Rapid Weight Loss Diets

Do Rapid Weight Loss Diets work?  Yes they do in the short term but unless you use them as a kick start to an overall change in your lifestyle, the pounds you lose will return.  You may even end up weighing more than when you first started.

Studies have shown that it is far more effective over the long term to lose on average one to two pounds a week rather than to try to lose say fourteen pounds in ten days.  Can it be done?  Yes you can lose 14 or more pounds in a week or ten days but could you sustain this level of weight loss? Probably not.

So what do rapid weight loss diets involve?  Usually you have to go on some sort of detox or liquid fast.  Your body is constantly detoxing, that is the main function of your liver and kidneys so you do not need to go on a full detox regularly.  But if you want to lose a couple of pounds quickly or have been feeling tired and sluggish lately then a 24 or 48 hour detoxification diet may help.  I wouldn’t suggest you do it for any longer than this as it is not healthy and your chances of sticking to the plan are small as it will become monotonous and boring.  The main reason why a lot of diets don’t work is because they leave you feeling deprived and they become repetitive and dull.  They are also very dangerous for patients with any kind of medical issues particularly heart or kidney disease.  This type of weight loss plan will put your system under severe pressure and the bad news is that you are almost guaranteed to fail.

Rapid weight loss diets are also known as crash diets.  Examples of this type of plan would include the banana diet, boiled egg diet and the grapefruit and coffee diet.  You will recognize a crash diet by the very limited food choice on offer.  If you do go on this type of weight loss plan, you are likely to suffer nausea, stomach cramps and dizziness.  If you try Ephedra weight loss or other similar products you are very likely to experience more serious side effects.

Headaches and bad breath have also been reported.  You are very likely to be hungry as typically you are not allowed eat more than 1000 calories a day. Rapid weight loss is inevitable at first but as your body realizes that you are continuously getting less than 1000 calories, it will think you are starving.  The body automatically protects itself and starts to store fat and use lean muscle for energy.  This is exactly the scenario you need to avoid.

So do yourself a favor and forget about rapid weight loss diets.  Sure if you want to get your motivation going by losing a couple of pounds quickly then try a 24 hour fast but I certainly wouldn’t keep it up longer than that.  During your fast allow yourself to eat raw fruit and vegetable and drink water and lemon juice.  Do not drink fizzy water or diet sodas as both have been linked to cellulite.  Once the 24 hour fast is over, it is time to switch onto a safe weight loss program, try a healthy eating plan for long term slimming and better health.