Weight Loss Programs That Women Think Actually Work

Who amongst us would not like to be thinner, have a more toned body with a low body fat percentage? When you ask most women about whether or not they like their bodies, they almost always answer with “I would love it if I was just a bit thinner.” However, you don’t see them going on diets or working out or anything like that, which is understandable given how much effort it can be committed to diets, especially in a hectic, busy life.

This is why, instead of altering their food intake, they prefer to follow some eccentric diets that are of a questionable nature. These diets are advertised to be easier or yield radical results instantly. Unfortunately, most of these diets simply do not work- in fact, they can even be dangerous to your health. This is why we’ve created a list of so-called diets that you need to watch out for.

Paleo

It is a diet that focuses mainly on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats; basically every type of food that was consumed by people living in the Paleolithic era. These guidelines, as healthy as they may seem, are not really that beneficial, as you still miss out on a lot of essential nutrients like those present in whole grains and dairy.

The premise of the entire diet is that since, unlike now, people in the past did not suffer from obesity, lethargy and other “diseases”, therefore, we should eat exactly what those people ate. I mean, you can see where the logic comes from, but its foundations are so shaky because the Paleo diet clearly overlooks countless other factors that resulted in our current state. In addition, Paleo is a way of eating; the diet in itself is not a weight loss program as it is often mistaken to be. This means that there is neither portion control nor any guidelines on calorie consumption or proper nutrient intake.

Fig. 1: Paleo

HCG Diet

This is a fairly extreme diet that is believed to work because it curbs your appetite and helps in decreasing your intake. This is especially useful for people who have a problem with binge eating and have no structure to their diet whatsoever. More specifically, you live on two meals with a total daily intake of 500 calories from about 3.5 ounces of protein, fruits, and vegetables. All of which is accompanied by human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) injections; this is a hormone that is extremely effective, and may just have a side effect that supposedly causes some pregnancy symptoms, like morning sickness. But this is something that is easily taken care of, and is most likely not to occur anyway. If you don’t know, there are a couple of resources that can show you where to get hcg.

Fig. 2: HCG Diet

It is found to be an effective diet because technically speaking, 500 calories a day are not nearly enough for the body to function, and as a result, it goes into “starvation mode.” So while this may sound a little scary, the point is the body stops all unnecessary processes and keeps metabolism levels to a minimum.

All the while, the body will be making sure to fully absorb all the nutrients from any piece of food that enters the body, so be careful when having a cheat day, because it may end up being costlier than you may think!

Baby Food Diet

From what the name suggests, the diet consists of replacing a number of your meals with jars of baby food. Some versions of the diet say up to 14 and others don’t really specify. The main point is that the diet works on several levels. It aims to bore your taste buds so that you would eventually reduce your baby food intake. It also replaces actual food with baby food that contains a significantly less amount of calories. Actually, the diet does work but, at the same time, it does not. Eating baby food will obviously make you drop some pounds since it is food that is made for babies not fully grown, functioning adults so you will definitely be operating at a calorie deficit.

On the other hand, when you do return back to normal food, you will gain most of the weight back. In fact, some might even gain more weight than their starting point owing to the fact that a long time of absolute abstinence starts a process of building up tension, cravings and an uncontrollable desire.

When faced with food, it is most likely that a person who had been abstaining would go ballistic and slide easily into a food binge which cannot really end well. All in all, although it might be a good choice to go on the diet for a short while, one must be careful not to reach an extreme.

Fig. 3: Baby Food Diet

Chewing Diet

When you hear the name, you think of a diet where you chew your food thoroughly before eating it to allow food absorption or quick digestion or something like that. Unfortunately, no. This diet exceeds all expectations, and not in a good way. It is a mere glorification of disordered behaviors; the diet simply requires its followers to chew their food until it is completely liquefied in order to enjoy the taste while avoiding the calories, a common technique for people with eating disorders.

Also, the acid accumulated in the stomach as a result of the body readying itself for food ends up either damaging the stomach’s lining or resulting in acid refluxes as a result of the stomach trying its best to get rid of the acid. The bad news is that there’s no shortcut for getting your dream body. It’s all about eating proper real food and working out. The good news, however, is that there are tons of resources online to help you find the diet that works for you.

Before going on a diet, it is better to go through a lot of research first in order to fully grasp how the diet works. Make sure that the diet is not a publicity gimmick to promote a certain product or an online course. Most importantly, try to make sure that your diet promotes a healthy weight loss process that yields sustainable results.

Fig. 4: Chewing Diet