Wrong Ways to Lose Weight

People don't like to eat sensibly and exercise. As a result, they often look for shortcuts to lose weight. Unfortunately, these methods don't usually work long-tem. The following are some of the wrong ways people try to lose weight: crash/fad diets, drugs, surgery, purging and either exercising or dieting by itself excessively.

Crash & Fad Diets

• People on "crash diets" are often starving themselves, causing malnutrition and sometimes even death. While a little fasting can be cleansing when done properly, a prolonged fast can slow down a person's metabolism, making it harder to lose weight in the future. In addition, even though fad diets, like eating only grapefruit, can get temporary results, most of them don't work for the long term, especially since they do not provide adequate nutrition to sustain you.

Drugs

• Taking appetite suppressants is another bad way to lose weight, especially since these pills can have potentially dangerous side effects and are often not regulated by the FDA. Nicotine and caffeine are also drugs that can have detrimental effects, so people who think that smoking and drinking coffee are good ways to lose weight should think again.

Surgery

• Surgeries like liposuction and gastric bypass surgery are some of the most extreme ways to lose weight. Diet and exercise are both better for individuals and more effective. Many people believe that surgery is a quick fix. However, as with any other weight loss plan, people can gain back the weight they lost after surgery. Plus surgery has great potential risks and really should only be considered as a last resort when nothing else works.

Purging

• Purging is one of the most dangerous methods for weight loss. In fact, resorting to vomiting, laxatives or diuretics to lose weight can be disastrous to your health. Trying to lose a few pounds is never a good enough reason to put your life in jeopardy.

Exercise or Dieting Alone

• Some people think they they can exercise and not diet in order to lose weight. On the other hand, many people believe they can diet without exercising and still shed the pounds. The truth is that exercise and diet go hand in hand. If you are exercising but not eating a healthy diet, you probably won't lost weight. Also, if you are diligently eating healthy but not exercising, you run the risk of slowing down your metabolism and losing muscle tone.