Saturday, February 16, 2008

Why Calorie Counting Doesn’t Work for Weight Loss...

Most people believe that calories are the "enemy", since eating excess calories leads to excess fat, right? That’s why most people believe that the fastest way to lose weight is to cut way back on calories each day.

After all, if a dieter is eating 2,500 calories per day and they decide to cut back to 1,500 calories per day – then obviously those extra 1,000 calories have to result in weight loss, right?

Well, actually this is not exactly true.

In fact, if you try to cut your calories too much (via starving yourself and skipping meals) then you'll quickly reach a dieting "plateau" (a point where the scale refuses to drop any lower no matter how little your are eating).

Firstly, let’s talk about how the average person begins a new diet...

The scenario usually sounds something like this...

One day you look in the mirror and see that your clothes are fitting tighter than normal, and you look more overweight than normal. ...And on this day you get “angry” with yourself, you’re angry with what you see in the mirror – and you decide that you’re going to lose weight no matter what it takes.

You are filled with lots of motivation and anger on this day, and you feel determined to do whatever it takes to get slimmer.

So what's the first thing you do?

...You begin skipping meals and cutting way back on calories in an attempt to starve yourself thinner, since you're convinced that calories are the enemy.

Anyway, the above scenario is how you begin your “starvation diet.”

On the first day of dieting you feel so “motivated” to lose weight that you decide to skip breakfast.

Unfortunately, this motivation doesn't last for long, because after a few hours your hunger begins making you feel weak -- because your body is not accustomed to "skipping meals" like this, and your body is not accustomed to being without calories for so long.

Anyway, by the time lunchtime arrives you’re so hungry (and weak) that you feel absolutely miserable --- but yet you bravely tell yourself that you can handle this diet (because after all, you certainly don’t want to feel like a quitter).

So you perhaps have a piece of fruit for lunch (or perhaps another small food item instead), since you're still convinced that you can starve yourself thinner.

Finally, hours later when dinnertime arrives you’re so miserable and hungry that you have a major headache – and this is the moment when you finally begin to realize that starving yourself might not be such a good idea after all.

After this first day of starving yourself you feel horrible, but you’re determined to stick to your diet since you don't want to be a quitter so soon -- so you’ll likely hold out for another few days on this diet.

Or, if you are particularly brave then you may even hold out for a week or two.

However, regardless of how long you actually hold out -- you won't get any slimmer and the final result will still be the same.

You see, even after two weeks of starving yourself you won’t have achieved any serious weight loss at all. In fact, your body will still look the same when you look in the mirror.

Why is this true?

This is true because most of the weight lost during a “starvation diet” is just water weight, and not real fat loss.

You must remember that any “water weight” lost during a starvation diet will be gained back immediately when you stop dieting and start eating normally again.

Also, whenever you starve yourself you cause a “hidden” factor to come into play...

You see, whenever you starve yourself your body will begin burning fewer calories each day.

For instance, let’s say that you normally eat about 3,,000 calories per day.

....But then you suddenly cut way back on calories -- so that you're now eating only 1,000 calories per day.

Guess what happens?

Even though you’re eating 2,000 fewer calories per day your body will begin burning 2,000 fewer calories per day – so in reality your weight will remain the same even though you’re eating 2,000 fewer calories per day.

When this happens the scale will stop going down regardless of how little you are eating each day, and this is known as a weight loss “plateau.”

This is why most starvation dieters cannot make the scale go down anymore after just two weeks of dieting. They all hit a “plateau” where the scale just refuses to go down any further, no matter how little they are eating each day.

Now you know why you’ve always failed when trying to starve yourself in the past, since it’s just not possible to lose weight by starving yourself.

The truth is that “serious” weight loss can never be achieved by starvation dieting.

Serious weight loss can only be achieved by giving your body the right types of calories at the correct times each day, which is something that we talk about below...

Your body is actually like a big “engine” -- and the truth is that your body needs all 3 types of calories (protein, carbs, and fat) to some degree.

To begin losing weight fast we recommend using the new Idiot Proof Diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots -- because it does not require any calorie counting (it's one of the only diets in the world which forces fast weight loss without the need to count calories).

You can begin this new diet right here.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Fast Ways to Lose Weight - What is the Best Way to Lose Weight Fast?

Here's where you're at right now. You've got an upcoming event that you need to look good for and instead of being happy, you're worrying about being able to squeeze into a new dress, nice suit, hot pair of jeans, or (gasp!) a bathing suit.
It doesn't matter why you need to lose the weight rapidly, because the task now is finding the best way for you to accomplish this goal. First of all, I applaud you for resisting the obvious choice:
Diet pills.
I'm sure you've seen the diet pill pushers latest ads touting how many pounds you can lose with ease if you just take these little pills . . .
Right. With all the pills they sell every month, you'd think that everybody who took them would be slim as a pole and would never have to struggle with their weight again. But for some reason, obesity is worse than ever, in spite of their miracle pills.
Unfortunately, many people still turn to this desperate solution for quick weight loss.
Another fast weight loss gem is the old cabbage soup diet. This one has you choking down lots of bitter tasting soup until you can barely stand it anymore. I mean, do you even wanna eat that much cabbage?
The sacrifice to your sanity and physical health for short term gain is supposed to make it all worthwhile. Again, eating tons of cabbage soup will cause you to lose some weight (mostly water), but you'll be so darn cranky and miserable that you probably won't be good company. Besides, you'll gain it all back as quickly as you lost it.
Okay, so what diet do you go on after the cabbage soup experiment fails?
Hmmm. What is this fat loss for idiots diet that's making the rounds?
It's a diet plan that claims you can lose 9 pounds in 11 days if you follow their instructions. The truth about this plan is that while many people do, in fact, lose weight, most do not lose weight as rapidly as they claim. This may be causing some people to give up and feel like failures for not hitting that golden 9 pound mark.
Being told that you're an idiot, well, that's a nice compliment, isn't it?
Many people feel that a low carb diet is the best route to achieving fast, healthy weight loss, but there are some experts who think that cutting out too many carbs can be harmful. Getting enough nutrition while dieting is an important factor to consider when going on a fast track plan.
If you are in the market to buy cheap fast weight loss diet plan, then realize that your health and safety are the most important thing - losing the pounds is second. What I mean is that some people are willing to risk their health in order to drop pounds quickly.
Remember that you not only want to lose weight, but you also want your whole body to be fit and healthy. Ignore those ads that claim you will lose weight while you sleep, etc. Pills are dangerous and so is starvation.
I think you're smart enough to figure out that quickly losing weight involves eating healthier foods more frequently and throwing in some moderate exercise. If you can eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, drink more water and walk around the block once a day, you should be able to reach your goal pretty easily.
So, congratulations for the new you that is about to emerge!
Kick those fad diets to the curb! A registered dietitian reveals the absolutely best way to lose 15 pounds in 30 days. Women: lose a dress size, Men: lose that gut.