Fad Dieting

You know the saying, fads come and go..

Fad dieting is the most prevelent form of dieting, paticularly in the US. This is because the major fitness companies like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc.. all have considerable advertising budgets to advertise new fad diets. It's important to realize however, that fad dieting is a one way ticket to a rollercoaster ride of temporary success and failure.

Why is Fad Dieting bad?

Fad Dieting is bad because fad diets are constructed to appear easily doable in one way or another, and usually through one specific process. Let's take the Atkins diet for example. The sole focus of Atkins was low carbohydrates. But basing your diet entirely around avoiding carbohydrates will make you feel completely drained. This is why the Atkins approach has ended up as a failure. Sure, a lot of people lost weight initially, but they gained it all back because the diet made them feel physically and mentally miserable.

Other fad diets put emphasis on consuming a few specific foods or supplements. In the end they always fail as well, due to redundancy and a lack of basic nutrition logic.

Then what diet really works?

There is no name for the diet that will work, that's because a truly effective diet is one which is custom to you, your body, and your life style. If there were ever a name for the type of diet that actually works for people, it might be labeled "Calories in vs. Calories out". If you want to lose weight, it's a simple process of consuming less calories than your body burns on a daily basis.

So it's first a matter of figuring out on average, how many calories your body burns in and of itself within a 24 hour period. This is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It includes involuntary bodily functions like your heart beating, brain functions, digestive processes, etc.. You can discover your BMR here in our free physical analysis form. Once you know your BMR, you add on the calories you burn voluntarily throughout the day, like through exercise. Once you have your total daily caloric expenditure, you then know approximately how many calories you need to consume. To lose 1 lb. a week, just consume 500 calories less than your total caloric expenditure! It's that simple.

Take our free physical analysis to learn more and receive a fitness plan from the HealthyGo Fitness Trainers.