I get numerous questions and comments about the different types of diets currently on the market so I wanted to share with you some of the information I have collected.  This is not from my personal experience but rather from clients, colleagues and testimonials from people who have tried them.  Enjoy.

1) What Is TheSouthBeachDiet?

Most people are sick of trying new diets! What makes the South Beach Diet different is that it teaches a way of life where you rely on the right carbohydrates and fats.

This new way of eating allows you to live contently without eating the bad carbohydrates and fats. In contrast, when a person eats bad carbohydrates and fats they feel hungrier, causing them to eat more, which causes weight gain. In exchange for eating right, you become healthier and can enjoy an 8 to 13 pound weight loss in just two weeks!

TheSouthBeachPhases

The South Beach Diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a highly respected cardiologist, to work with your body safely and effectively.

This diet works in phases, the first two for a specific timeframe and the third phase for life.

With this new approach, you can stop counting calories, stop weighing food portions, and stop feeling as though you are deprived from eating good-tasting and satisfying food!

Actually, you will be eating three, normal-size meals  and you will also get two snacks each day and with meal plans that are designed to be flexible, you can enjoy a variety, based on what sounds good to you on any particular day.

The South Beach Diet promises that you will see amazing results in a short amount of time.

Your hips, thighs, and stomach will be thinner, the number on the scales will go down, and all those overwhelming food cravings will be gone!

Just imagine losing weight while still enjoying many of your favorite foods. With the diet, you can dine on mouth-watering foods like Chicken en Papillote, Shrimp Louis, and even Chocolate Sponge Cake and still lose the weight!

SouthBeachDiet Tips and Guides

The SouthBeach Diet is different from the Atkins diet in that it is not a low carbohydrate diet.

Regardless of which phase you are currently in, you should follow these recommendations:

• Drink a of 8 glasses of water, decaffeinated beverages such as club soda, tea, coffee, or decaffeinated sugar-free soda every day
• Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup each day
• Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily
• Take 500 mg of calcium for both men and women under the age of 50, and 1,000 mg for women over the age of 50, each day

Eating can be both pleasurable and healthy as minimum long as you eat the proper foods.

All the meals in the SouthBeach Diet consist of healthy combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Dishes can be made by anyone and the ingredients can be found in most grocery stores.

These foods will satisfy your hunger without depriving your system of the low-quality starches and sugars that caused problems with your blood chemistry in the first place.

 

2) ATKINS DIET: What’s in it

THE Atkins diet promotes protein-rich foods such as meat, eggs and cheese over traditional diet basics like pasta, bread and vegetables.

The popular carbohydrate-slashing Atkins diet received a dollop of endorsement from two studies after years of being pooh-poohed by health specialists.

Protein vs Carbs

The studies, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that the meat- and fat-rich regimen caused faster weight loss in the short term than a conventional low-fat diet.

More importantly – because many had feared that the diet, even if slimming, might unfavourably affect cholesterol levels and be bad for the heart – the low-carbohydrate regimen also seemed to improve the dieters’ blood fat profiles.

But Atkins, like every other diet, is no miraculous fat-melter.

The longer of the two studies suggested that a low-carb regimen might be harder to maintain beyond six months, compared with a low-fat approach. By the end of the year, the low-fat dieters had caught up and lost the same – very modest – amount of heft.

In addition, although on average people on low-carb diets did not experience increases in their so-called ‘bad’ (orLDL) cholesterol levels, about 30 per cent of them did.

Even with these caveats, ‘we can no longer dismiss very-low-carbohydrate diets’, said Dr Walter Willett, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, in a written editorial accompanying the papers.

To maximise the diets’ healthfulness, he added, people should avoid going wild on fatty bacon and red meat, and should opt instead to eat healthy oils (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) and get protein from fish, beans, nuts and chicken.

Studies

The weight-loss regimen popularised by the late Dr Robert Atkins – rich in meat, eggs and cheese but almost bereft of grains, potatoes and fruit – is highly popular but had not been tested in a scientifically rigorous way until earlier this century, when two studies reported that very obese and moderately obese people lost more weight initially on the Atkins diet than on a conventional diet.

The studies published bolster and extend these findings.

Conducted at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, the first study enrolled 132 severely obese adults with an average weight of 130kg. Many of those in the study had diabetes or other risk factors for coronary artery disease.

Roughly half of them were put on a low-fat diet and told to eat 500 fewer calories a day.

The others followed a regimen in which they were to limit their carbohydrate intake to less than 30g daily, but were not told to count calories or fat.

The scientists reported last year that at six months, the low-carb group had lost an average of 5.8kg, compared with 1.8kg for the low-fat group.

Last month, the scientists reported that after one year, individuals on the Atkins-style diet largely kept the weight off but did not continue to lose more weight.

The low-fat group continued to lose weight slowly over the course of the year.

Total weight loss for both groups over the year was slight: 4.9kg to 8.6kg for the low-carb group, and 3.1kg to 8.6kg for the low-fat group.

The study also found that diabetic patients improved control over their blood sugar levels using the low-carb approach.

The second investigation was funded by the Robert C. Atkins Foundation, although the foundation did not take part in the study or its analysis.

Conducted at Duke University Medical Centre inDurham,North Carolina, it enrolled 120 moderately obese adults who had high-blood cholesterol levels.

At six months, participants who followed a low-carb approach had lost an average of 11.7kg, compared with 6.3kg for the low-fat group.

Weight loss was not the only effect of these diets. Both studies found that levels of triglycerides – blood fats that are risk factors for heart disease – fell further in the low-carb group than in the low-fat group. Levels ofHDL, or ‘good’, cholesterol also seemed to improve more in the low-carb group.

 

3) Carbohydrate Addicts Diet.

According to two doctors, a husband and wife team, named Richard and Rachael Heller, nearly three-fourths of everyone who is overweight finds themselves fighting the battle of the buldge because of an addiction to carbohydrates.

The cause of this addiction is excessive levels of insulin. According to the doctors, the rise of insulin created by certain types of foods actually induces the “addict” to eat more carbs.

While most diets focus on certain foods you should and shouldn’t eat based on fat or calorie contents, this diet instead focuses on how your body reacts to certain foods. Instead of counting fat or calories, you are paying attention to what you take in according to the hormonal response your body has to that particular type of food, in this case “bad” carbohydrates.

The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet Plan

The most appealing part of the CAD is the idea that one meal a day is a “reward” meal. In this meal you can have equal amounts non-starch veggies (like string beans); protein such as meat or eggs and carbs (including desserts) and you have to finish eating it within an hour. Your other two meals each day must comprise of only protein and veggies… no carbs of any kind allowed at these two meals.

The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet Process

The Hellers suggest that once you follow these rules for a while, your cravings for carbs will all but disappear. If you still have cravings after a week or so, they ask that you re-check your diet and make sure that you’re following the guidelines correctly.

Once you have mastered your carb cravings and you have achieved your goals you must then follow the lifetime plan in order to keep up your maintenance.

You will need to purchase the Hellers’ book, The Carbohydrate Addict’s Lifespan Program: A Personalized Plan for Becoming Slim, Fit and Healthy in Your 40s, 50s and 60s and Beyond to get a full grasp of the plan.

Carbohydrate Addicts Diet Pointers

The catch is to be careful about your portion sizes; remember, overeating on any meal plan won’t lead to weight loss!

Note in particular that the plan calls for you to divvy out your protein, carbs and veggie correctly, and, that if you go for seconds, they should also be measured correctly.

And since you will be eating protein, it’s easy to get higher-fat foods worked into your menu.

A hamburger is protein-rich, but it’s not exactly healthy. Choose lean meat instead and make sure to not choose just the protein item; you need those “good carb” type veggies in the other two meals to round out your diet.

4) What is the Fat Flush Plan?

The Fat Flush Plan has a rather basic and clear-cut mission: to increase metabolism, flush out bloat and speed up fat loss. At the core of the plan is the commitment to promote a balanced lifestyle and champion simple healthy habits that we all overlook or forget about as a result of life in our hectic twenty-first century. Every aspect of each phase of the plan is targeted like a guided missle to accomplish this goal: helpful essential fats [e.g., flaxseed oil, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)], amounts of protein (8 ounces or more per day plus two eggs), antioxidant-rich vegetables, moderate amounts of fruits, calorie-burning herbs and spices (e.g., apple cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon), cleansing diuretic beverages, exercise, journaling and even sleep.

Phase 1: The Two-Week Fat Flush

This kickoff phase, which is based on an average of 1100 to 1200 calories daily, is designed to jumpstart weight loss for dramatic results. This two-week phase will transform your shape by accelerating fat loss from your body’s favorite fat storage areas — your hips, thighs and buttocks. Some individuals report up a loss of up to 12 inches during this first phase of the diet, whereas they may lose only 5 pounds. This means that they are losing fat and bloat, not muscle (as with so many other diet programs). Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so dropping a couple of dress sizes can be more significant than losing 10 pounds on the scale.

Phase 2: The Ongoing Fat Flush

Phase 2, the Ongoing Fat Flush, is the next step for those individuals who have additional weight to lose but who also want to pursue a more moderate cleansing program and enjoy a bit more variety in food choices while still losing weight. This Phase 2 program is designed for ongoing weight loss, with 1200 to 1500 calories each day, and is designed to be followed until you reach your desired weight or size.

5) The Cabbage Soup Diet

Basically a very low calorie diet; the Cabbage Soup Diet works, temporarily, by cutting daily calories to near-starvation levels

What is the Cabbage Soup Diet?

Interestingly, no person or organization seems to want to claim responsibility for inventing the cabbage soup diet! So there isn’t an “official” propriety version, but various cabbage diet plans based around eating copious quantities of cabbage soup, and very little else.

Claims made for the cabbage soup diet range from the ludicrous, ie. the cabbage soup itself has fat burning properties to the dubious, ie. you can lose 10lbs in a week. The diet is often put forward as a quick way to drop pounds for a special event and most proponents advise that it only be followed for a week.

What’s Involved?

The Cabbage Soup Diet plan is very strict. The idea is to eat as much cabbage soup as you like every day – enough to keep you full up, so you don’t cheat! Plus specific additional foods on each day of the seven day diet. No alcohol is allowed and other drinks are limited to water, and unsweetened fruit juice on days when fruit is allowed.

• Day 1 – Cabbage soup plus as much fruit as you like, excluding bananas
• Day 2 – Cabbage soup plus vegetables including 1 jacket potato with a little butter
• Day 3 – Cabbage soup plus fruit and vegetables excluding potatoes and bananas
• Day 4 – Cabbage soup plus up to eight bananas and as much skimmed milk as you like
• Day 5 – Cabbage soup plus up to 20 ounces of beef and up to six tomatoes
• Day 6 – Cabbage soup plus as much beef and vegetables (excluding potatoes) as you like
• Day 7 – Cabbage soup plus brown rice, vegetables (excluding potatoes) and unsweetened fruit juice

Recipes for the cabbage soup vary, but all are based on cabbage, onions, tinned tomatoes, green peppers, celery, carrots, mushrooms and onion soup mix.

Does the Cabbage Soup Diet Work?

In the short term most people would lose weight very quickly. However, the loss of weight will come from loss of water and muscle tissue not from fat reserves. The combination of foods “allowed” would force most people to nearly starve each day. This could actually be counter-productive, forcing the body into starvation mode will slow metabolism and encourage the body to hang on to fat reserves!

This diet regime requires a lot of planning and frequent shopping trips for the supply of vegetables and fruit. For many people it will involve cooking and eating separately from other family members not following this eating regime.

So Why Do It?

Many are attracted to this short-term “quick fix” diet to lose weight quickly. It is not a solution to a healthy, long term eating plan.

Is the Cabbage Soup Diet Healthy?

The ingredients of the cabbage soup, in themselves, are mostly healthy – though if stock is used as well as soup mix the finished soup could be quite high in salt. Overall the cabbage diet is deficient in protein, carbohydrate and essential fats. Since the diet is only supposed to be followed for seven days, this shouldn’t cause people in good health any long-term problems, but people who have special dietary needs, including diabetics, should definitely consult a doctor before starting the cabbage soup diet. No one should follow the diet for more than seven days.

A balanced, healthy diet combined with exercise is still the most effective and safe long-term way to lose weight. However the results are gradual and require perseverance.

 

6) Macrobiotic Diet

The earliest recorded usage of the term “macrobiotics” is found in the writings of Hippocrates. Translated literally, macro is the Greek word for “great” and bios is the word for “life.” Throughout history, philosophers and physicians from many parts of the world have used the term Macrobiotics to signify living in harmony with nature, eating a simple, balanced diet, and living to an active old age.

Modern Macrobiotics

The modern practice of macrobiotics was started in the 1920s by a Japanese educator named George Ohsawa. Ohsawa is said to have cured himself of a serious illness by changing to a simple diet of brown rice, miso soup, and sea vegetables.

At the core of Ohsawa’s writings on macrobiotics is the concept of yin and yang. In Chinese philosophy, the opposing forces of yin and yang govern all aspects of life. Yin—representative of an outward centrifugal movement—results in expansion. On the other hand, yang—representative of an inward centripetal movement—produces contraction. In addition, yin is said to be cold while yang is hot; yin is sweet, yang is salty; yin is passive, yang is aggressive. In the macrobiotic view, the forces of yin and yang must be kept in balance to achieve good health.

Macrobiotics – yin and yang diet

The macrobiotic diet, therefore, attempts to achieve harmony between yin and yang. To this end, foods are classified into yin and yang categories, according to their tastes, properties, and effects on the body. The two food groups—grains and vegetables—that have the least pronounced yin and yang qualities, are emphasized in the macrobiotic diet. Eating these foods is thought to make it easier to achieve a more balanced condition within the natural order of life. Foods considered either extremely yin or extremely yang are avoided.

The standard macrobiotic diet recommendations are as follows:

• Whole grains—including brown rice, barley, millet, oats, corn, rye, whole wheat, and buckwheat—are believed to be the most balanced foods on the yin/yang continuum, and should comprise 50–60% of a person’s daily food intake. Although whole grains are preferred, small portions of pasta and bread from refined flour may be eaten.
• Fresh vegetables should comprise 25–30% of food intake. Daily consumption of any of the following vegetables is highly recommended: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, collards, mustard greens, turnips, turnip greens, onion, daikon radish, acorn squash, butternut squash, and pumpkin. Vegetables to be eaten occasionally (two to three times per week) include celery, iceberg lettuce, mushrooms, snow peas, and string beans. Vegetables should be lightly steamed or sautéed with a small amount of unrefined cooking oil (preferably sesame or corn oil).
• Beans and sea vegetables should comprise 5–10% of daily food intake. Especially recommended are adzuki beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), lentils, and tofu. Sea vegetables, including wakame, hijiki, kombu, and nori, are rich in many vitamins and minerals, and are easily added at each meal.
• Soups and broths comprise 5–10% of food intake. Soups containing miso (soy bean paste), vegetables, and beans are acceptable.
• A few servings each week of nuts, seeds, and fresh fish (halibut, flounder, cod, or sole) are permissible. Brown rice syrup, barley malt, and amasake (a sweet rice drink) may be used as sweeteners. Brown rice vinegar and umeboshi plum vinegar may be used occasionally. Naturally processed sea salt and tamari soy sauce may be used to flavor grains and soups.
• Fluid intake should be governed by thirst. Only teas made from roasted grains, dandelion greens, or the cooking water of soba noodles are generally considered acceptable. All teas with aromatic fragrances or caffeine are avoided. Drinking and cooking water must be purified.
• To maintain proper yin/yang balance, all extremely yang foods and all extremely yin foods are avoided. All animal foods, including eggs and dairy products, are believed to have a strong yang quality. Extremely yin foods and beverages include refined sugars, chocolate, tropical fruits, soda, fruit juice, coffee, and hot spices. In addition, all foods processed with artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives must be avoided.
• All foods should be organically grown. Produce should be fresh and locally grown.
• Macrobiotic principles also govern food preparation and the manner in which food is eaten. Recommendations in this area include: avoid using a microwave oven to prepare food; cook rice in a pressure cooker; eat only when hungry; chew food completely; eat in an orderly, relaxed manner using good posture; and keep the home in good order, especially where food is prepared.

Why do people follow this diet?

The macrobiotic diet is appealing to health-minded individuals who are seeking a holistic approach to physical and spiritual well-being. Numerous anecdotal reports exist of medical conditions improving dramatically on a macrobiotic. In addition, some people with serious medical conditions, including cancer and AIDS, try this diet because they have heard it may help cure their disease. To date, such claims have not been substantiated by controlled research.

What do the advocates say?

Although the therapeutic benefits of the macrobiotic approach have not been studied extensively, proponents of the diet point to the results of a 1993 study involving patients with pancreatic cancer. In this study, 52% of those who followed a macrobiotic diet were still alive after one year, compared to only 10% of those who made no dietary changes.

In addition, the macrobiotic diet encompasses many of the dietary elements linked to a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease in other research. The diet is low in fat, high in fiber, and rich in cruciferous vegetables and soy products.

According to macrobiotic proponents, living within the natural order means eating only what is necessary for one’s condition and desires, and learning to adjust in a peaceful way to life’s changes. Learning the effects of different foods allows one to consciously counteract other influences and maintain a healthy, dynamically balanced state.

What do the critics say?

Many nutrition experts disapprove of the limited number of foods allowed on the macrobiotic diet, but concede that a moderate approach to macrobiotics poses no real harm. However, strict macrobiotic diets can be deficient in calories, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, and iron. As a result, this type of diet is not suitable for children or for pregnant or lactating women without appropriate supplementation.

Critics caution that claims that the macrobiotic diet can cure specific diseases—most notably cancer—are to this point unsubstantiated. Until more conclusive research is available on the health benefits of the macrobiotic diet, individuals with serious medical conditions should continue to seek the support of qualified medical providers in conjunction with any dietary changes.

7) Suzanne Sommers Diet Plan

5 EASY WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

As You are interested in Suzanne Sommers Diet Plan you may want to know some secrets about weight loss habits. try these 5 easy tips and then follow the other links for more on Suzanne Sommers Diet Plan

• Weight loss tip 1.
  Shrink your portions. Cutting your portions is a good start for your weight loss program. You can use smaller plates, ask for a small ice cream cone, beverage or sandwich instead of a large. Split your restaurant entrees with a friend or order a lunch-size portion even at dinner. Never super size your meals. Big portion sizes increase our waistlines, and the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
• Weight loss tip 2.
  Eat high-volume foods with low-fat. Select high-fiber, low-fat foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes which are foods with high-volume so they will fill you up, without filling you out. These foods help trim your waistline, lose weight and also provide nutrients important for your health.
• Weight loss tip 3.
  Add fruits and vegetables to your meals. Adding at least one fruit or vegetable to every meal is a good step towards your weight loss. It also helps to lower blood pressure and improves health. For breakfast you can add grapes, for lunch add raw broccoli with low-fat tip and for dinner add fruit salad.
• Weight loss tip 4.
  Drink a lot. Carry a water bottle with you all the time. Drink water while you’re driving, drink at your work, during meetings and watching TV. Drink water instead of coffee, soda, fruit punch or other sweetened beverages. It saves you calories as it keeps your body functioning optimally.
• Weight loss tip 5.
  Don’t eat meat. Eat a vegeterian meal at least once a week. Instead of meat you can eat a bean tortilla, peanut butter or jelly sandwich, a veggie burger, chili with beans, or a tofu stir-fry. You’ll consume less fat and saturated fat which is important for losing weight.

 

8) Diet pills:-

More Diet Pill Articles

Diet Pills don’t perform weight loss on their own. You can’t take a diet pill and just carry on eating anything you want and doing no exercise. It just doesn’t work like that.

There are two types of diet pills available.

Herbal and diet pills that are recommended by your Doctor

Herbal diet pills tend not to make a massive difference to how much weight you can lose, but rather help you by providing that little bit of extra psychological motivation and taking the edge off your appetite.

If you are going to buy these types of diet pills, make sure that you read the label carefully and that you are fully aware of the listed side effects and ingredients. Never take more than the recommended dose.

Be aware that there are many that make unfounded claims too, because the herbal diet pill market place isn’t regulated, so do make sure that you research exactly what you’re buying to avoid disappointment.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. A useful site we found that compares many of these diet pills and their suppliers can be found here.

Doctor recommended diet pills are far more effective, because their active ingredients are stronger and they have been thoroughly tested.

They are, however, not guaranteed to help and like all diet pills, they need to be taken together with a proper diet and exercise plan.

These diet pills are only offered to those that are obese, with a minimum BMI requirement of 27.

If you only need to lose a few pounds, they are not for you.

The fact that these diet pills require a doctor visit shows that they are more powerful than herbal diet pills.

But there is another alternative to diet pills which can help you lose weight fast… read about this alternative to Diet pills here.

 

9) TheHollywoodDiet

 

Don’t you just love Hollywood! I sure did until I actually tried to visit. It turns out all of the cool stuff you associate with Hollywoodis in a different city altogether. Burbankand other places you have barely heard of seem to be where the movie and TV people work.

Still the name Hollywood has strong appeal with us. So much appeal that someone bottled up some juice and sells it to us at $25 per bottle. That juice would have been a major flop except they called it “The Hollywood Diet” and have sold tons of it. It is a brilliant marketing plan.

People all over have tried to analyze what the hollywood diet is made up of. The crack team of scientists here at FadDiet.com actually went to the store and read the ingredients list on the side of the bottle. Here is what the hollywood diet juice contains:

water
fructose
pineapple juice
orange juice
apple juice
prune juice
white grape juice
lemon juices juice
extracts of bilberry
green tea extract
ginkgo biloba
grapeseed extract
along with a few preservatives and stabilizers.

Pretty simple. I bet you could make your own version. You could certainly put together the same ingredients for less money.

The instructions are very simple. Four times a day, you drink the juice and some water. You eat nothing else. It isn’t surprising that you would lose weight. According to the package label, you are only ingesting 400 calories per day.

How To Make Your Own Hollywood Diet Juice
Woman’s World Magazine created their own Hollywood Diet that people can make. It is much less expensive than the actual Hollywood diet. You might want to try it. The following is the recipe for two days, so you only get to drink half of it per day.

1C. Low-fat vanilla soy milk
1C. orange juice
1C. cranberry juice
1C. yogurt (the real stuff)
1/4tsp. wheat-germ oil or 2T. wheat germ
1/4 tsp. flaxseed oil

Put in blender and sip throughout the day, along with plenty of water for 2 days. Seems like you would be pretty hungry.

Here is another Homemade Hollywood Diet Juice version
Some people call the Homemade Hollywood Diet. Again, this is a two day supply. You can split it in half and make half each day.

Juice of 8 oranges
Juice of 4 lemons
4 Tbls. honey
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
2 apples peeled and sliced
2 cups of grape juice (can be store bought)

You can expect to lose 3-4 pounds on this type of fast.