Jun 23, 2008 8:55 pm US/Central
21 Things to Know About Fad Diets and Dieting
A fad diet is any diet that sounds too good to be true or excessively restrictive in type of food eaten.
Most fad diets focus on short-term weight loss, they restrict what you eat.
People quickly gain back lost pounds plus more once they become tired of the diet.
People who approach weight loss as a slow and steady process are more successful in achieving and maintaining desired weight.
Most experts say by simply adding more lean protein like chicken, fish, and legumes, fruits and vegetables, and cutting down on processed carbs like white bread, pasta and sugar, you can expect to lose a steady one to two pounds a month.
Read and follow food labels to avoid diet pitfalls. A single serving of 100 calories can mean a few chips, not half the bag.
Avoid foods with HFCS which stands for High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Even a healthy food can sabotage your diet if you don't exercise portion control. A granola bar is highly processed and is usually high in sugar and calories.
When eating out, ask for the restaurant's nutritional guide before making your dinner selection. Did you know that a McDonald's large milkshake had more calories than two Big Macs?
A bagel for breakfast is the equivalent of four slices of bread.
Mixed cocktails, especially those with fruit juices, can be very high in calories.
A successful diet begins with a good mental attitude. A USDA study found that women who think their gene pool pre-ordains their waist size were more likely to be heavy. Genes do have an impact on weight, but it's your environment that ultimately determines how fat you become. (ADA source)
Healthy eating and exercise is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Remember, at the end of the day if you've eaten excess calories from any source, you will store those calories as fat.
Buy "no added salt" canned vegetables.
When you buy canned fruit, look for those packed in their own juices or light syrup.
Sodas are the single largest source of calories in the American diet. Research shows that the more sodas we drink, the hungrier we are likely to become.
Watch the size of your cup if you drink a soda. Just one large soft drink a day is enough to tip the scales. The 20-ounce and the 32-ounce soda means you're drinking the equivalent of four servings of soda. That's almost 600 calories.
Reach for an apple or other fruit instead of chips when you're hungry. Fruit is higher in fiber and lower in fat. So when you have a food that's higher in fiber you're going to be filled up faster.
Vitamin-enriched sodas or carbonated beverages do not contain the nutrients that are most often missing in peoples' diets such as calcium, vitamin K, folic acid or vitamin D. Don't be fooled!
Processed foods can easily add calories and little to no nutritional value. So simply shopping the perimeter of the grocery store-buying fresh produce, lean meats and fresh-baked whole grain products-will help you lose weight.
Avoid foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list. This is trans fat which is worse for your body than saturated fat.
