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Best Diets For Active People

March 12th, 2010 DietPills-thatWork No comments

What is truly the most efficient way to lose weight and what are the best diet plans? Are there any tricks to make those extra pounds just go away quickly and painlessly?
I think you know the answer is no. However, according to a leading consumer magazine, there are diets that make more sense than others.
Do you realize that Americans are completely obsessed with weight loss issues? The survey, found that 45 percent of American adults (96 million) are trying to lose weight. Almost half (46 percent) of all women are trying to lower their weight, compared to one third (36 percent) of men are dieting.
Observe some of what is available today. Remember that this is only a small list of what is available.
The Zone Diet
Slim-Fast
Jenny Craig
Atkin’s Diet
Weight Watchers
New diets are announced almost daily. The weight loss industry is huge and will even change the truth to get you to buy their latest and greatest product. Their goal is to make money. Your goal is to lose weight.
Be realistic and understand that not all diets and products work for everyone. You may have to go experiment with a few to see if the particular product works well with you and most importantly how your body reacts to that particular plan.
This is what you are aiming for:
Lose weight fast
Gain muscle and increase tone
Become a healthier individual
You want to speed up your metabolism.
You want a money back guarantee- Most products offer 100% guarantees.
Please read this article with an open mind towards finding that special diet that will work for you.
Losing weight is not a task easily accomplished. It doesn’t make a difference what diet or weight loss program you pick. You must make a very strong deal with yourself that you will stick with it until you are at your ideal weight.
An article on best diets must include a section on fad diets. This is a small sampling of just a couple of the fad diets that have been advertised heavily recently; Cabbage Soup Diet, Lemonade Diet, Raw Food Diet and the Green Tea Diet. The real truth about why most diets and weight loss plans fail is because they are not sustainable. If, for instance, you drank Lemonade a few times a day, how long would it be long before you would be reaching for something solid to eat?
There is no reason to start any diet if you do not put your heart into it. You have to change your eating habits for the rest of your life! It has been clinically proven that there is no need to bring the calorie intake to less than your body requires to survive.
You can lose weight just not eating that second portion of food. It takes many calories to make a body obese. If you reduce these calories you will lose weight slowly and be able to sustain the loss. Therefore, the food intake, when you want to lose weight, need not be less than that required to maintain an ideal weight.
The best diet for you is one that you are happy with and which supplies necessary nutrition. It is vitally important that you learn to only eat as a response to your real hunger. Do not use food to reduce anxiety brought on by stress of everyday living.
Today there are many alternatives to just dieting.
Some amazing programs have been developed by well known doctors that work hand and hand with the best diets. Research what is available and those plans that are approved by doctors.

Belly Fat Diets – the Magical Solution?

March 11th, 2010 DietPills-thatWork No comments

Have you heard that there are foods and special diets that are specially designed to help you get rid of your belly fat? There is something called the Flat Belly Diet that has been endorsed by the writers at Prevention magazine. The diet is promoted as a way to take as many inches off of your waistline as you want. There are also a variety of diets making the rounds right now that claim they can get rid of your stomach fat without you having to do a single minute of exercise. Are these diets the real deal? Here is what we have found out about belly fat diets:

The best way to get rid of stomach fat is to eat a healthy diet and maintain a regular exercise routine. You will want to work all of your muscle systems, not just your abdominal region. You know that this is true, but isn’t there any truth to the diets that claim to get rid of belly fat?

To understand why these diets aren’t what they claim to be, you need to understand how fat works in your body. Fat cells cannot be lost without surgery. Even people who are in model shape have plenty of fat cells in their bodies. Fat cells are cells that stretch and constrict depending on how much exercise you get and what you eat. The only way to lose a fat cell is to have it surgically removed. What’s more, your body stores fat in different ways–focusing on a single area of your body won’t get rid of that area’s fat. It will simply relocate the fat to somewhere else!

The “Belly Fat Diet” promoted by Prevention Magazine is famous because it promotes the ingestion of monosaturated fat. Followers of this diet plan are instructed to add some source of monosaturated fat to every meal they eat. Monosaturated fats can be found in, among other things, soybeans, seeds, nuts, olives and dark chocolate. The person who developed the diet claims that monosaturated fat focuses specifically on the fat that is stored in the belly area. The author of the diet encourages exercise, but emphasizes that exercise is not required to make the diet successful.

Recently, MSNBC released an article that promises readers that there are no foods that will actively attack single areas of body fat. Belly fat is the same as fat located in other areas of the human body. The article maintains that genetics has more to do with where your body stores fat than anything you could eat.

Here is the simple truth: if you cut your calorie intake and burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight! To work specifically on the fat that is stored in your belly, you can add some extra abdominal exercises to your regular workout routine. There are no magical belly fat diets that will whisk away the fat cells stored in your belly. To truly lose your stomach fat you need to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly!

Good Health and Wellness Begin With a Healthy Diet

March 11th, 2010 DietPills-thatWork No comments

Because of so many illnesses and chronic diseases, more and more individuals are paying attention to their diet. Despite hectic schedules and busy lifestyles, people can start and maintain a healthy diet if they really want to. Today, one of the major reasons why people are overweight or suffer from minor and major health risks is that they don’t practice having a healthy diet.

What’s a good, effective formula for a healthy diet ?Experts advise a mix of food choices from each food group. Having a balanced intake of calcium-rich foods, whole grains, and protein-rich products will also keep you on track. You must also know your restrictions of fats, salt and sugars levels, and intakes. Lastly, you must monitor your body weight regularly to determine if your body is absorbing all the nutrients that it needs.

How do you know if your diet is healthy ? For those who are having a hard time figuring out what is a healthy diet and what’s not, here are some tips for you. Experts say that a diet is healthy if it is: – based on starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta, and potatoes because they are a good source of energy—not to mention being the main source of a range of nutrients in a person’s diet like fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin B.

1– a healthy diet should consist of lot of fruits and veggies such as orange, apples, celery, broccoli, carrots, beans and peas because eating at least 5 portions of any variety can provide the vitamins the body needs which also satisfies hunger .And you don’t have to worry about fats and excess carbohydrates.

2 – a healthy diet should include fish dishes that have high amounts of fish oil because it can provide protein, vitamins, and minerals that are not available to other food groups.

3 – a healthy diet should be low in saturated fats and excess sugars such as meat pies, sausages, hard cheese, butter and lard, pastry, cake, biscuits, cream and the others because they are high in complex calories that’s stored in the muscles.

4 – a healthy diet should have less salt content because experts believe meals that uses too much salt can raise the blood pressure which can lead to more complicated diseases especially those related to coronary illnesses.

5 – last,but not lease your diet should be high in water content because experts believe that for a person to achieve optimum health and fitness, he or she should take in lots and lots of water and foods that are high in fluid content to keep the body well-hydrated.

Doctors say that though the basic principle of a healthy diet is simple, there are those who are having a hard time sticking to it. The major reasons behind this include a super busy lifestyle, work that causes a lot of stress or even an environment that is not conducive to having a healthy diet.

Dieting – Permanent Weight Loss?

March 10th, 2010 DietPills-thatWork No comments

“The inn is not as comforting as the journey.” – unknown
For those of us who’ve battled our weight our whole lives, dieting is often a life-long companion, one we sometimes both love and hate, one in which we first grow giddy with excitement at the potential, but more often than not, one in which we feel has lets us down in the end.
But is it really the “diet’s” fault? There are certainly dozens of diets that come and go only to resurface again over the years. Fitness guru’s found on late-night infomercials are all too willing to take your money with the promise of giving you a model’s body in six weeks or less using their simple and fun program for just twenty minutes a day three times a week! Over your lifetime you have probably tried more than one diet and may have even tried the same diet several times.
Even with all these promises you see people, ordinary people, who have lost significant amounts of weight through dieting and exercising though not with any particular diet or exercise but using any one of the current diet “fads” or exercise machines on the market. Dieting does work and it has probably worked for you one or more times.
People can and do lose weight on whatever their diets of choice is. It’s clear there’s no one perfect diet but rather each person has a diet that’s perfect for them and their body. For one person’s body it might be low fat and high carb, for another it might be low carb and high fat. The actual diet itself doesn’t matter nor do the specific exercises that you do. What is important is finding the combination of the right diet and exercises the you can and will do and that work for you.
However, the single most important factor in determining your chances of success is in your mind and not your particular diet or exercise program. Your mental “game”, above all else, will determine your level of success. You must have a burning desire to reach your dieting goals, you must also create a plan, have faith in attaining that goal, review the goal frequently, and consistently overcome all obstacles until your goal is reached.
Only once you’ve mastered your mental “game” can you be assured of successfully reaching your dieting goals.
The mental factor may be the most important part of succeeding, but it is just the start. There’s one other factor most people do not realized about dieting and it’s almost as important as the mental game for long-term success. This one factor contributes more to your dietary and fitness failures than perhaps any other factor besides lacking a correct mental game.
Dieting, which is setting and reaching a goal, is only the first half of the process. Once reached, your goal is not the end of your journey. It’s only the beginning of a new goal, the second half of your complete success. It’s kind of like going through school as a child. Each year you reached toward the end of the year when school was out and you had successfully completed that grade level. But there was always another grade level to complete.
The other half of your “dieting” journey is now applying and maintaining what you’ve learned along the way to reach another goal: maintaining your new healthy lifestyle. This is not just for the short term but it is purposefully making a lifestyle change for a permanent improvement in your health and fitness.
Only once you’ve realized that all permanent health and fitness changes in your life are really two parts, reaching your dieting and fitness goals and then maintaining them with a new ongoing goal, can you then come to understand that the most important parts aren’t the goals, it’s the journey to your goals. Then and only then will your health and fitness decisions be successful for the rest of your life.

What is the Best Diet Plan?

Diet plans are a dime a dozen, and thatâ??s why choosing a good weightloss diet program can get really confusing for the average person. Because obesity has become such a huge problem in America, and is a growing problem in the world, maintaining a healthy diet is more important than ever. In fact, itâ??s a life and death struggle for many people.

Trying to answer the question of what diet plan works best is difficult because everybody has different needs and lifestyles. There really isnâ??t a â??one size fits allâ? diet plan that works great for everybody. We each have our own unique metabolism that responds to whatever foods we eat and to other things like stress, illness and mental health.

Here are some common questions people have about dieting:

What is the healthiest diet?

This is a tricky one. Most diets floating around on the internet and in popular books and magazines will claim that they can work miracles for you if you cut out all the bad junk food. So, to start, youâ??ve got to cut way down on consuming snack chips and fried foods, or even cut them out of your diet completely.

Now things get complicated, because thereâ??s conflicting ideas about what combination of foods should be eaten to lose weight and still remain healthy. Determining what type of diets are good for the body should be based on whether or not the plan included proper nutrition that allows you to get through your day feeling good.

This should rule out starvation diets that may cause you to lose some quick water weight, but will make you feel drained, irritable and listless.

What is a balanced diet for weight loss?

Ideally, a balanced diet shouldnâ??t deprive your body of any essential proteins and nutrients it needs to function at its best during the duration you are on the program.

According to the USDA, a person should eat something from the following food groups for optimal nutrition:

* Bread, cereal, rice and pasta

* Vegetables

* Fruits

* Milk, yogurt and cheese

* Meat, fish, poultry, beans, eggs and nuts

A good weight loss diet will show you how to combine foods from these groups in a healthy way for optimal fat burning results.

I have a bad diet, what should I do?

First of all, youâ??re going to have to make a serious commitment to getting yourself back on track. Part of that is mental. You need to change the way you think about yourself and figure out why you eat the way you do.

Why are you eating that bag of potato chips after youâ??ve just had a big dinner?

Why are you eating a huge slab of chocolate cake at midnight?

Why are you ordering two double cheeseburgers, extra fries and a large soda at your favorite fast food place on a regular basis?

Why are these foods so comforting to you?

Can you change the way you think about these foods?

Answer these questions first. Then you can focus on replacing foods that are causing you to be overweight with healthier choices.

What happens if I donâ??t get enough fat in my diet?

This is a good question. Many fad diets will advise you to cut out all foods containing fat on the notion that you will lose pounds rapidly. The cabbage soup diet, fast weight loss plan, is a good example of this. If you eat cabbage soup for a week, you will probably lose some weight, but at what price?

Your body will go into â??starvation modeâ? and save every single calorie you consume to keep you alive (slowing down your metabolism). Also, you may experience headaches, moodiness and be very tired from not getting enough protein. These kinds of diets are quick fixes and you will gain the weight back rapidly. Not worth it, if you ask me.

So, what diets really work?

The only diets that genuinely work are ones that include proper nutrition, and are proven to be safe and effective in helping you to keep the weight off for good.

Truth About Fad Diets: What are the Bad Effects of Fad Diets?

There are literally hundreds of diet plans that promise to help you lose weight. Among the most popular are fad diets. You know, those diets that sometimes have you eating strange combinations of foods on a regular basis in order to drop those unwanted pounds.

But what is the truth about fad diets?

Do they really help you lose weight, and if so, what are some of the side effects that can happen when you go on one?

Let’s look at three current popular fad diets:

Grapefruit Diet – This diet has been around for years, and it’s still going strong. Probably because when we think of grapefruit, it’s easy to imagine that eating a bunch of it for a week or two will help you to lose weight. But what’s the real truth?

This diet supposedly works on the theory that grapefruit is a fat-burning food, but there is no proof that this fruit has any real fat burning enzymes.

Side effects: For most people, consuming half a grapefruit with every meal isn’t going to do anything bad, except maybe make you hungry between meals. However, if you are on prescription medication, you should consult your doctor before eating any grapefruit or trying this diet. Grapefruit has been proven to interfere with medication.

This is not a diet you should follow for more than a few weeks, since it doesn’t have enough carbs or protein to keep you feeling satisfied. Beware that it may also cause you to crave sweets, which can lead to overeating again.

Ice Cream Diet – Ok, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with this brilliant idea. Ice cream is the ultimate temptation and including it as part of a diet plan is a big plus for those who have a sweet tooth.

On the positive side, ice cream does have some nutritional value. One serving of ice cream a day helps keep your bones strong, helps to boost your immune system, and reduces cravings for other sweets. All of this is great as long as you stay within your recommended calorie intake per day. For women that means no more than one cup, for men 1-1/2 cups.

Side effects: You risk not being able to control the amount of ice cream you eat. One cup turns into a pint or half a gallon and soon you’ve gained even more weight.

Cabbage Soup Diet – Another oldie that has made the rounds numerous times, the Cabbage Soup Diet is a 7-day short-term diet that is supposed to help you drop pounds quickly. There are numerous variations of this diet, but the basic diet consists of: cabbage soup (as much as you want), fruit (except bananas), vegetables, some beef and water.

Side effects: The weight you lose is mostly water weight and will be gained back quickly. The  diet causes you to have gas and bad breath. You may experience hunger pangs, headache and dizziness due to severe calorie restriction.

The only way to guarantee that you’ll lose weight is to follow an easy meal plans diet that works for your particular lifestyle. That means, the diet should have calorie requirements to maintain weight loss: For women – at least 1500 calories per day. For men – at least 2000 calories per day.

Try to look at weight loss as an investment in your good health, instead of a quick fix, this is the best way to ensure you’ll be successful in losing weight permanently.

Dangerous Fad Diets: What are the Risks of Fad Diets?

When the need to lose weight quickly arises, many people opt to try out one of the numerous fad diets that are always making promises of quick and easy weight loss. Some of these fad diets have nutritional value and will temporarily give your weight loss efforts a boost.

 

Unfortunately, there are several popular fad diets and fad diet products that can be downright dangerous for your health. When people try these methods, they’re usually not thinking that they can end up in any kind of serious trouble. After all, the companies that put out these products often tell you that it is perfectly safe.

 

As a consumer, you need to be aware of the dangers of using these scam diet products and plans so that you can make wise decisions about your long-term health goals. Here are some of the popular fad diet products that are sold as safe, effective weight loss, but are anything but safe.

 

Diet Pills – I know. The ads promise that popping their miracle weight loss pills will make you model slim overnight. Diet pill manufacturers make millions of dollars making these claims to desperate people. They’ll tell you that their pill will do all the fat burning work for you, so there’s no need for you to follow a healthy diet or do any kind of exercise.

 

Basically, it’s the lazy way to lose weight.

 

So, if their pills are so effective, why are so many people overweight?

 

That’s right, because these pills are only a short-term fix to your weight loss problem. Diet pills may temporarily suppress your appetite, but once you stop taking them – bam! The weight comes right back on.

 

Danger: Some of the side effects from taking diet pills are dizziness, chest pain, nausea, liver and kidney damage, seizures, stroke, heart attack and even death. Because there’s no way of knowing what’s in some of these formulations or what exact amounts of herbs and other substances are in them, it’s best to stay clear of diet pills.

 

Diuretics and Laxatives – Diuretic products are often used by doctors to treat high blood pressure and glaucoma. For weight loss, they often come in the form of pills containing natural herbs that are considered safe to use. A weight loss diuretic is supposed to clear your body of excess food, toxins and water. Laxatives are another product that’s often used as a quick weight loss fix.

 

Danger: Excessive use of either diuretics or laxatives can lead to damage of the intestinal wall, renal damage, severe dehydration and heart problems. Plus, you won’t lose any fat, just water weight.

 

Diet Patch – After nicotine patches that help people to quit smoking became popular, diet product manufacturers had to get a piece of the action, so they came up with the diet patch. Supposedly, when you wear a diet patch for whatever length of time they specify, these will help you to lose weight by giving you a constant supply of appetite suppressant.

 

Danger: The FDA has banned many of these diet patches from being sold because there is no proof that they work in helping people lose real weight and are not considered safe. Basically, diet patches have been proven to be scams and you should stay far away from them.

 

Fat Burning Massager – These are often sold as stomach or thigh toning belts. You wrap the belt around your waist or thigh and turn on the electricity. That warm buzz you feel is supposed to be burning off that belly and thigh fat while you go about your business.

 

Danger: While electrical muscle stimulation is often used for legitimate body therapy, their use as a quick fat loss tool is strictly a gimmick. You may experience burns or electrical shock from these products if used incorrectly. These don’t work and are a waste of money.

 

Fasting – Often the first thing people think about when they want to lose weight quickly is to go on a food fast. They reason, if food is the cause of their weight gain, surely, depriving the body of food will create the opposite effect. Juice fasting has become a very popular weight loss method.

 

Danger: Staying on any fast for more than one day is going to be nearly impossible for most people. The very nature of a fast causes extreme hunger, and many will simply go off the fast and binge on the foods they’ve been craving. A long-term fast will also compromise your immune system and could cause vital organ distress.

 

Fad diets and fad diet products are not considered by experts to be the best way to lose weight in the short or long term. When you are choosing a weight loss plan, be sure that it includes a healthy, daily diet meal plan, and has enough calories to maintain weight without causing you any harm.

Cabbage Soup Diet – The 5 Stark and Dark Realities

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a short-term answer to a long-term problem. Dramatic weight loss can be achieved through the Cabbage Soup Diet. However, this diet should only be undertaken for one week at the most. Undertaking this diet longer than one week will lead to health problems. The very low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet is very severe in that very little nutrients is absorbed by the body. Here are some of the concerns you should look into:1. The Yoyo Effect
Since the dieter can return to his or her normal eating pattern after one week, the feelings of deprivation created by the seven-day diet will result to the individual’s need to fill that feeling by eating his or her favorite high-fat, high-calorie food. The binge eating will then result to feelings of guilt and a ballooning of weight, even more so prior to the diet. The individual will then go back to the diet and after one week, the cycle continues. This is very unhealthy for the body which cannot sustain drastic drops and increase in weight in a short period of time. The yoyo diet will also leave the dieter sick or looking slack.2. The Unhealthy Diet Plan
A diet which is very low calorie and has a very low carbohydrate supply is unhealthy according to health experts. Although fruits and vegetables can be good for you, the absence of protein can affect the person’s overall feeling of well-being. The soup itself contains nutrients but it is only in small amounts which makes the diet impractical in the long term.3. Physical After Effects
The dieters who have undergone the diet report of looking tired and limp. Dark circles around the eyes are evident and the muscles are often soft. Since what is lost is primarily water weight, the overall look cannot be called healthy. Often, the lethargic feeling during the diet period becomes evident after the diet.4. The Feeling of Hunger
Hunger does not compensate the large amount of pounds taken off. It’s basically starving yourself and although you are allowed to eat as much as you can, the hunger pangs can lead to misery in most people. The week will be terrible and if the dieter is not prepared for the emotional, mental and physical onslaught brought about by hunger, then the diet will not work. It requires very strict adherence.5. Some Side effects
The side effect is more mental than physical. You will have your kitchen as well as the whole house smelling of cabbage. You will be eating cabbage day in and day out. You will not want to look at cabbage for the rest of your life after the diet. It can be very bland and monotonous but you can dress it up with seasoning and spices. However, medical experts say that this causes the diet to become sodium-enriched, risking the possibility of kidney-related health problems.
Also, be prepared for flatulence, irritability, lethargic feeling and inability to concentrate. Because of the huge amounts of water you will be drinking to compensate for lack of solid food, you will also be going to the bathrooms dozens of times in one day.

The Effects of Being on a Dash Diet

With high hope for people to lower their blood pressure by being on the DASH diet; more and more people are following this new trend in dieting. By being on the DASH diet; you will not only lower your blood pressure; you will also, greatly, reduce your risk of heart disease.
Moreover, this diet has been recommended by the American Heart Association, for those who have heart trouble or high blood pressure and are looking of a way to eat healthy diet. If this is you; you are in luck because this diet can also help you to loose weight and live longer.
If you do not know what DASH means; it is the acronyms for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Furthermore, this diet is known to lower the blood your blood pressure, within 14 days of being on it.
Also, in the diet; you are provided with guidelines on how to eat healthy and on the amount of servings of food you should eat a day. The main goal of this diet is to raise the level of the intake of minerals, such as magnesium, calcium and potassium.
The increased intake of vegetables, while on this diet, is also important, which in turn, will reduce the need to eat unhealthy foods. As a result of this diet; weight loss will occur, due to the lessening of calorie intake. This diet is also against the intake of a lot of sodium-rich and processed foods, which will raise your blood pressure, thus making the diet ineffective. This is why such foods should be limited and the focus should be on eating whole grain and high fiber foods.
Surprisingly, the Mayo Clinic has endorsed this dirt, which, generally, supports a diet, filled with a lot of grapefruit eating and drinking. If you are looking to find out more about the DASH diet; you should find a book titled, “The DASH Diet Action Plan,” by Marla Hiller. This book has everything you need to know about DASH dieting and can help you on your way to lowering your blood pressure and losing a lot of weight.
As with all diets, this is not meant to be a long-term solution. Follow a diet strictly as outlined and as long as suggested. Don’t overdue it and stop it when the diet plan ends or when you don’t feel well or don’t see any results at all. Always consult your doctor first.

Dieting Fads and Their Impact

As the years pass by, the statistics of overweight and obese people grow more and more alarming, since it increases at a very rapid rate. If this goes on, the world will soon be full of fat people, including todays children and the generations to come. This is why weight loss programs and means has become some sort of an obsession for health and fitness experts including developing quite a number of wonder diets.

The term dieting fad has been coined because of the sudden popularity and explosion of these so-called wonder diets, due to the fact that obesity and weight is being carefully looked at by society today.

A fad, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is something that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a short period of time. Several diets can be considered fads due to their sudden popularity, although it does not necessarily mean that it will remain as popular after several years go by.

Atkins Diet

One of the more popular dieting fads during its time (not as popular now, but still continuing) is the Atkins Diet, developed by Dr. Robert Atkins. The main idea of this diet is to take in a low amount of carbohydrates, which increase minimally for every phase of the diet (there are four phases). Many people believe that the Atkins Diet was responsible for the revolution of the current diets which are mostly low-carbohydrate diets.

Dr. Atkins believes that a main factor in causing obesity is refined carbohydrates, mainly white rice, refined sugar, flour, and the like. Eating too much carbohydrates can cause oversecretion of insulin, which leads to food cravings, which ultimately leads to weight gain. According to the Atkins Diet, by faithfully following its guidelines, it will eliminate that particular process, which prevents you from gaining weight and ultimately allowing you to lose it much easier.

It has been said that the Atkins Diet is most effective for the first six months, with not much of a difference after that. Health wise, studies have proven that it increases good cholesterol levels and lowers some of the risks associated with heart disease. This is unlike crash diets and other diets wherein you will lose weight, albeit at the expense of your health.

South Beach Diet

Another dieting fad is the South Beach Diet, so aptly named because it was developed in Miami, FL, by a heart specialist Dr. Arthur Agatston. His focus in developing this diet was to help his patients, stricken by various heart ailments. However, its health benefits have been documented, not to mention the rate of weight loss, which has made this diet popular with not only heart patients, but with the whole world.

The focus of this particular diet is the consumption of good carbohydrates and good fats.

Are there such things as good carbs and fats? The answer is yes, according to Dr. Agatston.

Good carbohydrates are the ones that are high in fiber content, such as brown (organic) rice and wheat bread, just to name a few. White, or refined rice, is discouraged as this is considered a source of bad carbohydrates. Good fats are basically poly and mono unsaturated fats, while bad fats are saturated and trans fats.

The South Beach Diet aims for its followers to consider the diet as a way or part of their lifestyle, and not simply a means to losing weight. It stresses that weight loss is a positive result of the diet, but that other health benefits can be achieved by faithfully following the diet. That is why this diet does not restrict on the amount of food to be taken in, just the type.

How to Achieve Weight Loss

Diets such as the Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet can be very helpful in allowing you to lose weight; however, it does not stop there. Proper and constant exercise is highly encouraged to experience the full benefits of these diets in relation to weight loss. One without the other is an incomplete way of achieving your goals.

Many dieting fads will come and go, while some will generally be accepted in society, as is the case with the two aforementioned ones. Before deciding whether to pursue one diet or another, it would help if you consult experts or your physician, especially if you have an illness.