The Rice Diet as a Possible Success Story 5
The Dangers of Fad Diets and Ineffective Solutions 6
There have been numerous fad diets and many best selling books deal with fad diets. Most quick slim crash plans backed by someone claiming to be a diet doctor do not work. Some fad diets are, in fact, potentially dangerous and cause heart palpitations and poor nutrition. However, most fad diets and weight loss programs simply fail to produce permanent weight loss because psychological reorganization is necessary to deal with the psychological conflicts that led to the overeating and to change the person's thinking and behavioral patterns. The major stumbling block leading to the diet failure is that the obese person is "thinking fat" even when he has become thin. The person needs to learn to find fulfillment in something other than eating. For people who live to eat rather than eat to live, eating restrictions and increased exercise may be too much to bear. While some programs have been developed that deal with the psychological and physiological problems that obese people face, many Americans still opt for the quick yet ineffective results that fad diets offer.1
Among the fad diets that began in the mid-1980's is the protein diet. However, much of the liquid protein that is sold is not even an adequate source of dietary protein. One problem with the liquid protein diet is that there is often no carbohydrate. This absence or near absence of protein in the liquid protein diet can result in dramatic weight loss. However, the protein must be converted to glucose to maintain blood sugar levels, and protein is not the best fuel source for the body. It takes almost as much energy to convert protein amino acids to glucose as are gained, and the nitrogen portion of the protein molecule can create toxicity problems. Also, heart rhythm irregularities which have been fatal have been associated with the liquid protein diet. It m...