Healthy Weight

Facts About Weight-Loss Diets and Programs

Many different diets and programs, such as the ones below, promise rapid weight loss but rarely work for the long term. Some might even be dangerous. Learn more about:

• Rapid weight-loss diets.
• Low-carbohydrate diets, including the Atkins diet.
• Food combination diets, including the Zone diet.
• Over-the-counter products, such as nonprescription weight-loss pills, liquids, and supplements.

Emotional impact of dieting

The pressure to be thin takes its toll on our emotions. We have a tendency to feel bad about our weight because thinness is stressed by the fashion industry, the media, advertising, health professionals, and our culture. Dieting may make you feel like a failure if you cannot lose weight. Instead of blaming the diets, overweight people tend to blame themselves. The thinking goes, "If I could just stay on that diet, I would be thin." This doesn't take into account that your body has powerful regulators that affect your weight. Repeated diet failures set up a cycle of negative thoughts and often weight gain.

Depriving yourself of food may eventually cause you to become obsessed with food. You will be much more likely to overeat when you finally give yourself permission to eat. Many people who have dieted repeatedly have experienced the symptoms of food deprivation, which include hunger, preoccupation with food, lack of energy, and guilt after finally eating. It is important to make healthy eating changes that you can stick with, instead of dieting.

For more on the emotional issues that impact weight management, see:

• Managing stress and eating.
• Managing your environment.

Weigh less often

Your weight can fluctuate by a few pounds from one day to the next. The adult body is about 60% water, so small changes in water balance can easily alter body weight. For example, it is normal for many women to have some water retention around the time of their menstrual period, so their weight increases temporarily by a few pounds during this time.

What you eat can also influence how much water your body keeps. If you eat a very salty meal, your body will retain extra water for 1 or 2 days to keep your body fluids from being too salty. Afterwards, your body will get rid of both the extra salt and water through your urine.

Because of daily fluctuations in your weight, avoid weighing yourself every day. If you want to monitor your weight, weigh yourself no more often than once a week unless directed by your doctor to do so more often because of a health problem.

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Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS	Last Updated: March 6, 2008
Medical Review:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
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