Count Your Way to Success with the 1200 Calorie Diet

The 1200 Calorie Diet is exactly as it sounds.  You get to eat 1200 calories a day, and that’s it!  With limited caloric intake, your body will burn excess calories for energy and you lose weight.

Variations of this diet depend on who assigns it. Doctors and nutritionists also promote exercise, balanced food pyramid servings and vitamins to remain healthy.  They believe it is safe to lose up to two pounds per week, but not more. A quack promoter may limit what foods to eat and in what combination. They say with a strict diet regimen, you can lose 25 pounds in one month.

The 1200 Calorie Diet can be modified to any number of calories per day, but most experts feel that 1200 is the bottom limit to how many calories your body still needs to take in to be healthy and fueled.  Fewer calories mean you are probably depriving your body, and when a body is deprived, it will not lose weight.  The body maintains what it has to prevent loss, and will actually work in reverse.

Sample Day on the 1200 Calorie Diet

Breakfast

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 shredded wheat biscuit with 1/2 sliced banana
1 cup skim milk

Lunch

Tuna salad: 1/4 cup tuna fish (water-packed), 2 tsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp celery, 1 tbsp bean sprouts, 2 small lettuce leaves.
1 small pita bread.
1 cup tomato juice
1 small apple

Dinner

4 oz broiled center sliced ham
1/4 cup mashed yams
1/2 cup black-eyed peas
1/2 cup spinach
4 radishes
1/2 cup fruit cocktail (water-packed)
1 cup skim milk

Snack

1 small peach
1 cup diet soda

If you can survive on a little food and high volumes of water, you might not get too hungry on a 1200 calorie diet and have great success!

It’s In Your Blood

The Blood Type Diet gained its newfound popularity in 1997 with the publication of the book, “Eat Right 4 Your Type” written by Dr. Peter D’Adamo. This diet was created by years of research on blood by his father, and also his own research and testing.

Eat for Your Blood Type

Followers of the Blood Type Diet believe that each type of blood, A, B, O and AB each have different requirements to function at their peak.

> Type A needs a diet high in vegetables and low in meats.

> Type B can withstand high dairy content.

> Type AB is a mix of the two.

> Type O must follow a high meat content diet.

How the Blood Type Diet Works

D’Adamo claims that lectins, a component of blood, react with food you eat. Depending on the blood type, different levels of lectin are present, and if you don’t eat the right foods, they deposit harmful residue in your muscles, joints, etc. By following the correct foods, you will be at optimal functioning. Eating for your blood type improved 8 out of 10 people’s lives.

Not Everyone’s a Believer

This diet is fairly new and has been met with much criticism, as does any new product. The author says extensive research and studies have been conducted and their results point to the truth behind their hypothesis. However, nutritionists and scientists say the scientific evidence is lacking, and potentially detrimental to people’s health. The author makes blanket statements about groups of blood types and what they can and cannot tolerate.

The Inside Skinny

The Blood Type Diet seems fairly easy to follow, as long as you like the foods your blood type is “assigned.” No special potions, lotions or exercise is needed. As with any diet, get your doctor’s advice before proceeding.

Resources for the Blood Type Diet

Buy the Book - Eat Right 4 Your Type >>>

Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Acheiving Your Ideal Weight (Hardcover)

If you’ve ever wondered why the latest fad diet doesn’t work for you… well, there are lots of reasons, mostly the fact that it’s a fad diet.

But it could also be that you’re the wrong blood type for the kinds of foods the diet recommends. Peter D’Adamo makes a persuasive argument that your blood type is an evolutionary marker that tells you which foods you’ll process best, and which will be useless calories.

He covers the entire range for each of the four blood types, from entrées to condiments and seasonings, and also makes type-specific exercise and lifestyle recommendations.

Visit the Offical Website of the Blood Type Diet >>>

Go Liquid and Lose Your Weight Fast

If drastic measures and results are what you seek, the Liquid Diet may be for you. The Liquid Diet probably was borrowed from the medical field and used in mainstream fad diets due to its fast results.

Clear liquids are consumed by people recovering from surgery, cancer and broken bones. A liquid diet is also needed for people who have their jaws wired shut, those having gastric by-pass surgery and for many other stomach or mouth ailments.

How The Liquid Diet Works to Lose Weight

The Liquid Diet has many variations. Certain brands, like Slim Fast, used to only rely on their liquids shakes for weight loss. The company has since added a more modified diet plan, but liquid is still their biggest seller.

Other forms of liquid only diets include smoothies, soups, water and blending all of your food with water into mush. Sound appealing? Makes me hungry…

The Downside of Liquid Diets

Doctors and nutritionists don’t recommend the diet without consulting a professional. With the lack of hard foods, many nutrients your body needs to survive can be lost or omitted.

Supplements and vitamins should be taken to make up for any missing food groups in your diet.

A misconception of a liquid diet is that liquids alone will cause you to lose weight. However, if those liquids are high in calorie, you aren’t doing anything for weight loss. Alcohol, whole milk, regular pop, fancy coffees and certain juices have a high number of calories.

Another drawback is the fact that for many, once they stop the diet they go back to eating as they did before, and regain the pounds quickly. For the diet to work over the long term, you need to be prepared to change your daily eating and exercise habits.

Liquid Diets - The Inside Skinny

If you follow a liquid diet, weight loss can be rapid. Staying on a liquid diet for too long can be detrimental to your health and is not recommended unless you are following doctors orders.

Negative Calorie Diet - Subtract Those Calories

At first, this seems ridiculous. Negative calories? Does this mean you eat backwards or upside down? Nope.

How The Negative Calorie Diet Works

Proponents of the Negative Calorie Diet claim the diet has a scientific foundation. It is based upon foods that contain fewer calories than what it used in burning them in your system.

The following foods fall into the negative calorie category: apples, beets, asparagus, beets, cabbage, cranberries, celery, carrots, cantaloupe, broccoli, blueberries and cauliflower.

Negative calorie diet supports claim the diet works on several levels. First, by eating raw or at least fresh fruits and vegetables, the body is getting many nutrients and vitamins that ate vital to being healthy. Secondly, these fruits and vegetables also help to increase metabolism, which also boosts the calorie and fat burning process.

Proceed with Caution

Opponents point out that the negative calorie diet leaves out large portions of the food pyramid, namely meat, dairy and carbohydrates. They say it is too easy for people to take it too far and end up starving themselves. As with any diet, it can be modified to include all of the food groups, but the focus is largely on fruits and vegetables.

If you are interested in the Negative Calorie Diet, a Google search will reveal lots of sources, from books, e-books, and forums.

The Inside Skinny on the Negative Diet

The Negative Calorie Diet doesn’t have any specific claim to weight loss. The amount of time you remain on it and how strict you are with the food and exercise will determine how much you lose.

As with all diets, get advice from a medical professional before starting. And, while we don’t want to be negative, doesn’t this sound a little too good to be true?

Resouces for the Negative Calorie Diet

Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight: : The Negative Calorie Effect >>>

Did you know that certain foods have an incredible negative calorie effect that actually melts fat? This revolutionary approach, outlined by Neal Barnard M.D., and proven effective by thousands of men and women wh have tried it, can bring about the permanent weight control every diet promises but seldom delivers.

The Lemonade “Master Cleanser” Diet

The Lemonade Diet will make you pucker up AND slim down.

The Lemonade Diet is also known as the Master Cleanser Diet. It was created by Stanley Burroughs, who was an avid Naturopath, back in the mid 1970’s. It claims to clean out your system, similar to what a Detox Diet does, but also help your glands, joints, muscles and bloodstream.

The main ingredients to success with the diet are lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. If any of those three aren’t appealing to you, I would suggest a different diet plan right now!

How the Lemonade Diet Works

Of course, to be able to follow the Lemonade Diet you will need to buy Burroughs book, The Master Cleanser Book. It goes in-depth as to what you can and cannot eat, what to drink and how long to stay on the diet – wait, you don’t get to eat anything! It does offer tips for altering the diet if you are diabetic or have certain medical conditions.

Ultimately, the Lemonade Diet is liquid only. For ten days, (length varies, but anywhere between 10-21 days is normal) you only get to drink lemonade, with organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper added. NO FOOD!

The lemonade mixture is enough to sustain your body while it rids your system of all the toxins. You may experience different reactions as the toxins leave your system, but experts of the diet say it is normal.

The Inside Skinny on the Lemonade Diet

By following the Lemonade Diet, proponents claim you can safely lose two pounds per day. Since it is such a strict diet plan, getting off of it and back to normal eating is difficult. There are suggestions and recipes to follow for three days when weaning back to normality, to reduce and eliminate any potentially uncomfortable transitions.

Modifying your diet is also preached to keep the Lemonade Diet successful for the rest of your life.

Doctors and nutritionists don’t recommend this diet for any situation, (nor do we!) However, we must admit we’ve tried it for a couple days when we needed to drop a few pounds, fast.

The Lemonade Diet Recipe

It’s best to buy The Master Cleanser Book because there is more to this cleansing diet than just the drink, but if you can’t wait to get started, here it is:

2 TBsp lemon or lime juice (approx. 1/2 lemon)
2 TBsp genuine organic maple syrup, Grade B
1/10 Tsp cayenne pepper, gradually increase
10-14 oz pure water (distilled water is best)

Combine juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper with water. Drink six glasses a day. Take no other food, but do drink lots of water in between lemonade drinks.

Resources

Read all About The Master Cleanser Diet>>>

Talk with others at the Yahoo Master Cleanse Support Group >>>

The 3 Day Diet - Two Versions and Lots of Willpower

The 3 Day Diet will get you into those skinny pants in no time!

The 3 Day Diet seems balanced and “ok” upon first inspection. If you can last three days with minimal food, that is. After poking around on the Internet, we found a second version of the 3 Day Diet, which is more restrictive than the first, and appears more like three days of starvation. Who wouldn’t fit into a smaller size after not eating for three days!

The 3 Day Diet - Version 1

Version one of the 3 Day Diet promotes drinking four glasses of water or diet soda during the day. An extensive menu lists meals and snacks to eat for all three days so you can achieve the maximum diet results. It actually lets you eat food all three days, including fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates.

Version one of the Three Day Diet doesn’t seem to make any claims to a specific number of pounds lost, just that you will lose weight.

The 3 Day Diet - Version 2

Version two of the 3 Day Diet begins with a day of fasting. Fasting = no food, only water.

Day two you can eat fruit and drink fruit juice only. On day three, you can only eat vegetables and drink vegetable juice. This version of the 3 Day Diet claims you can lose ten pounds in three days if the three day menu is strictly followed. The rest of the week is spent eating lightly and “normally.” After seven days is up, start the routine again, (oh joy!)

The Inside Skinny on the Three Day Diet

The 3 Day Diet version two claims you can easily lose up to forty pounds in one month. Is it any surprise, since 4 days you are eating nothing, and eight other days you only get fruits and vegetables? Next thing you know, you’ll be walking around and asking, “What’s up Doc?”

3 Day Diet Risks

Both versions require careful monitoring since the food intake is low. If you want to try the second version, make sure to keep taking vitamins so that when you fast, you are still getting the nutrients your body needs. Doctors and nutritionists don’t recommend either version of the diet, in any form, (nor of course, do we). Consider yourself warned.

The Grapefruit Diet - A Fad of Four Decades

The Grapefruit Diet is a fad diet that has been shedding pounds for four decades.

The Grapefruit Diet is also known as the Mayo Clinic Diet, even though they didn’t create it, nor do they endorse it. This fad diet has been around since the 1970’s, and goes in and out of popularity with the seasons. Since it claims quick weight loss, it picks up speed before and during swimsuit season. Many scientists, nutritionists, and even the Mayo Clinic believe it can be dangerous.

The Inside Skinny

The Grapefruit Diet works by eating a half of a grapefruit or drinking 8 ounces of grapefruit juice with every meal. By doing that, and following the “rules,” you will lose approximately 50 pounds in a couple of months. The list of foods you cannot have is extensive and includes potatoes, celery, peas, cereal, peanut butter, pasta, fruit, low fat salad dressing, starchy vegetables or white onions.

How the Grapefruit Diet Works

Scientists believe the grapefruit juice works to lower insulin levels in the body, thus allowing the body to metabolize faster. When your body metabolizes fast, the fat and sugar in your system is burned faster, helping you lose weight. With carbs being on the no-no list, the complex sugars made from carbs are lower, resulting in less sugar for your system to burn, equaling rapid weight loss.

Grapefruit Diet Risks

Since the Grapefruit Diet rules out fruit and a lot of vegetables, experts believe it to be unbalanced and unsafe. A test was done by a Doctor at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic in 2004. He ran a test group of individuals who followed the regime for 12 weeks. He found their weight loss to be much lower than the 50+ pounds claimed.

Ear Staples or Acupuncture Ear Staples Help your Body to Lose Weight

Ear Staples sound like a painful way to lose weight, but in reality, it is no different than an ear piercing. The most popular method is using two surgical steel staples, one for each ear. Staples are placed in the ear to target pressure points that decrease your appetite. (They can also work to help you quit smoking). With a decrease in appetite, you eat less and can lose weight faster. Some doctors promote using only one staple, however, the decision and expense is determined by you.

Acupuncture Ear Staples - The Inside Skinny

Ear staples have different results for different people, but here’s what research reports claim. On average women will lose 2-5 pounds each week and men can drop 4-10 pounds in a week.Up to 90% of people using ear staples have reported success at some level.

Some people do not have results right away and need to go back in to reposition the staples. People sometimes do not, and the success rate drops off for them. Wearing ear staples can be done for 3-4 months. If the ear is healthy, staples can be re-applied safely.

Risks of Ear Staples

There are a few slight risks with ear staples. As with any opening on the body, there is a slight chance of infection. If treated and cleaned properly, chances for infection are slim. The newest risk popping up is that since ear stapling has become popular, persons without the proper training are performing the procedure. Before you have the procedure done, check the persons credentials and ask about their training.

The people who are against the use of ear staples argue that it doesn’t follow true Chinese Acupuncture rules. They say it is an American invention created during the 1980’s to fight obesity. Ear staples only use two pressure points, where acupuncture requires at least 10-20 to be effective. They also argue that the ear cartilage does not replace itself, and can be destroyed permanently.

What Ear Staples Cost

Depending on where you go to have acupunture ear staples for weight loss inserted determines the price, which could range anywhere from $50 - $250. Seek out a professional or a doctor and don’t use some fly-by-night scheme which could cause you harm.