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Dieting 101 - The Wrong Way to Lose Weight

By Matt Lisk

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Published: 04Jan2009
Word count: 626
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There are two kinds of diets that help you to lose weight - those that promise you the moon and leave you weak and exhausted in a ditch and those that offer you a slow and sensible progression to your goal. Obviously, the second option is the best. Many quick fat loss programs are fine, but you need to be aware of the possible consequences they can have.

- There's no such thing as spot reduction. You can't lose only belly flab. A good weight loss diet will reduce fat all over the body, not just one place. You can focus on areas that need extra attention through exercise

- Starvation does not work. Your body cannot function purely on its stored fats and carbs. If there is no food intake, your body protects itself by slowing down. And the slower your metabolic rate, the less energy you have and the less fat you burn. And anyway, you are going to have to start eating again soon. When you do, your body, having been through the shock of starvation, will prepare itself for that happening again by storing as much fat as it can. The end result will be little or no fat loss in the long run.

- Crash diets are almost as bad. Your body slows down in the same way and your efforts to lose weight are canceled by the fat you add to your body once you return to your normal diet.

- Starvation and crash diets can cause health problems like gastric ulcers or low blood pressure that can have long term consequences.

- Be careful of diets that use the term "lose weight" carelessly. The aim of a diet is to lose weight, but not just any weight. Your diet should result in fat loss, not muscle degradation. Pound for pound, muscles burn up more fat to maintain themselves that fat does. Losing a pound of muscle means slowing your fat loss.

- Beware of diets that offer you a way to lose weight with no exercise at all. Reducing your food intake alone will lead to fat loss, but unless your muscles are used to some degree at least, they will become slack and you will start losing muscle tissue along with the fat. There is a difference between looking thin and looking lean and toned.

- Be careful of diets that do not recommend regular intakes of small quantities of food. Obviously a diet will not say that you should eat more than you normally do, but a lower calorie intake should be divided into small meals or snacks at regular intervals. If your body remains hungry for any length of time, it slows your metabolism down with the same result as mentioned above.

- Even if a diet sounds sensible and safe, be wary of those that promise you a huge weight loss per week. Losing 1 to 2 pounds a week is a safe amount. Anything more than that and its likely that you are losing muscle tissue along with the fat.

- Even if your fat loss plan does not talk about exercise, you need to do it. You need to keep you muscles toned both for the reasons given above and also to keep you healthy and looking fit. It need not be a complex work out routine. Even a reasonable amount of aerobic exercise like walking is enough.

- Whatever your diet plan, it should not leave you feeling tired or unable to focus. These are signs that your body is not just losing weight but suffering. If you notice these symptoms, stop your diet and return to you normal food intake. If the symptoms disappear, your diet does not suit you. Find another one. If the symptoms continue, consult a doctor.

Matt Lisk is a fat loss expert who has used his knowledge to lose over 80 pounds of body fat, reduce his body fat percentage to under 10% and to resolve a variety of health issues he was experiencing. He is the author of Lean State University's Fat Loss 101 Newsletter.

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