Here are a number of the names of low calorie diets, there is the Lighter Life diet, the Atkins Diet, the F Plan Diet, the Rosemanry Conley's Hip and Thigh Diet, The Weight Watchers Diet, the Slim Fast Diet, the Lemonade Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, The Juicing Diet, You Are What You Eat Diet, the Ultimate Fast Food Diet.
All these diets have one aim and that is to help people to lose weight, fast. The idea is to reduce the bodies calorie intake so that our bodies will look to our fat stores to make up the extra fuel our bodies need on a day to day basis. This is when "ketosis" (the bodies natural way of breaking down fat into glycerol and free fatty acids so that they can be used for fuel by the body) sets in. One of the obvious signs of Ketosis is an odour on our breath, apart from the obvous fact that we are losing weight.
Lighter Life and Slim Fast use meal replacement methods, although you do have one meal a day on slim Fast. Indeed with Lighter Life you eat no real everyday food for a minimum of nine weeks and then return to "normal" food over a period of twelve weeks.
The Atkins Diet, the F Plan Diet, the Rosemary Conley's Hip and Thigh Diet, and The Weight Watchers Diet use every day food but have rules attatched to them. On the Atkins Diet you are not allowed to eat anything with white flour or processed sugars, while you are encouraged to eat all types of meat, eggs etc but very few Carbohydrates as it is based on making the body use up all fats by deproving the body of the easy to use carbs.
The F Plan Diet is based on using fibre as a controling factor in our diet. Fibre takes longer to digest and leaves us feeling fuller for longer. It is also known that we rarely eat enough fibre for our bodies which function better on plenty of fibre. It is also thought that fibre helps to ward off some cancers and helps protect the body from cardiovascular problems relating to poor circulation and the resulting varicose veins that many people develop.
The Rosemary Conley's Hip and Thigh Diet is based on reducing the fats we eat and this is thought to be particularly beneficial to ladies who carry extra fat in the areas of hip and thigh. It is also though to help people with gall stones.
The Weight Watchers Diet is based on different foods and drink being equal to points. You are allowed up to forty points a day but can carry some over to another day. Basically you have to have so much a week. However the diet is still based on lowering the calorie intake so that the body uses up its spare stores of fats and thus weight loss occurs.
With regard to the You Are What You Eat approach, the idea is to avoid processed foods and eat food in its natural state - plenty of salads with raw carrot, etc. You are also encouraged to look at what you are eating and check that you are taking in enough nutrients. Foods are divided into four groups:- Group 1 proteins, Group 2 carbohydrates, Group 3 Non starch Vegetables, Group 4 All fruit. The idea is when losing weight to not eat groups 1 proteins and 2 Carbohydrates together at the same meal, Group 3 can be eaten with either groups 1 or 2, while group 4 fruits must be eaten separately and always at least thirty minutes away from any other group. The idea is that by separating the food groups, the body is able to deal with the food more efficiently.
Finally, the liquid or fasting diets. Both the Lemonade Diet and the Cabbage Soup Diet aim to rid the body of all toxins so that it can better process the foods we eat. The idea is to help the liver and kidneys to function better.
The Ultimate Fast Food Diet is about juicing vegetables and fruit so that the body can get more immediate nutrients. The idea is that as they are in a liquid form they are more readily available to the body as well as being able to help any toxins to pass throough the body.
These are just some of the names of low calorie diets and there claims and aims with regard to weight loss.
By : Ken H Jones