A recent research shows that nearly 60% of all U.S. adults are overweight. In fact, most of us need to lose a few pounds once in a while. With all the fast food just around the corner, it is so easy for us to gain weight.
Unfortunately, most of us don't know how to deal with this problem. We do not know where to start in order to lose weight effectively. With so much hype and misinformation, we find it hard what is really true and what really works. The more diets published in magazines and on the Internet, the more people are confused about what dieting really means and about the right way of bringing your body back in shape.
The growing number of overweight people has turned weight loss into an industry like never before and the market is growing every year. It seems that nowadays all one needs is a fashionable idea and a flair for marketing in order to make a lot of money or garner a lot of popularity by proposing some sort of weird diet, desp ite the lack of professional expertise in this field.
1. Atkins Diet
Pretty much everybody's head of the Atkins diet, largely due to the flood of articles praising the extraordinary results, not to mention the loads of good mail from satisfied customers. The biggest thing in favor of this diet is that it lets you eat high fat dairy products like cheese and butter. However, the Atkins diet has fallen from its lofty perch over suspicions of increasing the risk of heart diseases, not to mention the proved fact that bigger number of followers complain of diarrhea, weakness, muscle cramps and rashes. The debate over the scientific fundamentals of this diet is still raging.
2. Zone Diet
This diet is the brainchild of Barry Sears and it's all about eating the right mix of foods in order to reach the proper hormonal balance. This state of balance, which is called the "Zone", lets the body take in calories and use them throu gh the day without putting anything aside as fat.
Unfortunately, this diet does some serious discrimination among foods without any scientific basis. Starchy vegetables, whole grains and beans are banned, although these foods are not in conflict with the principles of the diet. The American Heart Association says the Zone diet lacks essential nutrients while promoting high-protein foods.
3. Jenny Craig Diet
One of the longest running diets, Jenny Craig started this business in the early 1980s and it's still around. The basic idea of this diet is a trade off: you don't have to choose recipes, do the shopping and the cooking, but you have to buy the Jenny Craig prepackaged food. And that runs to some $100 per week. Plus the membership costs. Plus the vegetables and fruits which are not included in the prepackaged food. If you can afford it and if you can stick to it, the diet is pretty good.
However, similar low-calori e foods can be bought at the grocery store and you don't have to discuss this with a Jenny Craig expert that insists on your eating the prepackaged food because he gets a percentage of the sale price.
4. South Beach Diet
This one has the right idea and wrong approach combination down pat. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people have managed to lose weight with this diet and it actually works. But the question is: can you really stick to it?
The first phase of the diet will eliminate most foods containing carbohydrates from your daily consumption. Fortunately, this phase lasts two weeks. Unfortunately, second phase focuses on a half-hearted return of whole grains and fruits and lasts… as long as necessary. If reaching the desired weight takes you one year, then that's exactly how long this phase is going to last. And if you don't like the foods allowed by this diet then you're out of luck.
5. Weight Watchers
This is actually one of the best diets around because it puts all the management tools in the hands of the user. If you are really committed to losing weight, you have all the information you need to do it.
And a lot of people who are going through the same thing are going to be there to help you. If having company during difficult times helps your willpower, then you are probably going to lose all that extra weight. If, on the other hand, you don't like the idea of being constantly under peer pressure, then this diet is not for you.
After pointing out some of the best and popular diets in the market, I still would suggest the best thing to consider when choosing a diet is to do your own research. Try to get as many testimonials as possible from people who have tried it. You also need to hear what your doctor and dietitians have to say about your chosen diet.
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