If you're serious about losing weight and getting fit, you probably can't go a week without hearing about the latest fad diet, and why you should drop what you're doing to buy the book. Each new diet gives us proof that fad diets aren't all that they're cracked up to be. Sure, you'll probably lose some weight during the diet, but there's a 99.9% chance that you'll gain it all back as soon as you stop the fad diet.

The typical fad diet isn't safe or healthy enough for you to use it for more than a couple of weeks; and even then, some may wreak havoc on your metabolism and immune system, decreasing your energy level, mental alertness and ability to continuously burn calories.

Some fad diets such as the Scarsdale diet force you to limit your daily calorie intake to 1,000 calories. Naturally, you will lose weight; but what are the secrets that they don't want you to know? I'll start the list off with kidney problems. Eating only 1,000 calories a day is too low for your body to operate normally, so you'll be burning away protein (from muscle) in addition to the fat, and losing water faster than normal. This causes heightened levels of nitrogen in your kidneys, and this can be damaging.

Even the famous and seemingly harmless South Beach Diet has a possible danger during first two weeks known Phase 1. It is common to lose between 8 and 13 pounds in that time, which is unhealthy. However, I must recommend the South Beach Diet as the healthiest I have found besides the Zone Diet, which is more of a healthy science experiment than a bunch of small diet changes.

If you're committed to making an improvement in your lifestyle and weight, you'll steer clear of these diets and choose to follow the time-tested, healthy, gradual weight loss plans that incorporate all the nutrients your body needs.

The only way you can succeed in your weight loss journey is by making the decision to maximize your health through safe methods. Think of weight loss as a side effect of your good decisions, and you'll be much happier with yourself!

Copyright (C) Shoppe.MD and Ian Mason, 2004-2005

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All the best,

Ian Mason