This is a sponsored guest post.
With the summer nearly upon us, plenty folks consider any possible weight loss or dieting options to get that summer bod! Exercising and a proper diet plays a key part in weight loss, but not every diet is an ideal one. Some of them may be counterproductive while others can cause serious life-threatening illnesses like heart disease or strokes. Dieting should be manageable and keep you in your weight loss journey, not work against you.
The advice given by many is to avoid those “lose weight quickly” diet plans that do more harm than good. Here are 4 diet trends you probably should stay away from if you want to lose weight efficiently.
The Coke Diet
For soda-lovers, this comes as a “too good to be true” alternative to the classic diet. Because Diet Coke has the word “diet” in it and certain fashion designers have even gone on the record for it, it’s not a suitable option for anyone. While the number of calories, sugar, and fat is cut out of the equation, it doesn’t mean your diet should consist only of this beverage.
What a person undergoing a Coke diet does is replaces all meals by drinking Diet Coke for the lack of calories it contains. However, aside from the clear chance of developing Type-2 diabetes and heart disease, our body requires a healthy balance of water for blood cells to maintain, as well as absorbing key nutrients. A daily intake of 8-10 Diet Cokes will increase blood pressure, high blood sugar, and weight gain which is the opposite of what one is trying to achieve with a diet. Simply put, this type of diet is one you should stay away from.
The Mono Diet
The mono diet is essentially this: a person focuses on only ingesting a specific food (or food group). While not the worst alternative, the mono diet is flawed simply because you need a variety of daily nutrients that are a key component to weight loss. Without them, physical activity of any kind can seem slow and the exclusion of nutrients may work against you in the long run. For example, a person exercising while in this diet can be easily fatigued and exhausted due to only running on specific food and missing out on the kind that provides necessary fuel and energy for your body.
Of course, you can lose weight by only eating a single food group, but think about it: how much meat can you eat before it affects your overall health? How sustainable can this be? A restrictive diet works only in moderation, as with all types of weight loss methods. Instead, pick an unhealthy food you may be ingesting and eliminate it from your lifestyle altogether. Over time, as you remove more harmful foods in your lifestyle change, this practical method can provide long-lasting results. After all, slow and steady wins the race.
Miracle Diets
Some diets require assistance that involves an individual taking supplements or drinking apple cider vinegar to get things moving, like liquid diets that come with their pros and cons. However, branded “get rich quick” schemes of the diet world are to be avoided, such as the somewhat old-school Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet: a drink that requires consumers to replace their daily three meals with this beverage and “promises” a loss of 10 pounds in two days. A general rule of thumb is to never opt for a diet with the word “miracle” in it, but due to some results people have reached through drinks such as this, it may sound intriguing. There are obvious cons, however:
- The weight you lose is water weight, not fat
- You gain the weight back quickly once you resume your normal eating habits
- Unhealthy if taken for longer periods
- You risk hypoglycemia and metabolism issues
Miracle diets are a big no if losing weight naturally is a goal you wish to achieve. A proper, balanced diet along with regular exercise and moderation can do more than these quick-results-granted alternatives can offer.
While we’re at it, dependence on things like dietary supplements that also promise quick results should be avoided. Too much of anything is bad, and this stands true for such supplements as studies say you risk acute liver failure by abusing them.
The Low-Calorie Diet
Our bodies require a certain caloric-intake to maintain performance and function properly. So when we severely restrict the number of calories we consume, our metabolism goes into starvation mode and has to readjust. Maybe consider the coolsculpting cost for aesthetic help without drastic measures.. Your body learns to take fewer calories and thus may prove effective for a certain period. Going back to eating a healthy amount, however, will cause the Yo-Yo effect, in which you experience weight loss difficulty because of weight fluctuation. Such diets require the individual to undergo things like food deprivation or intermittent fasting, essentially halting a normal amount of caloric intake that may be necessary. This inevitably does lead to weight loss but the individual may not maintain the results for long and thus goes back to step one. Realizing that exercise, a lifestyle change, and a disciplined diet will keep you on-track and en route to your body goals.
The Key to Dieting
Our bodies are different in how they grow and function, so what works for one may not be optimal for another. Some may have difficulty trying to include all food groups in their diet, while others may find a daily exercise routine almost impossible to keep. The attempts to break out of what you normally do, however, show determination in what we call a lifestyle change. But as the saying goes for stocks, careers, and more, there are no shortcuts to the top. The diets mentioned above aren’t the only beelines out there, as people mistakenly turn to surgeries such as liposuction for weight loss. With sheer willpower and drive, a disciplined diet and exercise routine, your goal can be reached and maintained for a long time. Just remember to steer clear of these diets for proven results.
