Rapid Weight Loss Advice

While touted by many diet pill and product manufacturers, rapid weight loss is actually not a desired goal for people looking for permanent, long-term weight reduction. Rapid weight loss happens in the form of the body losing water, which is quickly regained when the dieter resumes normal eating habits. Rapid weight loss diets can be unbalanced and unhealthy, and the key to real weight loss is to remember that there are no shortcuts.

Avoid Pills

• Appetite suppressants come in many forms, most of which will contain some type of stimulant. There are many varieties of pill on the market, very few of which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. As such, they contain "herbal" ingredients that can be dangerous and even life threatening to some people, such as the ingredient ephrdra, which was banned from use in 2004 as it raised blood pressure as well as risk of heart attack and stroke.

  The banning of ephedra did not slow the diet pill manufacturers; most current brands on the market such as Hydroxycut, Zantrex and Trimspa contain "naturally occurring caffeine," which is no more effective than drinking coffee for weight loss. The use of caffeine in these pills acts as a diuretic, and so water is removed from the body, giving the appearance of rapid weight loss.

  Prescription diet pills do exist, and fat blockers such as Alli are now sold over the counter, but these are used for slow, controlled weight loss in a safe and healthy manner.

Don't Starve

• One of the myths about crash dieting is that the less you eat, the more weight you will lose. Crash diets cause the body to burn excess glycogen, the material used for water storage, so again, the main cause of weight loss is from lack of water. These types of diets ignore proper nutrition, so vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a major risk. The strain this type of diet puts on the body is linked to liver damage, heart attack and stroke.

  Rapid weight loss diet plans rarely extol the benefits of proper nutrition; however, weight loss can be maintained at a steady pace by following a balanced diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, lean meats and dairy. While possibly not as "rapid" as their drastic counterparts, these diets create long term health benefits, not risks, and are less likely to result in "yo yo" dieting that results in gaining the weight back later.

Weight Loss Success

• While rapid weight loss may not be a healthily achievable goal and there is no "magic pill" that can melt the pounds away, selecting a diet plan with nutritional balance that is compatible to the dieter's body can result in a steady and safe amount of weight loss. These diets should be discussed with a medical professional, especially in the case of pregnant women and nursing mothers. Nutritional balance is key to keeping the body adjusted, without this balance, the body will have difficulty processing weight loss correctly.