Introduction to Diets

Each year, some 50 million Americans go on diets for weight loss. That means about 30 billion dollars is being spent each year on diet foods, diet sodas, diet books, diet videos, diet cassettes, fitness clubs, and related diet services. There are many different types of diets out there on the market today. Some diets may aim for a quick weight reduction using various techniques while other diets may focus on the importance of long-term lifestyle changes. Several diets make claims about combining or separating certain foods or eating certain foods because of their special properties to ‘melt' fat. Unfortunately losing weight is never that easy and diets that sound too good to be true usually are. A good weight loss program should always include behavior modification, and exercise.

Many times a society's pressures to be thin, or undergo weight loss may cause some over weight people emotional distress. These overweight people may have a tendency to feel bad about their weight because being thin is emphasized and admired so much by the media, advertising, and American culture in general. Many people who are overweight are often thought of as being lazy and not caring about themselves. Their dieting efforts may internalize their negative image and may make a person feel like a failure when they are not able to lose weight on a particular diet. Many repeated diet failures set up a cycle of negative thoughts and cause an overweight person to often end up gaining weight.

Many of the popular weight loss diets on the market are what most people call fad diets. These weight loss diets attract a lot of attention because of their promise of instant weight loss. Most of these diets are not meant to be long term because they are very poorly nutritionally balanced. In order to avoid a fad diet, be aware for weight loss diets that severely restrict or advocate one food group, beware of large claims based on small evidence, and be suspicious of programs that appear to rely on ‘chemical reactions' or who main research has been sponsored by them.

When choosing a weight loss diet to follow, it is important to pick a diet that will cater to a person's individual needs. It is always recommended that a physician or other health care provider be consulted before starting a weight loss diet to make sure the diet is sound and appropriate for that person. It is also important to remember that exercise is an important part of any weight loss diet and a person's overall well being. The bottom line is there is usually no quick fix; the diet should become part of a lifestyle change.

Weight Awareness also recommends that the reader visit and read the topic section on nutrition to learn how the body needs and uses foods as fuel. After enjoying that section, the weight loss diets may be reviewed with a more physiologic understanding. This should allow the reader to be better prepared to evaluate these weight loss diets. With this understanding, perhaps more effective conversations with your health care provider may be possible.