It's the question everybody who is either overweight or obese asks is - what's the best way to lose weight? It's an understandable question because there are so many different diets and weight programs to choose from. Will it be 'low carb' or 'low fat', GI, Atkins or Cabbage - it is all very confusing.

What is alarming is the number of diets and weight loss programs that offer a 'quick fix'. Somehow the speed at which you lose weight has become all important. What's the reason for this? Weight that has probably taken years to accumulate has to suddenly disappear! As if by magic, the consequence of inattention to diet - or excess, plus lack of exercise, has to be put right in a flash. It's all totally unrealistic and rather silly.

The reality is that the faster weight comes off, the faster it'll be put back on again. Because time - or speed - has become an important issue (at least in the selling of diets and weight loss programs), it has given people a very false idea of what is possible and provided a distorted impression as to what to expect from a diet.

No matter what the diet or weight loss program, if there is an emphasis on the speed that weight loss can be achieved, it should be looked at with great skepticism. It will almost certainly mean the program involves severe calorie restriction or a distortion in nutritional intake.

What all diets and weight loss programs totally ignore is the fact that if you want to lose weight permanently (is there anybody who doesn't want to lose it permanently?) you need to 'change'.
It is totally unrealistic to believe that you can continue in the same old way and still reduce weight permanently. It just won't happen. Diets deliver short-term weight loss, which nobody really wants.

Instead of bouncing from one diet to another, it's far better to find a program that will deliver permanent weight loss: one that can take you through the process of change and help you to replace all your bad habits with new ones.