When people gain weight, the majority of fat that is put on comes from carbohydrates rather than the consumption of fat itself. If carbohydrate is not readily accessible, the body will enter a state called "ketosis" and will begin to break down fat and protein to provide energy. This is the basis of many carbohydrate restricting diets including the popular Atkins diet. Although these diets work for some, they greatly restrict eating habits. Carbohydrates make up the majority of typical diet and restricting this food group can create tiredness and even health risks for some.

As complicated as some diets may seem, there is one universal truth behind weight-loss. If you use more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. As simple as this sounds, many people lose sight of this fact when chasing a fad diet.

The negative calorie diet works by exploiting this principle and identifying foods that give no net gain in calories. All foods contain calories but chewing and digesting food also burns calories. There are some foods that contain so few calories that it will take more energy to digest the food than you receive from the food. Ultimately, this results in a net loss of calories. These "negative calorie foods" are a godsend for dieters.

Hunger is one of the greatest threats to the success of a diet, but with the negative calorie diet, you really can eat as much food as you want, provided it is a negative calorie food. There are many ways in which this diet can be implemented, and it can also be combined with other diet plans to make them more effective. For example, if you are on a calorie controlled diet and find that you are always hungry in the afternoon, you could snack on raw carrots with the knowledge that it will not add to you daily calorie intake.

The negative calorie diet has two main benefits over traditional and restricted carbohydrate diets. Firstly, it will not leave you hungry, which makes it easier to follow for most people. Secondly, rather than restricting an essential food group, it encourages consumption of healthy food with lots of fruit and vegetables.

To learn more about the negative calorie diet please click here: Negative Calorie Diet.