Why Fad Diets are not a Permanent Fat Loss Solution

There are many people that are on fad diets and not finding the long term success they are looking for. These diet plans are so crazy, they have to will themselves to stay on them. They often begin to yo-yo because they try these weight loss programs a number of times; they lose weight and then rebound. When a person rebounds from starving themselves, they will often gain back more weight than they lost. This is extremely frustrating.


There are two things that people must realize when they are on fad diets and that is that there is another way and there is a better way. The key to true weight loss is not the latest crazy plan or diet pill, rather it is a lifestyle change. A lifestyle change is usually small but it is significant in order to lose weight permanently.

There are different stages or pillars that people must accomplish in order to alter their lifestyle in increments to manifest the body they always wanted and be able to keep it. The first of these pillars is meal frequency.

The traditional meal pattern is three square meals a day. There is also a saying that "square meals make round people." The first thing a person does on a fad type diet is decrease their calorie intake. They do this by reducing their food intake to once a day.

This type of extreme diet can cause hormonal changes and force the body into starvation mode. Once the person is off the fad diet, they not only gain the weight that they lost, but they will eat everything in sight and gain even more weight.

To some people it may not make sense that increasing the number of meals you have to five or six would make logical sense. This is the key to beginning to not only losing weight, but to making a lifestyle change you can keep up with.

There is research that shows that eating more frequently can help you lose weight. Eating more frequent, smaller meals increases what's called the thermic effect of food, or basically, the energy it takes your body to digest food.

This is a slower way to lose weight, but has longer lasting effects. It does not cause the hormonal changes that fad diets can.

Eating more frequent meals is a nutritional plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life. It can take getting used to. Many people complain early on that they just do not have the time to eat more frequently. If they give it a chance for a few weeks, it will form a new long lasting habit. It takes some patience and work, but the payoff is amazing.

To begin this lifestyle change, take the amount of food that you would normally eat over three meals, and for the next two weeks, make it four or maybe five meals. You will just be spreading the same amount of food over a greater period of time. You will be burning slightly more calories just by spreading your meals out and being consistent about it.

Make increased meal frequency part of your lifestyle, and once it becomes a routine you can move on and add another pillar of nutrition.

This article was provided by Mike Roussell, of Warp Speed Fat Loss fame.





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