How many fad diets actually work?

I haven't done any weight-loss diets myself (I don't need to), but probably anyone could tell you that low-carb diets work every time. And by low carb, I mean 30-50 grams of carbs a day, tops. Going less than 30 at first will probably shock your system so it's not recommended. But there's actually no minimum dietary requirement for carbs- what little blood sugar you actually need can be made from proteins. Most cells, including the brain, can use fatty acids and ketones (from fat) for energy, and they are perfectly designed to do so- that's why your body stores its energy as fat.

The only problem with the low carb diet is that it is hard to stay on, so if someone says it "failed", it's probably because they didn't stay on it, or didn't go low enough with the carbs. The other thing you might hear is that it's dangerous, not tested, or an unnatural "trick". This is completely untrue. Low carb diets have been around since the 1800s, starting with William Banting, and have been scientifically tested many times as well. Actually, you could say the low carb diet has been around forever, because it was humanity's ONLY diet, before the practice of agriculture about 10,000 years ago. Carbs pretty much only come from plants, and humans (arguably) mostly ate meat.

The true "trick" diets are all the others, which usually work by calorie restriction or excessive exercise/metabolism. Some may work, but it's not healthy. What happens in these cases is that the body will more readily use protein from your muscles and bones as fuel than the fat, giving only the appearance of thin-ness. This is because the person's body is used to burning glucose for fuel, and protein is more easily converted to glucose than fat. (The other option is to literally starve yourself. Then your body will eventually burn the fat.) Low carb diets are actually the HEALTHIEST- not just for people who need to lose weight (that's why I'm on one). Excess fat is merely one of many symptoms that tell you something is wrong in your body.

The bottom line is, insulin is your body's fat storing hormone. When insulin is in your blood, it is physically impossible to burn the fat. And insulin is released anytime you eat carbs (of any sort). If you eat an energy bar before working out, the only thing you're going to be burning is that energy bar (or banana, or sweetened low fat yogurt). If you eat fats, you will be training your body to burn fats- which is what you want.

See www.fathead-movie.com, or www.proteinpower.com, or a dozen others for more info.

One more thing- people sometimes give up on the low carb diet because their weight levels out after about 3 weeks. This is a normal stage in the process- the body reacts this way because it is not used to the rapid weight loss. If you stick with it, you will eventually reach your ideal weight... and health.