Quick Working Diets

Quick working diets are a common claim for many fad diets. Everybody wants to lose weight fast, after all. Almost any diet can help you lose weight quickly, but if you are really strapped for time some diets can do it quicker than others. These diets cause a quick weight loss, but should not be maintained for extended periods of time.

Atkins

• The basis of the Atkins diet is counting and restricting how many carbohydrates you take in. The Atkins diet is generally considered to be responsible for starting the low-carbohydrate diet craze. The Atkins diet has four phases: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. Once you start the diet, you can theoretically use it for the rest of your life. The Atkins diet also works over the short run, and claims you can lose up to 15 pounds in the first two weeks. The first two weeks of Atkins is induction, so if you just need to lose a little weight quickly, you can simply do induction.

Human Chorionic Gonadotraphin (HCG) Diet

• The HCG diet combines severe caloric restriction and HCG injections or supplements. This diet is a short-term only diet because you only take in about 500 to 800 calories a day. Some claim the HCG injections and supplements help you handle the hunger of such a low caloric diet, but researchers who studied the diet say there is no proof the hormone helps weight loss and that the weight loss is probably attributed to the calorie restriction. The use of HCG hormone supplements can also cause side effects, such as fatigue, irritability and headaches. While this diet has it cautions, this diet works for fine for some people, and the choice is ultimately up to you. The HCG diet is a little more complicated than your average diet, and you should only start it under close medical supervision.

Three-day Diet

• The three-day diet is a popular short-term diet. This diet plan is extremely rigid, and you must follow it exactly as given. This diet's main draw is that you can potentially lose 10 pounds in three days. This weight loss is likely attributed to the severe caloric restrictions, which is also why the diet shouldn't be followed for longer than three days. Since it is such a sudden weight loss, most also believe you mostly lose fluid, not fat. You also cannot eat poorly during the other four days of the week, or you will gain weight back as quickly as you lost it.

1200 Calorie Diet

• The 1200 calorie diet is a simple calorie-counting diet. Twelve-hundred calories is the most basic number of calories to take in for weight loss. There are no special foods you can or cannot eat, so long as you do not exceed 1200 calories in a day. Since 1200 calories is actually quite low, it's safest not to exercise while on this diet, and many people experience fatigue and hunger pangs while on this diet. To make this diet most effective, you should choose the healthiest and most filling foods as possible. You don't want to use half your allotted calories on junk food. Instead, eat something low in calories, yet still filling, such as a salad with vegetables and a light dressing.