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The race to fitness is on and a lot of people are getting in on the act. Some people do it in order to have a sexy body, some people just do it because they are embarrassed about their body, while others do it simply to remain fit and healthy. As such, there are many fitness programs available on the Internet, in gyms, spas and fitness centres all over the world. Some are too expensive - so expensive that you will lose weight just by trying to earn the money needed to pursue these fitness programs.

You may not have to go to the gym or the spa or any fitness centre and spend much just to slim down and obtain that longed for beautiful body. There are many books available in the bookstores] offering diet programs that seem easy and free. However, the books are not cheap though. These diet plans are gaining increased popularity due to their publicity, testimonials and reviews and you may be confused as to exactly which one to buy. So before you pick which weight loss plan to follow, try reading the following summaries of the most popular diet programs out today.

The Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins: This weight loss program encourages a high protein diet with less carbohydrates. You can dine heartily on vegetables and meat, but must not eat bread, rice or pasta. You are not restricted with your fat consumption so it is all right to pour on the (correct) salad dressing and freely spread on the butter. However, during the diet, some people may find themselves lacking fibre and high on fat and cholesterol. Grains and fruits are also strictly limited.

The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Heller. This diet plan also recommends low carbohydrate food. It approves eating meats, vegetables and fruits, dairy and grain products. however, warns against consuming too many carbohydrates. “Reward” meals can be very high in fats and saturated fats.

Choose to Lose: by Dr. Goor. It recommends restricting your fat intake. You are given a “fat” budget but you are given freedom on how to spend it. It does not pressure people to regulate their carbohydrate consumption. Eating meat and poultry as well as low-fat dairy and seafood is no problem. You may also consume vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread and pasta. This weight loss plan is quite healthy, because it recommends correct amounts of fruits and vegetables and saturated fats. Watch your triglyceride levels though. If they are high, trim down on the carbohydrates and eat more unsaturated fats.

The DASH Diet. Recommends eating a fairly moderate amount of fat and protein yet a great deal of carbohydrates. It was initially designed to reduce blood pressure. The diet plan follows the pyramid food guide and encourages a high intake of whole wheat grains and fruit and vegetables and low-fat dairy. However, some dieters think it advocates too much eating to produce a significant weight loss.

Eat More, Weigh Less: by Dr. Ornish. Mostly a vegetarian food and low-fat diet. Warns to watch out for low-fat dairy and egg whites. This diet program is low in calcium and restricts the consumption of healthy foods like seafood and lean poultry.

Eat Right for Your Type: It is unusual because it is based on your blood type. For example, it recommends plenty of meat for people with the blood type O. Diet plans for some blood types are nutritionally imbalanced and too low in calories. Furthermore, for the record, there is no proof that blood type affects dietary needs.

The Pritkin Principle: It focuses on cutting back on the number of calories by eating ‘watery’ foods that make you feel full. It recommends eating vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, pasta, soups, salads and low-fat dairy, which it says is OK, although it also limits protein sources to lean meat, seafood and poultry. It is healthy since it allows low amounts of saturated fats and rather large amounts of vegetables and fruits. However, it is low on calcium and limits lean protein sources.

Volumetrics: It provides for eating fewer calories. It advises roughly the same foods as Pritkin but restricts fatty food and dry foods like popcorn, pretzels and crackers. This diet is fairly healthy given the high amounts of fruit and vegetables. It is also low in calories and saturated fats.

The Zone: It is moderately low on carbohydrates but moderately high on proteins. It encourages low-fat protein foods like fish and chicken plus vegetables, fruits and grains. It is also healthy but short on grains and calcium.

Weight Watchers: They advise high carbohydrate meals, yet are moderate on fats and proteins. A very healthy diet program and very flexible too. It allows the dieter to devise his own meals rather than offering recipes, although there are Weight Watchers’ TV dinners in the supermarkets.

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A lot of people do not understand their bodies. That much is obvious because they think that fasting will help them become fitter. They feel convinced that their bodies will feed off their surplus fat and that they will lose weight as a result. They also appear to imagine that they will automatically end up with more muscle, just in the right places too. Some take up fasting for fitness because they think that it will rid them of the toxins in their bodies.

Another belief that these fasters have is that they are will be able to flush out all of the toxins in their bodies by drinking plenty of water at the same time as not eating food. Even if this is true, it would be a long procedure that would mean that you would have to fast for at least five to seven days though in order to conclude the detox process, although it is still not clear scientifically whether fasting is the right approach for those that desire fitness.

There are many other paths to fitness that do work well though. For example, you can cut back the amount of food that you eat. Cutting back is not fasting, it is dieting and it is not only far more effectual, it is also far less difficult. This, together with drinking plenty of water and increasing your amount of physical exercise will help you to get fitter.

If you drink a lot of soda like cola or lemonade, which are full of sugar, like a lot of kids do, or lots of cups of sugared tea or coffee, like a lot of adults do, then just exchanging those drinks with water or weak tea will help you lose weight quite rapidly even if you do not make any other changes to your diet or your amount of activity.

It is also likely to damage your body if you embark on a demanding exercise routine only relying on body fat to keep you going. Your body almost certainly will not be able to supply enough energy to fuel such a change, because your metabolism will be too low.

Someone going about it in this way, can become very weak and dizzy. It is not a good idea to risk injury because you have not given your body all the fuel it requires to accomplish the tasks you are asking it to perform.

It is best to consult a physician before you make any changes to either your diet or your fitness program. Confer with your doctor about your thoughts on fasting and fitness. They will be able to inform you whether they feel it is something you can try or whether it is simply too dangerous.

Fasting is all right if you have do it for religious reasons, but do not attempt much physical exertion. Ask a Muslim how he or she feels during Ramadan! Fasting for long periods can lead to high blood pressure and even liver damage. So, be very careful before trying to fast yourself fit, there are much better ways.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with losing weight quickly. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

It is a good idea to set yourself targets, if you want to reach a goal. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this. For example, if you are a size 14 and you spend a fair bit of money on some gorgeous size 8 dresses as motivation, you will probably feel quite cheesed off if you are not wearing them a month later.

It is not a good idea to make yourself feel awful, so the right way to have done this would have been to set smaller, more easily attainable, less expensive goals. A consequence of disappointing yourself like that could be depression or / and desperation and desperation to meet your targets can lead to stupid decisions.

Foolish decisions like following a fad diet, because it promises you rapid weight loss. There is no such thing as sustainable rapid weight loss without a change of lifestyle. Yes, you can go for surgery and have lumps cut off yourself or you can pump yourself full of diuretics and squeeze the water out of yourself, but the weight will come back, unless you change the way you live.

Any diet that promises rapid weight loss without recommending a healthier, more active lifestyle is doubtful. Many of these types of diet are fad diets. The organizers of these diets are only interested in selling you magic potion drinks or powders as meal substitutes. I have even seen one company selling magnetic earrings which were ‘guaranteed’ to make you lose weight, if you dieted and did more exercise!

Of course you will lose weight if you diet and exercise, but carrying the earrings around with you is not helping. It just adds to the depression when you read in the newspaper that the guru you have been following is outed as a con artist.

Here are a few tell-tale signs to help you spot a phony diet:

Any diet that requires you to miss meals should start red lights flashing. If you stop eating, you are reducing the amount of calories you are consuming, so you can expect to lose weight. That is not rocket science. You do not need to pay for advice like that.

However, this approach does not necessarily work either. If you skip a meal, your blood/sugar levels will drop and that has different consequences for different people, but none of them are advantageous. It will also increase the likelihood that you will overeat at the next meal. It would be better to eat a salad, an apple or a banana instead.

Any weight loss program that says you can lose weight without exercising or without dieting is definitely iffy too, because exercise is essential for good blood circulation and metabolism, which are vital to your losing weight and living healthily.

However, exercise alone will not guarantee good health, you have to diet too. In this context ‘dieting’ just means eating healthily.

You do not have to wear anything special to lose weight either. Electric vibrating belts, magnetic earrings, sweat-inducing cummerbunds and the like, do not work. Full stop. They do not work and in a similar vein, powder and liquid substitutes are not worth it either. Get a liquidizer and make your own or just eat properly.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with losing weight quicklys. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?