How To Fix Chronic Dieting

How Chronic Dieting is Affecting Your Weight

by Jon Gabriel

If you’re like many clients I work with, you’ve unintentionally put your body into what’s referred to as a “famine state.” When you restrict the amount of food you eat, your body responds to this self-imposed famine by storing fat and making it nearly impossible to lose weight.

It’s a catch-22...

Worse still, restrictive diets reduce your essential nutrient intake so your body goes into a nutritional famine at the same time, leading to uncontrollable food cravings. To your body, dieting and any other type of restriction is seen as a threat, and it adapts by activating your FAT Programs. While fat might seem like your worst enemy, in certain circumstances, your body sees gaining and storing fat as the best way to protect you.

Want to Turn Off Your FAT Programs? Start now...

• Add “big 3” foods to your meals every day (protein, omega 3 fatty acids, live food)
• Forget about fad diets & gimmicks
• Remember that chronic dieting leads to chronic weight problems, while naturally thin people never diet or even think about it

Why You Should Stop Dieting Now!

When I was overweight, I spent countless hours (and dollars) plowing through different diet books searching for some miracle program that would actually work for me. There was Atkins, The Zone, Fit for Life, low-fat, all-carb, no-carb, you name it, I tried it!

And each new diet ended with the same old result, a result I was all too familiar with... failure. Not only did I gain back all the weight I worked so hard to lose, I’d often end up gaining more than I started with. With each yo-yo cycle, I’d lose con fidence, lose hope, and spiral deeper and deeper into despair. I felt as if I was destined to be fat.

And then it all changed.

Out of pure desperation one evening, I pulled my car over on the side of the freeway and rested my forehead on the steering wheel. At 409 lbs, I was borderline diabetic, I had terrible sleep apnea, my brain was in a constant fog, and I was struggling just to get through the day.

Right then, I declared (out loud) that I would never diet again. I was going to focus on getting healthy becauseafter over a decade of struggle, it was 100% clear to me that diets don’t work. I’m begging you too to make this shift today - to focus on adding not restricting, to focus on abundance and self-love not lack and self-hate.

That single statement on the side of the freeway is what led me down my path all the way to what has become my life’s work. What started as a best-selling book has now turned into an international movement for holistic, sustained weight loss; and I’m so excited to see the momentum growing with each passing year.

As humiliating and frustrating as it was for me to try and fail on so many diets, and as horrible as it felt to be 409 lbs (my highest weight), those experiences gave me an unparalleled insight that I now channel directly into my research and teaching.

Here are My Top 3 Discoveries:

1. Dieting puts your body in a state of famine and ensures that you’ll gain back the lost weight.
2. Exercising to battle overeating is like running away from a burning re... the moment you stop, you get burned.
3. Real, sustainable results are archived holistically, by balancing your physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies.

So...What Should I Eat?

My Total Transformation students often send in questions, and one of the most common questions goes something like this:

“I know I need to stop extreme dieting... but then what do I eat?”

At The Gabriel Method we focus on adding what you’re missing back into your life, so here’s the question I’d like you to ask instead:

“Why is your body really hungry right now anyway?”

Most weight loss programs are all about rules and restrictions, behavior modi cation and supposed “willpower;” but life changes and so do circumstances.

It’s impossible to stay on a diet forever, and portion control and calorie counting happen all by themselves, unconsciously, when your FAT Programs are turned off. When you truly nourish your mind, body and spirit, you’ll eventually “crowd out” the foods that have been activating your FAT Programs and causing you to gain weight.

Is Your Body Able to Burn Fat Right Now?

Did you know that almost everyone who struggles with weight loss for 12 months or more has developed a chemical imbalance?

During the 12 years I spent dieting and doing grueling exercises, I wish I knew that gaining and losing weight again and again actually makes your body more and more prone to obesity. According to the latest research in metabolism*, when a person gains and loses weight repeatedly, their muscle fibers transform and end up burning as much as 11% less calories each day (compared to someone of the same weight who never dieted).

Here’s why this is important...

Two people of the same weight can require a difference in calories that’s equivalent to that of a small meal – talk about bad news! Not only that, the yo-yo dieter often experiences stronger food cravings and less desire to exercise as a result of the body’s recent famine.

If you’re like I was, you might have a lot of things working against you right now; and the realization that you’ve got a chemical imbalance might just fuel your frustration.

But don’t let it!

Understanding your biology is one of the keys to The Gabriel Method, and the better you understand what’s going on inside, you can quickly learn to work with your body rather than fighting it.

Eat Live a Caveman, Think Like a Physicist!

Your genetic heritage comes directly from our hunter-gatherer ancestors...

... and that means you’re better suited to hunting, foraging, and fi ghting for your food than you are trying to subsist on frozen dinners or take out.

Intuitively, you probably already knew that. What you might not know is that while your conscious mind is as modern as broadband internet, it does an extremely poor job of communicating to your primal body. In terms of weight loss, this means that no matter how much book knowledge you have about nutrition or how many hours you spend at the gym, your primal body, most often, remains boss.

So if your inner caveman feels it needs fat, it nds a way to make sure you stay hungry all day. Conversely, when your hunter body feels it needs to be thin, your hunger will decrease and you’ll lose weight without even trying.

Ask yourself this: “Why do you even need fat in the fi rst place?”

These days, you don’t need fat. You don’t suffer from long, cold winters exposed to the elements, and at any given time, most people have access to food within a few short steps to the kitchen. So excess body fat today is, by de finition, a biological mistake.

And the best way to reverse this is to reconnect your primal body and modern brain through the mind-body practice of visualization. Using mental images is similar to the caveman writing on the rock wall with ash. This type of communication goes beyond language and speaks directly to your subconscious in a language it understands: images.

Even if you’ve never done visualization before or if you’re weirded-out by the whole idea, I have to insist that you give it a try. For weight loss, it’s perhaps the single most effective thing I teach.

Source: The Gabriel Method

DIETS DON'T WORK - The Gabriel Method Review

In this Gabriel Method Review, we’ll review the best program on weight loss I have ever found in many years of researching health and wellbeing. No other methodology for losing weight that I’ve seen has such a clear understanding of the underlying causes of weight gain and how to resolve them.

In this Gabriel Method Review:

• Who Is Jon Gabriel And What Is The Gabriel Method?
• Why Diets Don’t Work And This New Methodology Does
• Most Overweight People Are Starving Nutritionally No Matter How Much They Eat
• Using The Gabriel Method

Who Is Jon Gabriel And What Is The Gabriel Method?

Jon Gabriel was over 400 pounds and had tried every popular diet around, from low fat Pritikin to high fat, high protein Atkins. After some initial weight loss he always gained it back and more.

Eventually he realized that at some level his body wanted to be fat and all the dieting and fighting it simply wasn’t working. That’s when he set about understanding why and how to change it.

With a background in biochemistry and an intense period of research and discovery, Jon came up with a completely different approach to losing weight. He personally lost over 220 pounds and now teaches thousands of people around the world how to achieve permanent weight loss without dieting.

 

Why Diets Don’t Work And This New Methodology Does

While so many dieting books of the past were focused on pointless calorie restriction, The Gabriel Method shows how starving yourself actually makes things much worse. Essentially restriction style diets are only teaching your body to go into emergency mode and conserve fat.

Weight gain, at an underlying level, is more of an emotional, psychological and hormonal issue than just about overeating. Accumulation of body fat is an outward manifestation of certain genetic survival programs that have very good reasons for working in the way they do.

The Gabriel Method goes into great detail about what these emotional, psychological and hormonal issues are and how to free yourself from their control. All the calorie counting and willpower in the world is useless long term unless you learn to work with, instead of against these deep seated survival programs that your mind controls your body with.

Most Overweight People Are Starving Nutritionally No Matter How Much They Eat

Even if you eat a ton of food and thousands of calories, you can still be hungry if you’re not getting what you need nutritionally. This hunger is part of your basic survival program that keeps you alive and is as powerful as the need to go to sleep when you’ve been up too late. Trying to fight it with willpower is pointless.

However, when you give your body what it needs nutritionally it will naturally subside. The Gabriel Method reviews exactly why certain essential nutrients are missing from your diet and how to get them back into your meals. This is about eating more, not less.

It also examines in detail how not digesting and assimilating your food properly can lead to overpowering hunger and how to resolve this situation. If any of these issues are affecting you then going on a diet is about the worst thing you could do.

Stop dieting and reach your ideal weight naturally with a different approach. There is no restriction on any food you want to eat with The Gabriel Method. Instead, as you add certain nutrient rich foods into your meals, you’ll find your cravings naturally fall away.

It isn’t about controlling yourself. It’s about understanding, respecting and working with the underlying genetic survival programs that ultimately control your body weight at a deeper level.

Using The Gabriel Method

This is not some quick dieting trick where you lose weight rapidly and then put it on again as soon as you stop following unmaintainable directions. As such, it’s unlikely to be suitable for people who give up unless they are getting dramatic results in the first few weeks.

Because you are dealing with real causes of weight gain, that you are probably currently unaware of, it can take longer for some people than others to recognize them fully and begin seeing serious results.

That said, I believe you’ll understand the truth behind this method once you start reading the first few chapters of the book. If you don’t, and you think it’s not right for you, then there’s a 60 day money back guarantee with the program.

The Gabriel Method is far more than just a great book on how to lose weight. It also contains 12 videos on creating a new body, a series of powerful guided visualizations, Jon’s favorite healthy recipes and special audio programs on effective weight loss.

I’ve personally recommended The Gabriel Method to friends and even a family member as I think it’s the best resource out there for losing weight. I’d really suggest listening to what Jon has to say (the pictures of his transformation alone speak volumes).

So many people are punishing themselves each day with restrictive diets that simply do not work. The path to weight loss does not involve struggle or even willpower.

For more info, go to: Gabriel Method

Source: Health Ambition

Nutritional Typing - Eat the Right Food for You and Lose Weight

By William Wolcott
Author of The Metabolic Typing Diet 

For many years, so-called nutritional experts advocated a low protein, low fat, high carbohydrate diet as the perfect diet for all of us. They promised that we’d lose weight and lower our cholesterol while simultaneously improving our health and fitness.

Well, they turned out to be wrong, dead wrong for some and seriously wrong for millions of others. Instead of fulfilling its promise, this latest "right diet for all people" to come down the pike produced a rise in obesity like this country has never seen, along with the "bonus" side-effect of an ever-growing epidemic in diabetes.

Today we find ourselves on the cusp of the pendulum poised to swing the other way.

Recent scientific studies have "discovered" that just maybe the high carb, low protein/fat diet is not so good after all, and that what really is the best "right diet for all people" is a high protein, low carb diet. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that reality once again will prove to be different than expected. In a few years, there will be a fallout of just as many people suffering in the wake of this "new" pendulum swing as from the last one.

The problems will be different, but the "casualty rate" will be about the same. Metabolic Typing, the science of individualized nutrition, reveals why this will be the case.

Through Metabolic Typing, it has been learned that the answer to the question of the right diet lies with your genes -- not whim, fancy or philosophical belief, or even in scientific research, at least not in the way it is being performed today.

Previous studies have shown benefit to the low protein/fat, high carb diet as well as the opposite diet of high protein/fat, low carb diet.

But basic premises of Metabolic Typing such as the idea of biochemical individuality, or that the same nutrient can have different effects in different Metabolic Types, or that the same disease can arise in different Metabolic Types for totally opposite biochemical reasons, have far-reaching effects and shatter many current en vogue myths of nutrition. Here are some examples that not only offer some valuable, practical information, but also reveal greater insight into the exciting new world of Metabolic Typing:

MYTH: A vegetarian diet or a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in protein and fat is good for you.

REALITY: If it's wrong for your Metabolic Type, meaning, if it is not in line with your ancestral diet, your genetically based nutritional requirements, this diet can make you sicker or create new health problems for you. There are no "good" foods and there are no "bad" foods, except in terms of the requirements of your unique Metabolic Type.

MYTH: The Healthy Diet

REALITY: There's no such thing as a diet that is universally healthy for everyone. This applies to any diet that is purportedly right for all people -- whether it’s the Atkins Diet, MacDougall Diet, Ornish Diet, (or pick any diet you can think of!). The only diet that is healthy for you is the diet that is right for your Metabolic Type. Only that diet meets your inherited needs for nutrients.

MYTH: To lose weight you need to reduce calories and limit fat (or limit protein or limit carbs).

REALITY: Fat doesn't make you fat. Protein doesn't make you fat. Carbohydrates don't make you fat. And even calories per se don't make you fat. But what does make you fat is the inability to properly metabolize, or convert to energy, carbs, proteins, fats and calories.

If you're overweight, you're actually starving -- starving for the right balance of nutrients that will increase your metabolic rate and convert to energy the food you're eating instead of storing it as fat.

Eat the right foods for your Metabolic Type and eat the right ratios of macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbs) and you’ll be giving your body the right kind of fuel for your engines of metabolism. Science is beginning to awaken to the idea that much of what our bodies do with food is in our genes.

MYTH: To lose weight all you need to do is reduce calories and exercise more.

REALITY: Millions of people have done just that, but in most cases have not only failed to lose weight, but gained weight instead. Worse, for most people, reducing calories has led to food cravings, binge or yo-yo dieting, mood swings and energy fluctuations.

Only by giving your body food that it can efficiently convert to energy will you lose weight permanently. Only then can watching calories and exercising regularly make a real and lasting difference.

Best of all, when you eat right for your Metabolic Type, when your body fully converts to energy the food you eat, gone forever will be the gnawing hunger, food cravings, binges, mood swings and energy fluctuations that normally are associated with "dieting."

MYTH: If you take lots of supplements and "cover all your bases," your body will take what it needs and discard the rest.

REALITY: This is like saying that if you hold a flame under your outstretched hand, your body will take whatever heat it needs and throw off the rest. Such ideas ignore the reality of cause and effect. If you apply a flame to skin, the skin will burn. Fire has specific physical properties that apply wherever fire is present.

Similarly, nutrients have very precise effects on the body—either stimulating or sedating, acidifying or alkalinizing. Every supplement you consume will either stimulate or sedate specific organs, systems and fundamental control mechanisms.

Take the wrong nutrients or the wrong formulations for your Metabolic Type and you will worsen your existing imbalances or create new imbalances and all of the problems that go with them. Nutrients indeed have the power to heal, but they also have the power to make you ill if they are wrong for your Metabolic Type.

MYTH: Everyone should take calcium (or vitamin C, or anti-oxidants, etc.).

REALITY: Nothing could be further from the truth. Through Metabolic Typing, we know that any nutrient can have opposite effects in different Metabolic Types. This is why a nutrient can help correct a condition in one person, have little or no effect on another person, or worsen the same condition in a different Metabolic Type.

Thus the old adage, "one’s food is another’s poison." This is why you should only take those supplements that are right for your Metabolic Type. Every nutrient raises or lowers up to 9 other nutrients in your body. So taking therapeutic doses of vitamin C can actually, for example, cause cancer (vitamin C lowers copper, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high therapeutic doses of vitamin C, you can seriously compromise your immune system).

Taking too much calcium can actually cause osteoporosis (in order for calcium to be utilized, it needs certain synergistic nutrients and if you are already low in those synergistic nutrients, taking more calcium will only further deplete the existing deficient levels, worsening any problems relating to calcium metabolism).

Eating a low-fat diet can actually raise cholesterol (if it further disturbs the body's cholesterol metabolism, e.g., certain metabolic types paradoxically need to eat a high-fat diet to promote efficient cholesterol metabolism). Of course, everyone needs all the nutrients in order to be healthy . . . but not in therapeutic doses. So before you start supplementing your diet, it’s best to know your Metabolic Type.

MYTH: Nutrients are nutrients. It doesn't matter what form they are in.

REALITY: The carriers of nutrients are just as powerful -- in some cases even more powerful -- in their effects on metabolism as the nutrients themselves. Depending on your Metabolic Type, any nutrient can be acidifying or alkalinizing.

For example, in a Parasympathetic (alkaline) Metabolic Type, calcium is acidifying, but in a Fast Oxidizer, calcium is alkalinizing. So, it is important that an acid form of calcium (e.g., calcium chloride) be used if you’re an alkaline Parasympathetic type metabolizer, but that an alkaline form of calcium (calcium citrate) be used if you’re an acidic Fast Oxidizer.

Otherwise, the nutritional supplement will at best have a neutral effect, and at worst, actually worsen your existing imbalances. You can take the best supplements money can buy, but if they are not right for your Metabolic Type -- the right nutrients and the right forms of the nutrients -- they won’t produce the result you’re looking for and can end up making you worse than before.

MYTH: Drink lots of orange juice to help get rid of a cold

REALITY: Colds and flus are viruses and viruses thrive in an alkaline biochemical environment. Citrus juice, because it is such a highly alkalinizing food, is one of the worst things you can ingest to prevent and fight off a cold or flu virus. Interestingly, cold weather produces an alkaline shift in the body.

In addition, the most powerful alkalinizing substances in your diet are sugar, alcohol, caffeine, salt (and nicotine), the very substances that tend to increase in our diets during cold weather and the holidays. Beginning with Halloween, and going on through Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year's celebrations, the amounts of these highly alkalinizing substances dramatically increase in our diets.

When you consider the elevation of those alkaline foods in our diets in combination with the alkaline effect of the cold weather, is it any wonder that time of year has come to be known as "the cold & flu season?" At the first sign of a cold or flu, try to acidify your system by increasing protein and decreasing carbohydrates, particularly fruits (especially citrus) and the alkaline substances listed above.

When you buy a new car, one of the first things you learn is the kind of fuel it uses. You wouldn’t want to use the wrong kind of fuel for fear of damaging the engine, not to mention the fact that its performance would suffer dramatically.

You would do well to adopt the same attitude towards your own body. Remember that your body is designed to be healthy, but in order to run efficiently, it must be given the right fuel, the kind of fuel it is genetically programmed to utilize.

You can eat the best organic foods, take the finest supplements money can buy, drink plenty of pure water, get sufficient rest and exercise regularly, but if you do not meet the needs of your Metabolic Type, you’ll only be wasting your time and money.

Give your body what it needs and you’ll enjoy a lifetime of good health, energy and well-being.

By Dr. Mercola

William Wolcott is the author of a book I recommend to absolutely everyone, The Metabolic Typing Diet. If you want to begin understanding your metabolic or nutritional type, in order to adopt the diet that is right for you, reading Wolcott's book is an excellent way to begin, as it gives you a good background into why there is NO one-size-fits-all approach to diet.

I have incorporated Wolcott’s principles into my Nutrition Plan. My program comes from decades of experience in which I have researched extensively, conferred with my professional colleagues, and most importantly, successfully treated tens of thousands of patients.

My nutrition plan is easy to learn and easy to manage with today’s busy lifestyle. By eating the foods that are best for you, you won’t be hungry, and you will achieve your optimal weight, and optimize your insulin level, cholesterol level and blood pressure. You will learn how to listen to your body and modify your foods as appropriate. Whether you are basically healthy and wish to keep it that way, or whether you have major health challenges, my Nutrition Plan is an excellent guide.

Not only is what you eat important for optimizing your health, but other lifestyle choices are also very important:-

Make exercise a part of your daily routine
Make sure you get plenty of sleep
Make sure you have a way to de-stress

By embracing a comprehensive “lifestyle approach” to your health, you will feel better, have more bounce in your step, and enjoy more vitality than you ever imagined.

Source: Mercola

Debunking The Paleo Diet

Christina Warinner at TEDxOU

Top Ten 2014 Diet Plans - Good vs Bad

So you think you've tried every diet under the sun, until you overhear a conversation at work or enquire about a colleague’s odd lunch selection, when you discover a diet that you've not tried yet but they're raving about it. So before you throw in the towel and ditch that last attempt to drop a dress size or two, see whether you've tackled these Top 10 diet plans. We bring you the low down on what's best for each plan, what's involved and you can decide which diet plan is best suited to you. Don't worry of you try one and fall off the bandwagon, just pick another and see how you go. One plan doesn't suit all so don't be afraid to do something that's right for you.

1) Slimming World
Slimming World’s weight loss plan encourages you to swap high-fat foods for low-fat foods that are naturally filling. You choose your food from a list of low-fat foods they call 'Free Foods', such as fruit, vegetables, pasta, potatoes, rice, lean meat, fish and eggs, which you can eat in unlimited amounts. There’s no calorie counting, no foods are banned and you’re still allowed the occasional treat. You can get support from fellow slimmers at weekly group meetings and follow an exercise plan to become gradually more active. The plan is designed to help you lose about 1lb to 2lb a week.

Pros:

• No foods are banned so meals offer balance and variety and are family-friendly. The portion size from each food group will vary depending which plan you follow. The 'Body Magic' booklet they provide gives ideas to help you raise your activity levels. Meeting as a group can provide valuable support.

Cons:

• Slimming World doesn’t educate you about calories. Without having learned about calories and portion sizes, you may struggle to keep the weight off in the long term when you come off the programme. To find your nearest Slimming World group or to find out more visit Slimming World

2) Weight Watchers
The WeightWatchers plan is based on the ProPoints system, which gives a value to foods and drink based on protein, carbs, fat and fibre content. It is essentially a calorie-controlled diet where you get a personal daily ProPoints allowance, which you can use how you like. There’s no limit on the amount of fruit and most veg you can eat. You also get a weekly ProPoints safety net in case you go over your allowance, and an individual exercise plan. The weekly meetings and confidential weigh-ins provide support and extra motivation to encourage long-term behaviour change. The plan is designed to help you lose up to 2lb a week.

Pros:

• No foods are banned so you can eat and drink what you want providing you stick to your points allowance. The ProPoints system is easier to follow for some than calorie-counting and less restrictive than other plans. This is because it introduces a safety net of points, which can be saved up for a special occasion, such as a night out, a small amount of alcohol or treats.

Cons:

• When you begin, working out the points system can be just as time consuming as simply counting calories. Some people feel pressured into purchasing WeightWatchers branded foods. To find out more visit Weight Watchers

3) LighterLife
The LighterLife weight loss plans combine a very low-calorie meal-replacement diet with weekly counselling. With LighterLife Total, for people with a BMI of 30 or more, you eat four 'food packs' a day, consisting of shakes, soups, mousses or bars, and no conventional food. LighterLife Lite, for those with a BMI of 25-30, involves eating three food packs a day plus one meal from a list of approved foods. You stay on the plans until you reach your target weight. The meal plans can lead to very rapid weight loss and you’re advised to see your GP before starting. How long you stay on the diet depends on how much weight you have to lose.

Pros:

• The counselling can help you understand your relationship with food, so hopefully you can make lasting changes to keep the weight off for good. With the meal replacements, there’s no weighing or measuring, so it’s a hassle-free approach to weight loss.

Cons:

• Initial side effects of the diet can include bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation from cutting down on carbs and fibre. Surviving on a strict diet of shakes and soups and other meal replacements isn’t much fun and can feel socially isolating. For more information visit www.lighterlife.com

4) Rosemary Conley
Rosemary Conley’s Diet and Fitness plans combine a low-fat, low-GI diet with regular exercise. You can follow her recipes or buy from her range of calorie-controlled ready meals and snacks. You’re encouraged to eat food with 5% or less fat, with the exception of oily fish, porridge oats and lean meat. A network of local Rosemary Conley clubs offers weekly exercise classes, support and motivation. You learn about calorie counting and portion size, which can help you sustain your weight loss beyond the programme. The diet is designed to help you lose a stone in seven weeks. How long you stay on the plan depends on your weight loss goal.

Pros:

• The programme is based around calories, with a focus on cutting fat. The 'portion pots', which are used to measure foods such as rice, cereal, pasta and baked beans, teach you about portion control. Physical activity is an integral part of the weight loss plan, with exercise sessions suitable for all ages, sizes and abilities offered at their weekly classes with trained leaders.

Cons:

• Some low-fat products aren't necessarily more healthy because they can still be high in sugar and calories. It is unrealistic to expect people to go out with their portion pots and, therefore, portion control may be more tricky away from the home. www.rosemaryconleyonline.com

5) Atkins
The Atkins diet is a low-carb, high-protein weight loss programme. You start with a low-carb diet designed for rapid weight loss. This lasts at least two weeks depending on your weight loss goal. During this phase, you’re on a protein, fat and very low-carb diet, including meat, seafood, eggs, cheese, some veg, butter and oils. In contrast to the Dukan diet, Atkins allows unlimited fat and some veg, such as peppers, cucumber and iceberg lettuce, during phase one. During the next three phases, the weight loss is likely to be more gradual, and regular exercise is encouraged. More carbs, fruit and veg are introduced to your diet with the aim of working out what your ideal carb intake is to maintain a healthy weight for life. Phase one is designed to help you lose up to 15lb in two weeks, reducing to 2lb to 3lb during phase two.

Pros:

• You can lose weight very quickly, which can be motivating. The diet also encourages people to cut out most processed carbs and alcohol. With its diet of red meat, butter, cream, cheese and mayonnaise, it’s one of the few diets out there that appeals to men. You lose the fat on your tummy, tush, hips and elsewhere, all without hunger

Cons:

• Initial side effects can include bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation from cutting out carbs and fibre. The high intake of saturated fat may increase your risk of heart disease and there are concerns that a lack of fruit, veg and dairy products and a high protein intake may affect bone and kidney health in the long term. Visit www.atkins.com/Home.aspx

6) The Fast diet – (5-2 diet)
The 5:2 diet is based on a principle known as intermittent fasting (IF) – where you eat normally at certain times and then fast during other times. The 5:2 diet is relatively straightforward – you eat normally five days a week, and fast on the other two days. A 600 calorie diet could consist of a slice of ham and two scrambled eggs for breakfast and then some grilled fish and vegetable for your evening meal. And of course nothing but water, black coffee and /or green tea to drink.

Pros:

Champions of the 5:2 diet claim that other than helping people lose weight, 5:2 diet can bring other significant health benefits, including:

• increased life-span
• improved cognitive function and protection against conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
• protection from disease

However the body of evidence about 5:2 diet and intermittent fasting is limited when compared to other types of weight loss techniques.

Cons:
Despite its increasing popularity, there is a great deal of uncertainty about IF with significant gaps in the evidence.
For example, it is unclear:

• what pattern of IF is the most effective in improving health outcomes – 5:2, alternative day fasting, or something else entirely different
• what is the optimal calorie consumption during the fasting days – the 5:2 diet recommends 500 calories for women and 600 for men, but these recommendations seem arbitrary without clear evidence to support them
• how sustainable is IF in the long-term – would most people be willing to stick with the plan for the rest of their lives? Visit www.thefastdiet.co.uk

7) Cambridge Diet
The Cambridge Weight Plans are based around buying and eating a range of meal-replacement products with the promise of rapid weight loss. There are six flexible diet plans ranging from 415kcal to 1,500kcal or more a day, depending on your weight loss goal. There is also a long-term weight management programme. The bars, soups, porridges and shakes can be used as your sole source of nutrition or together with low-calorie regular meals. While on the programme, you receive advice and support on healthy eating and exercise from a Cambridge adviser.

Pros:

• Many people on very low-calorie diets (VLCDs) find the weight loss to be sudden and quite dramatic. The meal replacements are all nutritionally balanced so you're likely to be getting all the vitamins and minerals you need albeit not from real food.

Cons:

• Initial side effects can include bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation from cutting down on carbs and fibre. The hardest part of the plan is sticking to it. Giving up normal meals and swapping them for a snack bar or a shake can be boring and feel socially isolating. This isn’t a plan you can stick to in the long term. Visit www.cambridgeweightplan.com

8) The Dukan diet
A low-carbohydrate (carb), high-protein diet. There’s no limit to how much you can eat during the plan’s four phases, providing you stick to the rules of the plan. During phase one, you’re on a strict lean protein diet. This is based on a list of 72 reasonably low-fat protein-rich foods, such as chicken, turkey, eggs, fish and fat-free dairy. This is for an average of five days to achieve quick weight loss. Carbs are off limits except for a small amount of oat bran. Unlike the Atkins diet, Dukan’s phase one bans vegetables and seriously restricts fat. The next three phases of the plan see the gradual introduction of some fruit, veg and carbs and eventually all foods. The aim is gradual weight loss of up to 2lb a week and to promote long-term weight management. There’s no time limit to the final phase, which involves having a protein-only day once a week and taking regular exercise.

Pros:

• You can lose weight very quickly, which can be motivating. It’s a very strict and prescriptive diet and some people like that. It’s easy to follow. You don’t need to weigh food or count calories. Apart from keeping to low-fat, low-salt and high-protein foods, there’s no restriction on how much you can eat during your first two weeks.

Cons:

• At the start of the diet you may experience side effects such as bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia and nausea from cutting out carbs. The lack of wholegrains, fruit and veg in the early stages of the diet could cause problems such as constipation. Visit www.dukandiet.co.uk

9) The Slim-Fast diet
A low-calorie meal replacement plan for people with a BMI of 25 and over. It uses Slim-Fast’s range of products. The plan recommends three snacks a day from an extensive list, including crisps and chocolate, two meal replacement shakes or bars and one regular meal, taken from a list of recipes on the Slim-Fast website. You can stay on the diet for as long as you want depending on your weight loss goal. Once reached, you’re advised to have one meal replacement shake a day, up to two low-fat snacks and two healthy meals. The plan is designed to help you lose about 1lb to 2lb a week and you can follow the diet for as long as you want.

Pros:

• Meal-replacement diets can be effective at helping some people to lose weight and keep it off. The plan is convenient as the products take the guesswork out of portion control and calorie counting. No foods are forbidden although you are encouraged to eat lean protein, fruit and vegetables.

Cons:

• On their own, meal-replacement diets do little to educate people about their eating habits and change their behaviour. There’s a risk of putting the weight back on again once you stop using the products. You may find it hard to get your 5 a day of fruit and veg without careful planning. Visit www.slimfast.co.uk

10) Jenny Craig diet
The Jenny Craig programme has three main features: one-to-one support, a meal delivery service and tailored exercise plans. The weekly, personalised telephone consultations provide advice, motivation and support. The diet adviser assesses your reasons for gaining weight and, over the course of the programme, helps you to change your behaviour. The meals and snacks are packed into single-sized portions to suit your weight-loss needs. You need to add certain fresh fruits, veg and low-fat dairy products. The programme is designed to help you lose between 1lb and 2lb a week until you reach your target weight.

Pros:

• All the meals, including snacks, are calorie-counted, portion-controlled and delivered to your door. You eat real food, receive telephone support and learn about portion size, calories and exercise, which can all help you make healthier choices beyond the programme.

Cons:

• The meals don’t contain fruit, veg or dairy, which will be an additional expense. This isn’t an approach that you can stick to in the long term so it’s vital to learn how to prepare or choose healthy food yourself rather than relying on someone else. Visit www.jennycraig.com

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