medications. There are some you can try out free of charge to see it it's right for you. One I would recommend is http://www.nightdietplus.com/ which can be taken before you go to bed and will not keep you up. It contains no caffeine or stimulants. Another powerful for of an herbal diet pill is Ephedra. Once banned for it's potency (and a bad rap) it's ban has been lifted and is available once more.

Research the different diet pills available to determine which are right for you. Avoid diet pills that make 'sweeping claims' because you may just end up disappointed with your results. Remember, in order to achieve sustainable weight loss while taking diet pills, you need to include a healthy eating plan and regular exercise. For more information on recommended diet pill sources, visit [http://www.DietWeightLossNews.org]. For public availability information on Ephedra, you can visit http://www.ephedraenergy.com/

Todd Brenner is currently the Executive Vice President of Fitness By Design. He serves on the board for Business Consultant Group of North America and has 23 years of business operations experience. He holds a Masters in Business from University of Louisville. Copyright ©2005 Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Todd_Brenner

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What are the Benefits of the Low-carb Diet?

Are you one of those who hate dieting? Well, you are not alone, almost all of us hate the deprivation from food that dieting brings to us. Aside from the fact that our parents raise us to believe that food intake is necessary to keep us energetic, especially carbohydrates. Potatoes and breads are the essential members of our diet from morning, noon and night. Therefore, we resent the idea that carbohydrates are not good for us.
However, your thinking might change upon reading the low-carb diet overview. In the low-carb diet overview, you will learn that energy does not come from carbohydrates alone. Low-carb diet overview will also tell you that good fats convert to energy much like carbohydrates, as we know it to be. Low-carb diet overview will likewise tell you about the recommended carbohydrates like whole grain, fruits and vegetables. However, you should minimize intake of carbohydrates to as low as 10% of your total calorie intake. If you can maintain your consumption of carbohydrates to as low as 10% of your calorie intake, you should eat more fats and moderate protein. Then, the low-carb diet overview will be the best tool to compliment your weight loss regimen and avoid jumping on the obese bandwagon.
The low-carb diet overview will explain how you can best manage your weight. In contrast with the belief that carbohydrates are necessary to build your energy profile, fat may replace carbohydrates in this arena.
You will also learn from the low-carb diet overview that it is the best diet for obese individuals. Diabetics may also use the low-carb diet overview to combat the cause of obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypoglycemia and type II diabetes because studies show that low-carb diet attacks the condition called hyperinsulinemia. Hyperinsulinemia is a condition where insulin levels in the blood are elevated.
It may also be helpful knowledge you will get from low-carb diet overview is the advantages one will get from low-carb diet. Sustained weight loss is one advantage of low-carb diet. Another advantage you will learn from low-carb diet overview and low-card dieting is stable blood sugar, this is specifically important for diabetics and those people prone to diabetes. If you have a relative who is a diabetic, then you are one of those people prone to diabetes. Low cholesterol level is also an advantage of low-carb dieting. Some low-card dieters also report being more energetic than their counterparts who are not dieting.
Finally, here are some basic guidelines you will get from the low-carb diet overview. You should limit your carbohydrates intake to 10% or less of your total calorie intake. You will also find the list of allowed foods, you will also find the list of foods to avoid and foods with hidden sugar in the low-carb diet overview. Avoiding food containing sugar and white flour is also part of the low carb diet. Avoiding caffeine and drinking lots of clean and clear water also help in the dieting process. Taking fiber supplements and vitamin will help during the initial stage of low-carb dieting, you will understand this need better upon reading the low-carb diet overview.
Low-carb dieting is good for everyone who wants to loose weight, so try it to experience a trim lifestyle. However, when you finally decide to try it, after reading the low-carb diet overview, visit your health care professional just to be sure that low-carb dieting is really, what you need.

For free advice, tips and education about weight loss, fitness and dieting visit Weight Loss Information at http://www.effective-weight-loss.info/ Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Simon_Edwards

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