The 5 Fastest Weight Loss Programs
By Nan Werther
, last updated January 27, 2012
At one point or another nearly everyone wishes to lose five pounds. While very fast weight loss isn't recommended or healthy, it can be hard to feel like you're making progress when you aren't watching the weight melt off. Keeping rational and healthy progress in mind, there are ways to lose weight that are faster than others and still come highly recommended by dieticians. These are the top five recommended ways to lose weight.
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Mediterranean Diet
Better than a commercial diet, the Mediterranean diet promotes better lifestyle and living choices which sustain healthy weights over the long term. Considered the world's healthiest "diet" it includes lots of fresh foods, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Very well balanced, it is in accordance with dietary guidelines while also being very heart healthy. On top of that, it's delicious! Enjoy plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, legumes, fish, and whole grains. This all-natural diet emphasizes better choices and will lead to healthy weight loss over the long run and perhaps sooner depending on what your current diet involves eating.
17 Day Diet
Consisting of four phases each lasting 17 days, this diet is designed to get the weight off and help you maintain it once you reach your goal. The premise of this diet is calorie cycling, which keeps you from getting bored while increasing your metabolism to burn more calories. In the accelerate cycle you focus on consuming proteins and small amounts of fat. Next, in the activate phase, you decrease your fat intake and eat more carbohydrates. Then in the achieve phase you focus on eating many types of food in moderation. Lastly, the arrive cycle helps you maintain your weight. Kick starting your metabolism in combination with the food phases will help you lose weight fast.
Dukan Diet
Similar to the 17 Day Diet in some regards, the Dukan Diet is not an open diet but rather gives you a list of foods that are acceptable in each phase within a certain calorie range. The different phases focus on similar food restrictions but are not limited by time; rather they can be followed until you reach your desired goal weight. However, it should be kept in mind that restricting yourself to one kind of food, such as protein, for a long time can be detrimental or dangerous to your health in the long run.
Slim Fast
This diet can be very successful if followed strictly. However, it can be more expensive as most of your meals consist of prepared products such as shakes and meal bars. In addition you get to choose your own dinner up to 500 calories for a total of 1200 a day. This is a great way for heavier people to lose more weight right away as all the Slim Fast products contain the exact ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins you need on a daily basis.
DASH Diet
Similar to the Mediterranean diet, this diet is also safe and balanced. It works, because it emphasizes running a calorie deficit rather than a surplus. Recommended by doctors, the DASH diet can help lower blood pressure and treat hypertension.
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