Do you know diets and weight loss secrets that can really make you lose weight fast? You are really serious about losing weight fast, and it seems like ages now since you embraced your weight loss diet. But it’s not yielding any significant result, and you now find yourself on the brink of frustration. If this is really the case, it is time you sat back and investigated the reasons behind your poor results. Chances are that some of these bad habits have sneaked in and are disrupting your weight loss efforts.

1. Diet Traps

I won’t be surprised if you have fallen for one of these, considering the number of weight loss myths going about without knowing diets and weight loss secrets. One of the most common commercial tactics to appeal to dieters is manufacturing fat-free foods. You will see it on cookie boxes, jars of dressings and jams, and even ice-creams. What you need to realize is that losing weight fast does not involve cutting fat from your diet. What you need, instead, is to cut calories. However, to compensate for the lack of taste, when the fat is omitted, manufacturers load their products with flavored syrups, sugar, salt or starch. So, what you get at the end of the day is empty calories, which is counter-productive to your weight loss efforts.

Another diets and weight loss secrets you should know is that there are other common ‘weight loss’ food categories that people tend to fall for are flavored, fat-free yogurt and fruit juices. Both these may involve high quantities of added sugars, which end up packing you with calories, without making you feel full or satisfied. While 100% fruit juices are a lot healthier, they too contain none of the fiber of whole fruit, and therefore can’t make you feel satisfied. If you want to make a low-fat yogurt a part of your weight loss diet, get one which is also low in added sugar and calories.

2. Eating For Reasons Other Than Hunger

We all do this every now and then, some more than others. The problem is that if you get caught in the ‘comfort food’ trap every time you are feeling stressed or are dealing with loneliness or emotional pressure, it won’t do your weight loss efforts any favors, and you will only end up compounding your guilt. Of course, no one picks up a light salad when they are stressed! Try something different the next time you are really stressed, rather that rushing to your favorite hamburger joint or ice-cream parlor. Exercise is a far more productive way of relieving stress. You don’t have to pump iron in a gym. Simply go out for a walk to a nice place, do yoga, or even a little bit of meditation will help.

3. A Large Dinner

So you stay committed to a strict diet all day long, and anxious to avoid junk snacks and meals, you end up eating a meal or two less during your busy day. The inevitable consequence: a large dinner. However, night-time is the worst time to pack in the calories, and it can completely destroy your weight loss efforts. It is when your body is preparing to sleep and the last thing it needs is excess food. Also, a large dinner can affect the quality of your sleep negatively, and if your body is not well rested, your metabolism slows down. If you are serious about losing weight fast, you should eat frequently during the day (at least 4-5 times) and have a light dinner.

If you can avoid these common pitfalls by understanding diets and weight loss secrets, there is no reason why your weight loss diet won’t be a great success.

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The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

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The Idiot-Proof Diet

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

The ‘calorie shifting’ model takes place because you eat every two and half hours. The theory is that because your body is consuming calories (energy) constantly throughout the day, it’s always in ‘burning calories’ mode instead of the ‘saving calories’ mode.

When you sign up for the diet, you get access to a diet handbook, an 11-day diet-plan and a diet calculator. You get to pick what foods you like to eat so don’t think that you’ll be tarving in this diet!

NutriSystem

The NutriSystem way of dieting is all about proper meal planning. People love this diet because it takes away the burden of trying to figure out what to eat during their dieting phase. You see, a lot of people actually get confused as to what they can eat when they want to lose weight. That’s not really surprising because there’s so much information out there and for every yay sayer, there is a nay sayer so it’s really tough to know what to eat.

However, with NurtiSystem, they do all the meal planning and portion controlling for you. You just need to sign up to any of their diet programs (e.g., Women’s Program, Men’s Program, Vegetarian Program, etc.) and order a multi-day (usually for 28 days) diet program.

After you choose your diet program, a menu is presented to you and you simply choose what you want to eat. The meals are then delivered to your doorstep at various intervals during your diet program.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet is popular because the name alone conjures bikini-clad bodies! Add to that the fact that it was founded by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston, then you have a sort of ‘doctor recommended, doctor approved’ seal on the diet as well.

At first glance, the South Beach Diet looks a lot like the Atkins Diet in the sense that it restricts carbohydrates during the initial phase of the program (there are 3 phases). The first phase (14 days) encourages ‘normal eating’ in the sense that you can pretty much eat whatever you want but you must NOT eat bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. Fruit is also not allowed. No sugar. No alcohol.

The second phase allows you to SLOWLY introduce these items back into your diet but at lesser levels that you consumed them before of course. The third phase is more about general maintenance.

Weight Watchers

Probably one of the longest running diet programs out there is Weight Watchers. It believes in the overall approach where food, exercise, behavior and support are addressed.

Weight Watchers is known for advocating a point system for foods. Using this system, one calculates the calorie intake of the foods he or she eats. The number of points you can have in a day varies depending on your weight. The beauty of the program is that there are no gut-wrenching food restrictions so you never feel deprived of anything. However, the point system teaches you how to balance your meals so that even if you indulge on one food item, you don’t go overboard and consume too much in a day.

What is a bland diet? It is a diet specially set to treat certain gastrointestinal or stomach problems such as heartburns, ulcers and gas.

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An answer to a question, what is a bland diet, is that it is a simple treatment for people suffering from any one or more gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis, ulcer, esophagitis and dyspepsia.

Bland diet is a dietary regimen for people suffering from stomach disorders. Hence, it is quite understood that ingredients of a bland diet are soft food items, which are easy to digest with a capacity to keep the acidity to low levels. Questions about diet may be asked to your physicians and he/she can suggest the diet or recommend a dietician to do it.

Diet medical questions may include the queries about the food stuffs to eat and food stuffs to avoid during the time while a person experien ces any gastrointestinal disorders. However, before a dietician could decide the bland diet for a person, he/she needs to seek answers to several medical questions related to the person such as any food allergies or irritations associated with any food items and emotions medical questions of people.

Bland Diet:

The diet prescribed as a bland diet will include food items that are easy to digest and low in fiber and acid contents. Even giving up alcohol and smoking is advised while patient is on bland diet. Also a patient is advised to have 4 to 6 light meals after regular interval to avoid heavy and large meals.

Chewing food properly and eating slowly helps in the digestion of the food. Adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and controlling anxiety are supportive treatments for the standard treatment of the problem.

Allowed Food Items:

• Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, yogurt with low-fats and other dairy products are easily digested and hence, can be included as a part of bland diet. However, there is no restriction on ice-creams and one may consume even ice creams during bland diet, but it should not have any product such as nuts that are not allowed in bland diet.

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are allowed to a bland dieter. However, while carrot, squash, green peas are good to eat in a bland diet, broccoli, onions and green peeper should be avoided as it forms gas. In fruits, oranges, grapefruits, and bananas are allowed.

• Proteins
Protein requirement of the body, while on a bland diet should be met with soy products and meat. Fried chicken and greasy hamburgers are not allowed to be consumed, while grilled and baked chicken is allowed.
Low-fat peanut butter and eggs are also efficient to meet the body’s protein requirement in a bland diet.

• Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are contained in whole grain breads, pasta, oatmeal, corn flakes, white rice and sweet potatoes. All these food items are allowed.

Bland diet is designed for treating certain medical circumstances such as gastrointestinal problems. Hence, to answer what is a bland diet, we can say that this is a diet that aims at improving the digestion with the help of a timed-routine diet and soft to digest food items. Once the problem is controlled patients can return to their normal diet.