The grapefruit diet works in the short-term, but does it
have any staying power? In other words, if your goal is to
drop weight quickly and gain it all back in a month, then
go for it. If, however, your goal is to have lasting
weight loss, the grapefruit diet is not for you. Here's
why.
The grapefruit diet has been around for many years. It's
been modified slightly over the years, but for the most
part, it's the same. The basic diet plan for the
grapefruit diet consists of four meals. Breakfast includes
a half a grapefruit, three eggs, and two slices of bacon.
Lunch is another half a grapefruit, a piece of meat (any
kind), and a salad with any type of dressing. Dinner is
again, a half a grapefruit, any piece of meat, salad and
then added to that a cup of coffee. The last meal isn't
really a meal, but either an 8 oz glass of tomato juice or
fat-free milk.
Proponents of the grapefruit diet tout the grapefruit as
having a fat-burning enzyme which is why it's added to all
but one meal. Grapefruit is a wonderful fruit and a good
healthy choice for fruit; but it's not magical! The
grapefruit diet helps a person drop weight quickly because
it's drastically low in calories. As with most fad diets a
gimmick (in this case the grapefruit) is used to promote an
extreme cut in calories. The grapefruit diet has a dieter
eating around 800 calories per day which is not an adequate
amount of calories to consume.
An average-sized woman who is moderately active needs
around 1800-2000 calories per day for the body to function
correctly. When the diet is varied and healthful, this
1800-2000 calories brings that woman optimum nutrition in
terms of receiving all the recommended daily allowances of
important vitamins, minerals and fiber. The grapefruit
diet is seriously lacking in fiber, calcium, iron and many
other important nutrients. Over time, this will cause and
contribute to serious nutritional deficiency related
problems such as anemia and osteoporosis. The lack of
fiber will lead to gastrointestinal problems such as
constipation. In addition, fiber has been shown to promote
weight loss, lower serum cholesterol and aid in colon
cancer prevention.
So, say hello to a thin body that will fit into the size
zero dress, but you might want to pick up some make-up to
cover the pale, sickly face you'll be sporting as well!
And whoever said a hunched neck as seen in osteoporosis
wasn't sexy? Healthy weight loss is not achieved with the
grapefruit diet, bottom line! And more than likely, you
should keep the tags on the size zero dress because the
weight will be back as soon as you start eating normally
again.
Seriously, lasting weight loss consists of slow, steady
weight loss resulting from a healthy, varied diet, exercise
and patience. The grapefruit diet contains none of these
things. Start by figuring out your daily caloric needs for
weight maintenance. There are many calorie calculators on
the internet that utilize your height, weight, age, sex and
activity level to determine the amount of calories needed
for weight maintenance.
Next, realize that one pound of body fat is equivalent to
roughly 3500 calories. Healthy weight loss is about one to
two pounds per week. Therefore, if you wish to lose one
pound per week, you'll need to decrease calorie intake and
burn calories to the tune of 500 calories per day. This
could be as simple as eliminating dessert at night and
taking a brisk 2.5 mile walk. Two pound per week requires
a debt of 1000 calories. This should only be achieved
through calorie reduction combined with exercise, or you'll
be right back to extreme calorie reduction seen in the
grapefruit diet. Ramp up that work-out! Go another mile,
use the incline, or increase resistance on the elliptical.
Lasting weight loss isn't about gimmicks and fads such as
the grapefruit diet. Lasting weight loss requires a person
to commit to changing their eating and exercise habits for
good.
----------------------------------------------------
From a sickly little girl to a healthy chef to the stars,
Darlene Nicholson transformed herself into The "Kick in the
Butt" Healthy Lifestyle Expert and creator of the popular
DVD "The Healthy Grocery Store Tour". Visit her website
http://www.lifechanginghealthysoutions.com or grab a copy
of her free ebook "4 Steps to Permanent Weight
Loss"...guaranteed to open your eyes to how easy weight
loss can be with the right plan of attack.
http://free-weightloss-book.com/
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