by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 24, 2010

Everybody may want to believe that it is possible to lose a significant amount of weight in a very short space of time, but the reality is that you can't lose weight quickly and in a healthy way. The only way to lose weight safely is to lose it gradually, by taking on board a healthy eating plan and incorporating exercise into your routine. It is possible for people to follow a fad diet, fast, or take a variety of diet pills, and they may even lose a bit of weight, but they will not have done their health any favours. There are no diets which fulfil both the criteria of being safe and quick, which is something that people need to come to terms with.

Some people are significantly overweight and need to lose weight because of their health; other people find that they have gained a few pounds over a period of time and don't want to gain any more. Either way there comes a point in most people's lives when they find themselves thinking about their weight and needing to find a way to lose the extra pounds they have gained. It can be difficult to know where to start, particularly if you have always had a problem with your weight. It is not unusual for people to turn on the television and hear the latest fad diet being discussed or find themselves surrounded by books concerning the latest fad diets when they enter a bookstore.

Many people therefore end up making the wrong decisions, trying to lose weight as quickly as possible without really thinking about their diet or exercise habits. They read all the claims made on the back of a book and are inclined to believe that by sticking to that diet they too can succeed as the people pictured appear to have done. Losing weight safely isn't something which enters their minds, as their priority is to lose weight. Even those who have a substantial amount of weight to lose, and need to lose weight for health reasons, might find themselves concentrating on the benefits of looking good, rather than the overall outcome for the health.

If they don't address the bad habits they have formed over the years, though, they will simply alter their habits for a few weeks before becoming disillusioned with the diet and giving up, whilst all the while proclaiming that ordinary diets don't work for them. Fad diets aren't ordinary diets, though; they are deliberately restrictive to maximise your weight loss, so that they appear to work, but they are just not sustainable on a long-term basis. Therefore, the likelihood is that if you choose to follow a fad diet it won't be long before you slip back into your former habits.

Everybody surely recognises the health benefits of losing extra weight, but there is no point aiming to lose too much weight in a very short space of time because you will lose muscle rather than fat. It will affect your future chances of losing weight and will affect your energy levels and mental well-being. Why bother jeopardising your health in order to follow fad diets which actually appear to have very little going for them?

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