Sunday, January 25, 2009

Fad Diets And Weight loss

By Ron C

Fad diets are weight programs that are designed to only be used for a small amount of time. Another popular culture meaning for the term is a diet that becomes wildly popular for a period of a few months to a few years, and then fades into obscurity. Some of these fad diets include the cabbage soup diet, the Atkins diet, and the cookie diet.

Fad diets are sometimes known as food fad-ism. A food weight loss fad is a phenomenon in which some food or category of food suddenly becomes very popular in a very short period of time. These generally have some common elements, including:

- The food is attributed with miraculous properties. - Some foods must be avoided because they have equally amazing powers, but that do unpleasant things.

The Atkins diet displays the characteristics of one of these fad diets. Carbohydrates are avoided like the plague, since a carbohydrate low diet can do amazing things for your body. At the same time, carbohydrates are the miraculous element -- actually the lack of carbohydrates because it creates a metabolic state in which the body burns weight at an amazing pace. This diet even included short phases, followed by sustained periods. But Dr. Atkins did intend that people could eat this way for the rest of their lives.

Different Fad Diets

The Atkins diet was also one of these fad diets in that massive popularity was fairly short-lived. For a number of years anybody who was considering of dieting thought about the Atkins diet . Individuals from Hollywood actors to politicians were all using the Atkins diet. But after the loss of life of Dr. Atkins, the diet became much less of a household word.

Fad Diets And The Dangers

There are many risks connected with fad diets. Even a seemingly healthy diet like the Subway diet could be dangerous. It was based on the legend of Jared, a young man who'd lost nearly 250 pounds in only a year by eating Subway sandwiches, baked chips, and diet soda. In reality Jared restricted his caloric intake from over ten thousand calories a day to only 900. Such an extreme level of caloric intake cuts and rapid fat loss is unhealthy. The diet did comprise various positive aspects such as exercise, like walking.

Beware of fad diets. You're much better off with you researching how to eat well with a healthy lifestyle on an everyday basis and implement a program of rigorous exercise. - 15683

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